Rail
passengers


who
have
been
charged
a
penalty
fare
or
prosecuted
for
not
having
the
correct
ticket
are
being
asked
to
tell
the
rail
regulator
what
happened.

The
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
is
asking
passengers
to
complete
a
short
questionnaire
as
part
of
its
investigation
into
how
operators
deal
with
suspected
cases
of
fare
evasion.

Several
incidents
have
been
reported
which
appear
to
have
been
met
with
an
excessive
response.
One
young
female
passenger
was
penalised
because
she
had
accidentally
chosen
the
wrong
rail
card
to
gain
a
discount
when
buying
her
ticket
from
a
machine,
even
though
she
did
have
another
rail
card
which
would
have
provided
the
same
reduction.

The
ORR
said
its
investigation
is
due
to
end
in
the
spring,
when
it
is
expecting
to
make
any
necessary
recommendations
to
improve
the
situation.

The
questionnaire
asks
respondents
to
name
the
operator,
give
the
reasons
for
the
penalty,
what
happened
next,
and
whether
the
case
led
to
action
in
court.
The
questionnaire
will
be
available
until
17
January.

The
ORR’s
director
of
strategy,
policy
and
reform
Stephanie
Tobyn
said:
‘If
you’ve
been
penalised
for
travelling
without
the
right
ticket,
or
with
no
ticket,
then
we
want
to
hear
from
you.
This
will
be
an
invaluable
source
of
information
about
why
this
happens
and
the
impact
on
those
passengers.

‘It’s
really
important
that
train
companies
stop
and
deter
deliberate
fare
evasion,
but
all
passengers
must
be
treated
fairly
and
proportionately.
Our
report
will
look
to
make
recommendations
on
any
areas
for
change
and
improvement.’