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Reports of overzealous rail fare prosecutions by train companies have prompted the UK government to commission an independent review of how fare evasion is dealt with. The Office for Rail and Road will be asked by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh to investigate enforcement practices in the railways sector. The review will examine how ticketing terms and conditions are communicated to train users and how clear they are.
Train companies have an array of tools to deal with passengers who have not paid for, or underpaid for, their tickets. The most severe of these is prosecution for fare evasion, which can lead to a criminal record and an appearance before a magistrates court. The government has no plans to deprive train companies of their right to prosecute those who deliberately try to avoid paying their fares. However, some experts have accused revenue protection teams of trying to clamp down too harshly on passengers who made simple mistakes.
The review will examine when prosecution is an appropriate approach, in the struggle to distinguish between deliberate fare evasions and innocuous errors. The Northern rail company, which is owned by the government, recently drew heavy criticism due to its treatment of engineering graduate Sam Williamson. The company reported him to its prosecutions and debt-recovery department for using his 16-25 railcard to travel on a train from Liverpool to Manchester. Williamson confessed to paying £1.90 less than he should have, despite his ticket’s small print specifying that the ticket was valid only for on-peak services that cost over £12. The case sparked a heated debate, with many arguing that Northern had implemented unfair and harsh practices against well-meaning passengers. The Department for Transport therefore instructed the company to review its policy and to withdraw live prosecutions against passengers pursued under similar circumstances.
The government’s independent review seeks to address this issue systematically, focusing on the clarity of ticketing terms and the communication of those terms to passengers. This will help to clarify boundaries and establish a clearer, more consistent standard for prosecution, preventing the overzealous fare enforcement seen in recent cases
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