Penalty Fares to increase

Most readers will be aware that the Penalty Fare for travelling without a ticket will increase from £20 or twice the ticket price to the next station (whichever is greater, set in 2005) to £100, plus the price of a ticket for the journey on that train. It is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days.

Incidentally, the new rules apply to Penalty Fares within England only, and it will in future be a criminal offence to refuse to give a date of birth.

The Rail Delivery Group estimates fare evasion to be in the order of £240 million per year, and that the increase in the penalty will make an effective deterrent. My fear is that there are too few staff to administer the scheme effectively.

Many stations without ticket gates can go for weeks without having a ‘revenue block’, and when one takes place I gather regular offenders will phone round like-minded friends to tell them to avoid station X on that day.