Train firms must stop criminalising 'innocent errors', report finds

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A recent investigation has unveiled the unjust treatment of train passengers due to minor and often genuine mistakes in purchasing tickets. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) emphasized that the UK’s fare system is intricate, urging rail companies to cease taking “disproportionate action” against travelers. One such case involved Sam Williamson, 22, who faced court action threats after mistakenly assuming he qualified for a £1.90 discount with his young person’s rail card. The Rail Delivery Group acknowledged the industry’s need for greater consistency, citing that fare evasion costs up to £400 million annually.

Susie McAdam, 26, found herself in a similar predicament when she accidentally disembarked at Liverpool Street station instead of her intended stop, Tottenham Hale. Despite the negligible price difference, she was wrongly accused of fare dodging and fined £57. Feeling intimidated by the staff member’s immediate threat of legal involvement, Susie found the entire ordeal exploitative. The ORR’s examination into fare evasion practices highlighted instances where passengers were prosecuted over trivial sums of money, often resulting from innocent errors.

James Bissell, 27, recounted his experience of purchasing a discounted ticket with an expired railcard, leading to a £133.30 penalty during his journey. Despite cooperating after being informed of the oversight, James deemed the subsequent legal action excessive for a simple mistake. Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy condemned the unjust prosecutions of innocent passengers, pledging government initiatives to address fare evasion through streamlined ticketing and proposals for a state-run rail operator, Great British Railway. The prevailing complexity of ticketing regulations poses challenges in distinguishing inadvertent errors from deliberate deceit, underscoring the need for a more equitable and transparent system

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