Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Bumped-up £100 fines see railway firm rake in £2.5m
Fare-dodgers hit with higher penalty charges
More than 4,000 fare-dodgers a month are being hit with bumped-up £100 fines by Southeastern for not buying a rail ticket.
Data given to the KM Group revealed the train company collected nearly £2.5 million last year from penalty fares handed out to commuters who failed to purchase a valid ticket. From the 50,000 penalties handed out in 2023, £2,538,628 was recovered by Southeastern from customers caught attempting to travel without paying.
This figure is double that of the previous year, despite fewer fines being issued. A further £1,264,977 was also received in 2023 from 18,000 cases taken to court – 260 of those were caught smoking or were abusive towards rail staff and customers.
The recent data follows a penalty increase from £20 to £100 which was introduced in January last year. If a passenger pays within 21 days the fine is reduced to £50, plus the cost of a single journey. Southeastern’s head of external communications Andrew Commons said the higher fines were brought in as a deterrent to stop the small minority of customers who try to travel without paying. In total, about 97% of customers pay for their journey. Mr Commons added: “It seems it has worked as a deterrent. “We are fundamentally issuing fewer tickets.
“We do not want to issue any penalty fares. The ideal would be that all customers pay their fares in the same way that all customers should pay for their shopping at the supermarket. “We would like to get to a place where it is not needed. “If you compare last year to the year before it appears the increased penalty fares have worked as a deterrent with fewer issued despite the number of customers increasing.” Despite raking in millions, Mr Commons said, as the firm is publicly owned, the money goes to the government. He added: “We do not make a penny out of this, it is just the right thing to do to provide a level playing field.
“All the money we receive goes to the government as you would expect to invest in the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of the railway.” Concerns have been raised about railway stations that are unmanned where ticket machines are vandalised and cannot be used.
There have also been calls for fares to be made as simple as possible.
The chairman of the Sevenoaks Rail Travellers’ Association, Tony Clayton, said: “If the fares are simple and they can pay, they will pay but if it is complicated they are more likely to dodge them.” He added it is often cheaper to buy a return to Tonbridge than Sevenoaks but this deal can only be offered at a ticket office meaning customers can miss out and pay different fares. Southeastern is also continuing to tackle those who do not follow the rules so staff and customers can work and travel in a safe and respectful environment.
It will be rolling out bodyworn video cameras to its staff to reduce incidences of antisocial behaviour, which will also help in court. Passenger services director, David Wornham, said: “The vast majority of customers always buy a ticket and understand that doing so is a basic requirement for travelling by train. Fares help to fund the upkeep and maintenance of the railway as well as helping to fund new investments, too. “Southeastern is a publicly funded, not-for-dividend operator and therefore taxpayers and farepayers alike should rightly expect us to do everything we can to ensure all customers are held to the same rules. “Southeastern does take a common-sense approach to ticketless travel and every case or incident is judged on its individual merits.
“Some incidents are genuine errors but in a very small number of cases customers are determined to cheat the system.”
‘It appears the increased penalty fares have worked as a deterrent...’