ScotRail to hire 42 Revenue Protection Inspectors

[kkong]

As per their news release ScotRail ticket fraud crackdown

The train operator is creating 42 new Revenue Protection Officer roles as it attempts to reduce ticket fraud, currently costing around £2million per year in Scotland.

A pilot scheme using new ticket validation machines has also been taking place over the last few weeks at stations including Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street, Croy, High Street, Rutherglen, and Paisley Canal.

The devices are designed to read mobile tickets and barcoded tickets as passengers pass through the ticket gates. Tickets are scanned and passengers who have paid the correct fare will pass through the gates as normal...

I'm not sure what they will be able to do with anyone caught out (no penalty fares or private prosecutions possible).

The validator shown in the YouTube video linked at the end of the news release is a TTK device (a scaled-up version of the mobile app) which can flag up certain types of tickets to the operator.

It's clearly not going to be practical to use that on a routine basis for all passengers at busy stations (which have Aztec code readers at the barriers already).

I suppose it may be useful at stations without barriers where ticket abuse is suspected, such as the mentioned Croy, High Street, Rutherglen and Paisley Canal.

 

[43066]

As per their news release ScotRail ticket fraud crackdown

I'm not sure what they will be able to do with anyone caught out (no penalty fares or private prosecutions possible).

The validator shown in the YouTube video linked at the end of the news release is a TTK device (a scaled-up version of the mobile app) which can flag up certain types of tickets to the operator.

It's clearly not going to be practical to use that on a routine basis for all passengers at busy stations (which have Aztec code readers at the barriers already).

I suppose it may be useful at stations without barriers where ticket abuse is suspected, such as the mentioned Croy, High Street, Rutherglen and Paisley Canal.

The fact the document specifically mentions that ticket fraud is costing £2m per year strikes me as linguistic sleight of hand (as we know people are only charged with fraud in a tiny minority of cases).

That isn’t the same as saying how much fare dodging more widely is costing in Scotland, which much surely be far higher (given that the figure generally quoted UK wide is circa. £250m PA).

Perhaps they think it’s better not to draw attention to it, given the lack of any proper enforcement!

 

[RPI]

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, as pointed out above, they can't bring private criminal prosecutions in Scotland. Being speculative, is a PF scheme with any unpaid notices being recovered though the civil courts an option in Scotland?

 

[Starmill]

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, as pointed out above, they can't bring private criminal prosecutions in Scotland. Being speculative, is a PF scheme with any unpaid notices being recovered though the civil courts an option in Scotland?

They can just demand payment of the full single fare under the NRCoT by invoice, yes. If this isn't paid they can straightforwardly sue for their losses.

To put it another way, the whole criminal charges and Penalty Fares thing is a bit of a red herring. All that's required are accurate and complete name and address, which are only what you need anyway for prosecution under the Byelaw or a Penalty Fare.

Most of the people in question won't even have their details taken though, they'll simply be denied boarding for not holding a valid ticket.

 

[Bill57p9]

Whilst any crackdown on fare dodging (fraud, evasion, whatever) is something I believe should be welcomed, I thought ticket checks were already commonplace across ScotRail. Most Strathclyde DCO trains seem to have a second member of staff checking tickets and obviously outside this area the services necessarily have guards.

What am I missing?

EDIT: it appears to be beefing up the gateline capability. Again though, child tickets are already flagged and I don’t see how an RPI on the gate line can flag a short hop.

 

[cocoiadrop]

How would this work at an ungated station like Croy as was mentioned? RPIs standing around at the exits?

 

[Horizon22]

How would this work at an ungated station like Croy as was mentioned? RPIs standing around at the exits?

Pretty much. That's how revenue "blocks" tend to work.

RPIs can often been found work ingin a team (of two) roaming on-board but can also group together in larger units (sometimes alongside BTP) for a bigger revenue operation.

Whilst any crackdown on fare dodging (fraud, evasion, whatever) is something I believe should be welcomed, I thought ticket checks were already commonplace across ScotRail. Most Strathclyde DCO trains seem to have a second member of staff checking tickets and obviously outside this area the services necessarily have guards.

What am I missing?

EDIT: it appears to be beefing up the gateline capability. Again though, child tickets are already flagged and I don’t see how an RPI on the gate line can flag a short hop.

Short-faring, child tickets, more complex fraud, identifying patterns as well as assiting with wider revenue activities (can assist with staffing a gateline for instance).

I don't think 42 is really a huge number, once you take rostering into account. Presumably that will be 42 based from one depot/location? Scotrail is a large network so this team wouldn't feasibly touch most of it.

 

[ld0595]

Whilst any crackdown on fare dodging (fraud, evasion, whatever) is something I believe should be welcomed, I thought ticket checks were already commonplace across ScotRail. Most Strathclyde DCO trains seem to have a second member of staff checking tickets and obviously outside this area the services necessarily have guards.

Not in my experience. I don't think my ticket has ever been checked my way home from Central to Cathcart after work (other than at the gateline).

 

[Bill57p9]

Not in my experience. I don't think my ticket has ever been checked my way home from Central to Cathcart after work (other than at the gateline).

Fair enough. They seem pretty switched on on the Ayrshire Coast routes and certainly I routinely get checked on train heading east from Glasgow towards Motherwell and Coatbridge. Less so in the inner city tunnels I admit.

 

[kkong]

I thought ticket checks were already commonplace across ScotRail. Most Strathclyde DCO trains seem to have a second member of staff checking tickets and obviously outside this area the services necessarily have guards.

In my experience, ticketless is rife on certain ScotRail routes.
Particularly in Ayrshire and other areas south/west of Glasgow.
There may be "ticket checks", but what can one on-board staff member do when 15-20 feral youths tell them to f-off?

Presumably that will be 42 based from one depot/location? Scotrail is a large network so this team wouldn't feasibly touch most of it.

I'm not aware of where these RPOs will be based.

But I think I can say, from extensive experience of travelling on the Scottish rail network, the majority of lost revenue they are trying to recover will be in the Strathclyde area.

The same area is also why the whole of ScotRail continues to be subject to an alcohol ban.

 

[Dispatcherr]

Interested to see how this plans out being a member of staff on a line where ticket fruad and train hoping is wild. Think the idea is to have these guys seedling tickets and the purple hi-vis guys being available for assistance which creates a presence although nothing can be forced, some people seeing this will automatically think sh"* I need to buy a ticket or will take an about turn. Scotrail should roll out more barriers at certain stations and hire staff for them or even just peak times?

 

[tomuk]

I'm not sure what they will be able to do with anyone caught out (no penalty fares or private prosecutions possible).

Why are there no penalty fares in Scotland? the Railways act 1993 gives Scottish Ministers the same rights as the Transport Secretary to introduce such a scheme.

 

[kkong]

Why are there no penalty fares in Scotland? the Railways act 1993 gives Scottish Ministers the same rights as the Transport Secretary to introduce such a scheme.

Perhaps it conflicts with one or more principles in Scot Law, which of course differs from English & Welsh law in several respects.

Just to follow up with some PR agency's recycled quotes on this latest "initiative".

ScotRail (2019)

"Revenue protection and reducing ticketless travel have always been priorities for ScotRail."

"It's a small minority of passengers who deliberately try to avoid paying the proper fare but it's honest, fare-paying customers who bear the burden of lost investment on Scotland's Railway."

ScotRail (2023)

"Tackling ticket fraud has always been a priority for ScotRail."

"It's a small minority of passengers who deliberately try to avoid paying the proper fare but it's honest, fare-paying passengers who bear the burden of lost investment in Scotland’s Railway."

 

[snookertam]

Why are there no penalty fares in Scotland? the Railways act 1993 gives Scottish Ministers the same rights as the Transport Secretary to introduce such a scheme.

Not sure if the exact details but there’s something in Scottish law that prevents the concept in principle.

Probably an unpopular opinion on here, but unless all stations were barriered and staffed then you can probably forget ever recovering the money lost by ticket free travel, to the point where ScotRail would be as well accepting that a certain amount of it will always exist and just living with it.

To be honest, I think they have far bigger priorities right now anyway.

 

[kkong]

To be honest, I think they have far bigger priorities right now anyway.

What do you think those bigger priorities are?

I would hope re-building patronage is the priority, rather than dealing with any perceived employee grievances.

In case railway staff haven't noticed (which is entirely possible), Scottish inter-city coach operators are enjoying a boom time like they've never seen before.

 

[Gaelan]

The return on investment here seems rather poor - given the £2m they claim is currently lost to “ticket fraud”, and these new staff are being paid £25k or so, to even break even they’d have to cut ticketless travel in half, which seems optimistic.

 

[jagardner1984]

I think a lot of it comes from busy stations which are unstaffed and unbarriered, and a lot of poorly maintained equipment.

For example, I recently went to Hillington West, which serves a huge industrial estate between Glasgow and the airport. Fairly busy off peak. No staff. One ticket machine. Line of people trying to buy tickets. Broken. Report it to Scotrail. I buy ticket on Mobile. Lots didn’t. Not checked on train. Get to central, for whatever reason, gate line open.

A week later, ticket machine had the identical fault.

Sure there is a lot of “fraud” but also a lot of people who want to do the right thing but it feels the railway provides many obstacles for them doing it.

42 staff across the entire network feels like a cheap, probably limited effect measure. Generally think people and presence will be the biggest deterrence.

 

[Buzby]

I have had at least 3 occasions where I have made a journey (different stations/lines) in the Strathclyde area, to find either no ticket office or it was closed on a Saturday afternoon (who would want to travel then?). Plenty of warning signs warning to purchase before travel, but for journeys under 10m and wholly within Strathclyde I forego my Senior Railcard and use my Scotia Concession as it’s cheaper (£1 single, £1.50 rtn).

The trouble is the Ticket machines have no ability to issue tickets for this card as it is not on the list of accepted cards, so I have to hope there’s an inspection as they’ll issue the correct ticket/fare. As noted at the start, 3 times there was no way of getting a ticket, so ScotRail lost out. Escalating this to a complaint, I was told when the machines were introduced originally, the Scotia card was listed, but RP staff found folk were buying them to get a cheap ticket with no concession card needed - so the option was removed. It was suggested that when platform validators were installed it would return, as the Scotia card not only has RFID but also a funds wallet (which is used on the Subway using those exact fares). Nothing happened.

Yet the SR physical card remains dumb, but that’s OK? Something’s not right!

 

[Sirius]

That machine gives off “TV detector van” vibes. Not sure what it’s meaningfully doing other than as a visual deterrent.

 

[Davester50]

Scotia card

What's one of those? The National Entitlement Card?

 

[Buzby]

What's one of those? The National Entitlement Card?

Yup - I gather when the term Scottish Entitlement Card was used (or abbreviated to SEC) it caused all sorts of confusion!

 

[Davester50]

Yup - I gather when the term Scottish Entitlement Card was used (or abbreviated to SEC) it caused all sorts of confusion!

Thanks. Never heard it called a Scotia card before. Bus Pass mainly!

 

[Kite159]

The big issue in Scotland as there is no real punishment for the pay when challenged. The max they can get charged on the train for walking past open ticket offices/TVMs is the anytime fare.

So if travelling between two open stations in the morning peak, why bother buying beforehand as the fare will be the same price if they get gripped onboard as it would be buying at the station. With the bonus of a free ride if the 2nd member of staff doesn't come round

It didn't help that ScotRail weren't doing checks for 18odd months due to that c word

 

[Benjwri]

Not sure if the exact details but there’s something in Scottish law that prevents the concept in principle.

The main issue is that private prosecutions are not permitted in Scotland, except in exceptional circumstances, and for a public prosecution they’d need to prove its in the public interest. There is also a much higher bar for evidence to convict someone.

 

[ainsworth74]

42 staff across the entire network feels like a cheap, probably limited effect measure.

That surely depends on how their employed? I would imagine that ScotRail have some idea where fare evasion is the highest and so more likely to deploy them on directed expeditions to hit certain stations/lines/areas in a targeted fashion before moving on to the next rather than just a thing covering a jam over the whole slice of ScotRail's network.

Or, at least, that's what I'd do...

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

The main issue is that private prosecutions are not permitted in Scotland

So, a Penalty Fares regime would be fine then? Ie. a higher fare is charged to those without a ticket obtained before boarding.

This is the concept that was recently applied across all of Switzerland, including intercity routes. Before then, one could still buy tickets from the on-train staff. The higher fare is the 'before boarding' fare plus... er.... £80 (£110 if it's the 2nd time ....)

 

[ainsworth74]

So, a Penalty Fares regime would be fine then? Ie. a higher fare is charged to those without a ticket obtained before boarding.

I don't see why it wouldn't be. Scottish law is different when it comes to the ability to prosecute but then the whole point of a PF scheme is that it isn't a criminal prosecution! The currently Penalty Fare Regulations do actually say that they apply to England, Wales and Scotland so quite possibly all ScotRail would need to do is set up a scheme complaint with the relevant regulations. But even if not one presumes that the Scottish Government would be able to pass suitable legislation to create a scheme in Scotland (though I'd hope they'd not, we don't need two different sets of PF regulations!).

 

[RPI]

I don't see why it wouldn't be. Scottish law is different when it comes to the ability to prosecute but then the whole point of a PF scheme is that it isn't a criminal prosecution! The currently Penalty Fare Regulations do actually say that they apply to England, Wales and Scotland so quite possibly all ScotRail would need to do is set up a scheme complaint with the relevant regulations. But even if not one presumes that the Scottish Government would be able to pass suitable legislation to create a scheme in Scotland (though I'd hope they'd not, we don't need two different sets of PF regulations!).

My thoughts too, they could then recover the amount of the penalty fare via the civil courts, it would always be £100+ at that point so is an amount worth chasing.

 

[Sirius]

The big issue in Scotland as there is no real punishment for the pay when challenged. The max they can get charged on the train for walking past open ticket offices/TVMs is the anytime fare.

So if travelling between two open stations in the morning peak, why bother buying beforehand as the fare will be the same price if they get gripped onboard as it would be buying at the station. With the bonus of a free ride if the 2nd member of staff doesn't come round

It didn't help that ScotRail weren't doing checks for 18odd months due to that c word

Therein lies the problem with the assumption (based on observation alone) that fraud/fare evasion must be rife across Scotrail.

To save meaningful amounts the average person has to travel irregularly (so as not to be better off with a season ticket), between two open stations and avoid being caught on two journeys on the same day. For that to significantly impact Scotrail’s revenue one of those has to be before 9.

“Pay when challenged” existed long before 2020 on Scotrail. It’s entirely cultural.

 

[alxndr]

To save meaningful amounts the average person has to travel irregularly (so as not to be better off with a season ticket), between two open stations and avoid being caught on two journeys on the same day. For that to significantly impact Scotrail’s revenue one of those has to be before 9.

The other week I travelled to and from work 4 times and had tickets checked twice. Legitimately paid £28 for tickets but could probably have easily got away with paying about a fiver (can't remember exactly where I was checked). Those odds put it about on par with a season ticket, or slightly better as you don't work every week of the year.