Metrolink’s worst fare dodgers owe £30,000!
Shock figures reveal the true cost of network’s 12 most serious offenders
METROLINK’S 12 worst fare-dodgers were hauled before the courts - after racking up a shocking £30,000 in outstanding court fines.
A special court date was set at Bury magistrates especially to deal with the dodging dozen.
Warrants were issued for their arrests after they racked up new fines of £4,545 on top of the existing £30,000.
Magistrates heard the worst offender was a man from Hyde who had racked up 50 offences, owing £7,667 in historic fines plus new fines of £347.
A youth court hearing has also taken place to deal with five teenagers guilty of repeated fare evasion.
The teenagers had more than 20 offences of fare evasion between them and were ordered to pay back nearly £1,000 in court fines.
Chris Coleman, managing director at RATP Dev in Manchester, said: “We have a duty as Metrolink’s operator to ensure we do the best for our customers and this is especially true when it comes to fare evasion.
“Revenue generated from ticket sales goes back into running the system so our efforts are focused on creating an effective deter- rent to travelling without a ticket. We believe that a failure to take this seriously would be a disservice to the honest, fare paying customers who make up the majority of our passengers.
“It’s not a decision we take lightly to take someone to court but all offenders are given ample opportunity to pay the standard fare charge of £100, if found to be without a valid Metrolink ticket, so going court really is a last resort for us.
“This is the second time we’ve decided to bring the worst cases of fare evasion to court but what is encouraging to see is that only one individual had previously attended the hearing back in December 2013. This shows that the message is getting through to our repeat offenders of how seriously we take fare evasion and the consequences of failing to buy a Metrolink ticket.
“The message is a simple one; buy a ticket before you board a Metrolink tram.”
In December 2013, magistrates heard 20 cases of people who had failed to pay outstanding fines of more than £16,000. For 13 of the 20, the court issued warrants for their arrest.
Fare evasion among under-18s account for 15 per cent of total fare evasion on Metrolink and, of those, more than 75 per cent are among the 16-17 age group.
Metrolink staff are still engaging with schools to educate young people on the consequences of fare dodging