[Article] Fare dodgers targeted in crackdown

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/5492503?view=Eircomnet

Fare dodgers targeted in crackdown
From:The Irish Independent
Wednesday, 4th May, 2005

FARE dodgers on Dublin Bus and Dart services in one of the capital's more affluent suburbs have been hit in the pocket after a two-day crackdown by ticket inspectors.

Between them, Iarnrod Eireann and Dublin Bus issued 50 fines ranging from €25 to €80 to dodgers last Thursday and Friday with students the main culprits.

Rail and bus bosses carried out the joint operation as part of an investigation into misuse of student tickets by students using rail services in the Lansdowne Road/Sydney Parade area and on bus routes 7, 18 and 45, which service the two Dart stations and run along Rock Road. Inspectors also had recently noticed a number of people using crudely made fake tickets.

According to a spokeswoman for Dublin Bus, the companies' revenue protection units decided to pool resources and mount a joint operation.

Dublin Bus spokeswoman Grainne Mackin said this inspection would be the first of many joint operations. She said the initiative could also be rolled out within the Greater Dublin Area encompassing other major commuter areas across the city.

However, according to Dublin Bus the introduction of integrated transport smart card technology next year will make fare dodging much more difficult.

Kathy Donaghy

murphaph

About time.

Repli

Damn students lol

gjim

I'm not that impressed. Students with dodgy ids are easy targets for a "crackdown". How about starting with the basics and taking on the anti-social scumbags who not only dodge fairs but make life a misery for the other passengers. It's a bit harder to take on a bunch of scangers.

BrianD

Apparently the stereotypical scum bags are not the largest group of fare dodgers. I'm told that the highest level of fare evasion on the Luas is on the Green line that serves some of the wealthiest suburbs in Dublin. There are many well-to-do and educated "yoofs" who think fare paying is beneath them and for others.

MarkoP11

As someone who has a valid student card and full time student status I'd say it is about time. I have never ever in many years had the actual id card inspected

That said when buying the ticket the ID card has to be handed to the offical at the booking office so in theory it should not be possible, and a fake or out of date ticket won't work in the validators.

Iarnrod Eireann don't have ticket inspections in Dublin, they sell you tickets, whats the point ? We need a heavy handed penatly system, Connex seem to have it worked out

Full exit validation is going to make this kind of thing much much harder.

John R

MarkoP11 wrote:

As someone who has a valid student card and full time student status I'd say it is about time. I have never ever in many years had the actual id card inspected

That said when buying the ticket the ID card has to be handed to the offical at the booking office so in theory it should not be possible, and a fake or out of date ticket won't work in the validators.

With bus and bus/rail tickets you can buy them at a newsagent so nobody checks student id's.

John R

BrianD wrote:

Apparently the stereotypical scum bags are not the largest group of fare dodgers. I'm told that the highest level of fare evasion on the Luas is on the Green line that serves some of the wealthiest suburbs in Dublin. There are many well-to-do and educated "yoofs" who think fare paying is beneath them and for others.

All the skangers fare evade by paying the lowest possible fare no matter where they are going. Sit at the front of any bus on regular skanger routes and count the amount of times you hear "90 bud".

MarkoP11

John R wrote:

With bus and bus/rail tickets you can buy them at a newsagent so nobody checks student id's.

True

Still there was a claim of a number of "people using crudely made fake tickets.", I know its tricky to spot the date on tickets as they fly past in Pearse but I could tell a dodgy ticket from a distance as could any bus driver or inspector. Still they won't work in the turstil on the validator

BrianD

John R wrote:

All the skangers fare evade by paying the lowest possible fare no matter where they are going. Sit at the front of any bus on regular skanger routes and count the amount of times you hear "90 bud".

Take a Luas some Saturday evening and watch the mass exodus of the "Ryosh" rugby yoof brigade as soon as the ticket inspectors hop on.

Victor

MarkoP11 wrote:

Still they won't work in the turstil on the validator

What if they do?

I wonder if they are the single tickets (hardly worth your while) or multi-journey tickets (difficult) that are being copied.

John R

BrianD wrote:

Take a Luas some Saturday evening and watch the mass exodus of the "Ryosh" rugby yoof brigade as soon as the ticket inspectors hop on.

They should keep the doors locked, open one door to let the inspectors on and wait until all tickets have been checked before letting anyone off or moving the tram.

Chalk

John R wrote:

They should keep the doors locked, open one door to let the inspectors on and wait until all tickets have been checked before letting anyone off or moving the tram.

false imprisonment claims every where.

Winters

Best way would be to have undercover ticket inspectors.

Capt'n Midnight

When they clamped down on ticket evaders on the New York subway about 1 in 7 was wanted in relation to some other offense. Maybe just get the Guards involved

enterprise

MarkoP11 wrote:

Iarnrod Eireann don't have ticket inspections in Dublin, they sell you tickets, whats the point ? We need a heavy handed penatly system, Connex seem to have it worked out

IE has advertised internally for revenue inspectors on the DART - they must be out doing their new jobs now!

Victor

Chalk wrote:

false imprisonment claims every where.

Leave the one door open and anyone wanting to leave will just have to show their ticket.

BrianD

John R wrote:

They should keep the doors locked, open one door to let the inspectors on and wait until all tickets have been checked before letting anyone off or moving the tram.

Current way is fine and the above would inconvenience legitimate travellers. I've seen a number of approaches to fare enforcement. The friendly way - group of inspectors hop on and announce their presence and offer to sell tickets to those who haven't got on to the covert approach in eastern europe where they bundle you off the train and you appear in the next Amnesty International disappeared list.

John R

Offering to sell regular price tickets is insanity, why would anyone buy tickets if they knew that if caught they would only have to pay the normal price anyway.

It would make sense to just get on for free and pay once every 5 or so journeys when checked.

saobh_ie

I know in Berlin, on the underground (oooh Metro) and tram service (Luas x496), the ticket inspectors are undercover. They all board the train/tram through its various doors and sit down.

Then as soon as the doors close and the tram starts moving they stand up saying stuff in German (hehe) while pulling thier ID badges from inside thier jackets.

No (edit: limited opportunies for) escape for those without tickets and no inconvience for those with them because your not going anywhere.

Although escape is possible. Just move to the doorway and wait to be caught and then when the train pulls inot the station run like you've never run before. I didn't do this but unwittingly aided in some big rasta's escape by going to leave using the exit door he'd positioned himself beside.

Victor

John R wrote:

Offering to sell regular price tickets is insanity, why would anyone buy tickets if they knew that if caught they would only have to pay the normal price anyway.

You only do it some of the time, but you do it loudly, so as to let all the curtain twitchers know.