Luas Inspectors & GDPR

exaisle · 23-09-2019 7:45am #1

If a Luas inspector discovers a problem with a passenger's Leap card, it appears that he/she is obliged to request the passenger's name,address and date of birth in order to issue a fine.
Does it constitute a breach of GDPR rules if they do so where other passengers can hear those details?
I would have thought that the correct procedure would be to request that the passenger alight from the Luas tram at the next available stop where details could be given in private?

flazio · 23-09-2019 7:53am

It would be the passengers responsibility to explain to the Revenue Protection Officer (terrible name, what's wrong with inspector?) that they are uncomfortable giving out personal details out loud and ask if they can write it down or go somewhere private (like a platform).
However, in the case of a leap card, the details should be registered and verified on the TII system and customers agree to the share of those details with any company that is authorised to take money off the card and if you don't agree to it, don't get the card, and any discrepancies are sent to the registered address.

GM228 · 23-09-2019 8:36am

First and foremost the inspectors have statutory authority to request such information and you have a statutory requirement to provide it, otherwise you commit an offence, there is no qualifying criteria in relation to this such as doing so in private etc.

Secondly, the inspectors request such information as part of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences (i.e fare evasion, trespass etc) which is specifically exempt from the provisions of GDPR.

exaisle · 23-09-2019 9:57am

This issue isn't whether the inspectors (I'm going to use that term for brevity) have a right to request it....I totally agree that they are entitled to verify the details on the Leap card and that they are entitled to hold and use the information given for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection and, if necessary, prosecution in cases of fare evasion.
I should say at this point that I have only ever experienced inspectors acting in a thoroughly polite and professional manner. There is no suggestion of intentional wrongdoing on their part and my question is purely theoretical.
My query arises following a discussion with one of the inspectors who informed me that their discretion had recently been removed so that in cases where there was any problem with a Leap card, they were obliged to take the passenger's details.
My question relates to the manner in which the information is requested....my thought is that in the first instance, the inspector should ask the passenger to alight at the next available stop where the information can be given privately and not put the passenger in a situation where they might reveal personal data which they do not need to in earshot of other passengers. I see it as a possible breach in the duty of care of the Luas operators in the code of conduct for inspectors.
It's not difficult to imagine that the average passenger would not be aware of their entitlements under the GDPR regulations as they apply mainly to those who collect the information..
In addition to the storage and usage of data, do the GDPR regulations not also cover the manner in which the data is collected?
I'm not a lawyer...it just strikes me as strange that passengers aren't asked to alight to give the relevant information.

Mr. Incognito · 23-09-2019 2:30pm

People really don't understand what GDPR provides for

Peregrinus · 23-09-2019 3:43pm

exaisle wrote: »

This issue isn't whether the inspectors (I'm going to use that term for brevity) have a right to request it....I totally agree that they are entitled to verify the details on the Leap card and that they are entitled to hold and use the information given for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection and, if necessary, prosecution in cases of fare evasion.
I should say at this point that I have only ever experienced inspectors acting in a thoroughly polite and professional manner. There is no suggestion of intentional wrongdoing on their part and my question is purely theoretical.
My query arises following a discussion with one of the inspectors who informed me that their discretion had recently been removed so that in cases where there was any problem with a Leap card, they were obliged to take the passenger's details.
My question relates to the manner in which the information is requested....my thought is that in the first instance, the inspector should ask the passenger to alight at the next available stop where the information can be given privately and not put the passenger in a situation where they might reveal personal data which they do not need to in earshot of other passengers. I see it as a possible breach in the duty of care of the Luas operators in the code of conduct for inspectors.
It's not difficult to imagine that the average passenger would not be aware of their entitlements under the GDPR regulations as they apply mainly to those who collect the information..
In addition to the storage and usage of data, do the GDPR regulations not also cover the manner in which the data is collected?
I'm not a lawyer...it just strikes me as strange that passengers aren't asked to alight to give the relevant information.

The reason is that the tram would then proceed without them, with the result that they could deal with only one potential fare evader on any tram, which could severely impact the efficiency of the random inspection system.

As others have pointed out, there's a simple solution to this; allow passengers to write down their names and addresses, and hand them over.

Carawaystick · 23-09-2019 10:17pm

The tram inspectors must have a policy to deal with people who cannot speak. They could use that procedure.

23-09-2019 10:19pm

is asking this question where anyone could read the answer a breach of gdpr

Luas Inspectors & GDPR

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