Honest passengers should not be penalised like fare dodgers

ANOTHER day, another gripe about Arriva Trains Wales.

In the past month alone we’ve heard about passengers being fined £7,000 in just 90 minutes; trains being delayed, replaced or cancelled; and the most common complaint of all – overcrowding on services.

Yes, gripes with the company have become so commonplace that some have even coined their own catchphrase – “Cry me Arriva”. And quite rightly so.

Two weeks ago, during one 90-minute hearing at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, 14 passengers who failed to show a valid ticket for their journey were ordered to fork out an eye-watering £7,028.30. That’s nearly £78 a minute!

Well I, for one, would be sobbing like a little baby if I had to fork out that much for a ticket.

It was a similar story in February, when it was reported that £10,694.90 was issued in fines and charges against 21 people in just one day.

OK, so I understand, in a way, Arriva’s reasoning here. Fines are an effective deterrent to make sure that passengers pay for their tickets and limit the company’s losses.

Of course, that’s understandable. It’s a business, not a charity, at the end of the day. But what I can’t understand is the way in which Arriva wants passengers to actively seek out and buy tickets.

A spokeswoman for the company said people have to buy a ticket at the “first possible opportunity” to avoid getting a fine. Which makes perfect sense, right? But, and this is where it gets really ludicrous, the company says: “It’s really important that people buy a ticket at the earliest opportunity they can – not sit passively and wait until they are asked.

“That could mean buying it on our app, at a station, from a machine or by going to see a conductor when you first get on a train. There is a conductor on every train and they are visible – so you should actively make your way to the conductor.” What? I mean, come on! No reasonable person would argue that fare dodgers should not be dealt with – but those who make a legitimate attempt to buy a ticket but find they are unable to? They should not be penalised.

At the end of the day, Arriva Trains Wales – one of the biggest train operating companies in the country – should be providing its customers with a service, not a military enforcement regime. You don’t go to a restaurant and see waiters dish out fines to people for “sitting passively” after finishing their meal, instead of chasing down their bill.

“Haven’t paid your bill yet sir? I’m afraid we’ll have to fine you for that.”

“But, I’m still eating dessert!” “I’m afraid you should have actively made your way to your waiter after the main course.” ...it would just never happen. Do they seriously expect passengers before 9am on a Monday – pre-breakfast/post-weekend hangover – to weave their way through a busy train, knock on the conductor’s door (who probably can’t even manage to get around and sell tickets because the train is so overcrowded) and ask for a ticket? It’s just ridiculous. And what about elderly people who can’t use the mobile app or the online services? What about people who find ticket machines broken? Or the ones, like myself, who board at stations without ticket machines?

Will the enforcement regime show mercy to them?

Earlier this year a parliamentary report deemed the Wales and Borders rail franchise operated by Arriva Trains Wales was a “huge failure” and claimed the people of Wales had been “deprived” of improvements to the rail network.

I understand there has been some investment and improvement by the company recently – extra seats, rolling stock upgrades and station makeovers – but it will still be using the same number of trains it already has. Arriva has admitted the changes won’t mean an end to standing on some services and it said the need for extra carriages still remains.

In January we wrote about the huge profits Arriva Trains Wales had made since it took over the franchise.

Companies House records showed the firm’s profits had more than tripled since it took over the Wales and Borders franchise at the start of 2004.

The German-owned firm began by making profits of around £6m a year but that had boomed to a peak of £22.6m in 2014.

Arriva Trains Wales’ profit margin is now more than twice as big as similar rail operators in the north of England and Scotland.

Which begs the question – where exactly is the money made from the ticket sales that they’re protecting with such punitive fines being spent?