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Have your tickets been checked on your journey?

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Andy Pacer

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I had no ticket checks at all on a West Mids Daytripper on Monday, just the barriers at Moor St and New St (on the occasion that they weren't already open).
 
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Ianno87

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First on-train ticket check today in nearly 6 months - travelling in EMR between Norwich and Ely.
 

Killingworth

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From Northern's latest Stakeholder Update issued today;

"Building Back Revenue
During the last few months passenger numbers have been steadily increasing, particularly dominated by leisure travel and the staycation market and we’ll be monitoring the impacts and trends of the return to work closely. With more people travelling we are also looking at building back revenue. We have more on our long term strategy below*, and we have recently trialled onboard revenue duties out of two depots to ensure they can be undertaken safely with COVID measures in place. Feedback has been positive enabling a wider roll out."

I understand the depots trialled were Barrow and Skipton with Huddersfield, Leeds and Harrogate to come very soon. A guard on a Hope Valley train today said he thought they'd be involved within the next fortnight.

"Building Back Revenue

Covid-19 has presented many challenges to our business, one of which was around revenue protection. To ensure the safety of customers and colleagues we, along with the wider industry, initially stood down the majority of revenue protection activity and focussed on encouraging customers to safely buy digital tickets. However, as we learnt how to adapt to the impact of Covid, we were quickly able to reintroduce revenue protection at our stations.

We are now able to safely reintroduce revenue duties on board our trains, initially from Barrow and Skipton depots, and have now rolled that out across the network. In addition to revenue duties it provides a visible staff presence in the train to deliver excellent customer service. Our policy of Buy Before You Board (BBYB) remains, in line with the requirements of the National Rail Conditions of Travel, but the number of customers who are either unaware of their obligation or choose to ignore it remains too high. We will encourage and educate customers to BBYB through a new awareness campaign to be launched in the coming months.

Adapting to Changing Behaviour
Customer purchasing behaviour is also changing, with an increasing number of ticket sales now via digital channels, a proportion that will see sustained growth, especially in a post Covid retailing world. The way we protect our revenue is also evolving to reflect these changing preferences.

Database analysis and customer touch point information, such as tapping a smart card at a gate line or validating a mobile phone ticket, allows an element of remote revenue protection activity, rather than everything being based ‘on the ground’. Unfortunately, the move to digital channels, presents fresh opportunities for those that would choose to exploit new means of avoiding paying for their journey. This is no different to payment and financial transactions in other sectors and means we are developing a fresh approach to these challenges, while still retaining our visible activity on trains and at stations.

As we develop our revenue protection model to meet these challenges we are introducing a team of Digital Fraud Investigators, who will complete deep dive data analysis into all our digital systems to identify unusual customer behaviour and potential fraud activity, in addition to new PACE (Police & Criminal Evidence Act) trained officers who will be frontline based and react to the information provided by the Investigators. These are new roles in our business and reflect the focus we place on customers paying for the journey they make.

During 2019 and into the early part of 2020, we reduced our ticketless travel rates, but we now face a fresh challenge in this area following the impact of Covid, but we are ideally placed to ensure this is at the forefront of our minds as we build back better."
 

DDB

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I was checked in both directions on the train on my EMR commute today. First time since lockdown started.
 

palmersears

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As noted elsewhere, been in and around the Central Belt this week, coming up from New Mills.

Northern: nobody in sight

Avanti: tickets checked on two of three trains, including between Stockport and Crewe, which I've never had before. Nobody fussed that I didn't have a reservation for the Stockport to Crewe, or that I didn't sit in my reserved seat (somebody was in it, and the train was dead) from Crewe to Glasgow. Only check on Glasgow to Crewe was on the platform prior to boarding.

Scotrail: barriers in use at Central, Queen Street and Edinburgh, but other than that not a single check. One check for mask usage between Edinburgh and Prestonpans, but no other staff visible on board at any point.

EDIT: I tell a lie, just had a ticket check on my last leg back to New Mills! The guy checking it isn't wearing his mask properly, mind...
 

lyndhurst25

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From Northern's latest Stakeholder Update issued today;

"Building Back Revenue
During the last few months passenger numbers have been steadily increasing, particularly dominated by leisure travel and the staycation market and we’ll be monitoring the impacts and trends of the return to work closely. With more people travelling we are also looking at building back revenue. We have more on our long term strategy below*, and we have recently trialled onboard revenue duties out of two depots to ensure they can be undertaken safely with COVID measures in place. Feedback has been positive enabling a wider roll out."

I understand the depots trialled were Barrow and Skipton with Huddersfield, Leeds and Harrogate to come very soon. A guard on a Hope Valley train today said he thought they'd be involved within the next fortnight.

"Building Back Revenue

Covid-19 has presented many challenges to our business, one of which was around revenue protection. To ensure the safety of customers and colleagues we, along with the wider industry, initially stood down the majority of revenue protection activity and focussed on encouraging customers to safely buy digital tickets. However, as we learnt how to adapt to the impact of Covid, we were quickly able to reintroduce revenue protection at our stations.

We are now able to safely reintroduce revenue duties on board our trains, initially from Barrow and Skipton depots, and have now rolled that out across the network. In addition to revenue duties it provides a visible staff presence in the train to deliver excellent customer service. Our policy of Buy Before You Board (BBYB) remains, in line with the requirements of the National Rail Conditions of Travel, but the number of customers who are either unaware of their obligation or choose to ignore it remains too high. We will encourage and educate customers to BBYB through a new awareness campaign to be launched in the coming months.

Adapting to Changing Behaviour
Customer purchasing behaviour is also changing, with an increasing number of ticket sales now via digital channels, a proportion that will see sustained growth, especially in a post Covid retailing world. The way we protect our revenue is also evolving to reflect these changing preferences.

Database analysis and customer touch point information, such as tapping a smart card at a gate line or validating a mobile phone ticket, allows an element of remote revenue protection activity, rather than everything being based ‘on the ground’. Unfortunately, the move to digital channels, presents fresh opportunities for those that would choose to exploit new means of avoiding paying for their journey. This is no different to payment and financial transactions in other sectors and means we are developing a fresh approach to these challenges, while still retaining our visible activity on trains and at stations.

As we develop our revenue protection model to meet these challenges we are introducing a team of Digital Fraud Investigators, who will complete deep dive data analysis into all our digital systems to identify unusual customer behaviour and potential fraud activity, in addition to new PACE (Police & Criminal Evidence Act) trained officers who will be frontline based and react to the information provided by the Investigators. These are new roles in our business and reflect the focus we place on customers paying for the journey they make.

During 2019 and into the early part of 2020, we reduced our ticketless travel rates, but we now face a fresh challenge in this area following the impact of Covid, but we are ideally placed to ensure this is at the forefront of our minds as we build back better."

I hope that means that doesn't mean that passengers who have genuinely had no opportunity to pay, or have taken all reasonable steps to pay but ran into problems, are going to be subjected to new levels of harassment. Given Northern / Carlisle Securty's past record, I remain cynical.
 

Mag_seven

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So despite GWR claiming that they are now checking tickets again I had no checks on the two GWR IET services I travelled on this morning.
 

Killingworth

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I hope that means that doesn't mean that passengers who have genuinely had no opportunity to pay, or have taken all reasonable steps to pay but ran into problems, are going to be subjected to new levels of harassment. Given Northern / Carlisle Securty's past record, I remain cynical.

Observing the checks at Sheffield pictured in my post 150 they were very polite and helpful. Only 2 or 3 at most had no tickets and seemed to be buying without any difficulty. I'd estimate at least half had used apps and their only difficulty was due to surprise at having to find the ticket on their phones after leaving the train!

At present the smaller numbers of rail users aren't a typical cross section of the normal hoardes. They may be more savvy about tickets and travel generally than the majority. I know apps can be a pain at first but it's more comfortable buying in the comfort of home than queuing at a ticket machine on a draughty platform or under pressure on a busy train.
 

Cletus

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Yesterday and today have used Southeastern, Avanti, Northern, EMR, TFW. TPE and Merseyrail.

Only had one sighting of anyone walking through a train and that was on Merseyrail when there was a ticket check by 2 revenue protection(or similar) gents.

An update to my in-depth report Thursday :smile:

Yesterday and today further used Northern, plus Metrolink, TPE, LNER and Southeastern back home. Only ticket check was on the 0730 Scarborough service from Victoria by the TPE man who came through checking tickets on leaving Victoria and Stalybridge. I left the train at Huddersfield.
 

Chriso

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Today I have been to Liverpool on LNW. 12:46 left from Plat 12 at Euston but the plat 8-11 gateline was operational. No checks on board or on arrival in Lime St. on Merseyrail I have been to Kirkby and Waterloo and encountered a revenue block at Sandhills while changing trains with lots of rpi and Police checking pax alighting all trains (interchange from Ormskirk/Kirkby lines to Southport line). Gates also working at Lime St low level and Liverpool Central. I also observed the Northern plat 1-6 gates at Lime St mainline operational. On the return no on train checks but gates at Watford Junction operational at 21:00 where I departed for a bus
 
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Butts

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Not had a ticket checked on Scotrail yet but the barriers at Haymarket have suddenly become operational and manned a lot earlier in the morning than even pre-covid.

6.20 am the other day fully operational.
 

Andy Pacer

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No ticket check on my southbound Avanti WC from Rugby to Euston this morning, although the barriers were closed at Rugby station.
 

johntea

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Full check on the Leeds to Sheffield Northern stopper service yesterday evening out of Leeds! Which surprised me
 

Jamesrob637

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TPE checked us Preston to Manchester yesterday evening.

Northern had a guard in the front set of a Piccadilly to Buxton on Wednesday!
 

route101

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As noted elsewhere, been in and around the Central Belt this week, coming up from New Mills.

Northern: nobody in sight

Avanti: tickets checked on two of three trains, including between Stockport and Crewe, which I've never had before. Nobody fussed that I didn't have a reservation for the Stockport to Crewe, or that I didn't sit in my reserved seat (somebody was in it, and the train was dead) from Crewe to Glasgow. Only check on Glasgow to Crewe was on the platform prior to boarding.

Scotrail: barriers in use at Central, Queen Street and Edinburgh, but other than that not a single check. One check for mask usage between Edinburgh and Prestonpans, but no other staff visible on board at any point.

EDIT: I tell a lie, just had a ticket check on my last leg back to New Mills! The guy checking it isn't wearing his mask properly, mind...

Scotrail it seems are not back to checking tickets.

LNER Edinburgh to Perth , no check , barriers open at Perth and P8 at Edinburgh so no check.
 

Andy Pacer

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Tickets checked by revenue protection at Pl15 Euston prior to boarding the 1703 Avanti WC service, not checked on train.
 

Cletus

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Been in Devon and Cornwall this weekend and I would say GWR ticket checking was at “normal” levels. Not every journey, but most.
 

Rick1984

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1st time was 2 weeks ago from Waterloo to Fratton and the guard said can you put your covering up between sips of drink, even though no one was sat anywhere near me
 

Killingworth

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1st time was 2 weeks ago from Waterloo to Fratton and the guard said can you put your covering up between sips of drink, even though no one was sat anywhere near me

Northern trains are now saying "Please do not eat or drink aboard". Not very noticeable so I doubt many are taking any notice.IMG_20200903_101030.jpg
 

Chriso

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Trip to Newbury yesterday. Gates working at Reading and Newbury outbound . Guard joined at Reading and started a ticket check but didn’t get to me in the second carriage as their appeared to be quite a few discrepancies with the pax in front of me. My friend travelled Westbury to Newbury and had a ticket check. On the return early evening the westbound plat gateline at Newbury was open (main townside Gates were working) and no onboard check
 

superalbs

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Did an Isle of Wight trip yesterday, tickets checked on three of my mainland trains, but not on the island.
 

scotrail158713

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No ticket check on the North Berwick line last Tuesday. They didn’t seem interested in checking either as I was sat just along from the guard, who only moved from his seat he was sat at (by the cab now that I think of it, after reading this thread) to do the doors at stations.
 

Huntergreed

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Got a ticket check on my WHL Queen Street - Tyndrum outbound service today, although I think this was more to make sure people were sitting in the right part of the train than for revenue protection.
 

spark001uk

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Thanks for your response. Good to hear SWR guards doing checks again
I saw a swr rpi at woking Monday with a ticket machine over his shoulder, so they must be booking the equipment out again now, for their rpi's at least.
 
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