The huge number of fare dodging fines issued on our trains last year
23.04.2024 - 14:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Train operating company Northern, which runs commuter services across Greater Manchester, says it's issued more than 40,000 fines to fare dodgers in a year.
Anyone travelling on a train without a valid ticket can now be issued with a £100 fine - a dramatic rise from the £20 penalty previously in place - after a new law came into force in January, 2023.
In January, Northern reported a 20 per cent drop in the number of penalty fares issued in the first year since the Government increased the fine. Bosses said the 20 per cent reduction has been 'maintained into a second year' with new figures released today.
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Statistics from Northern's Debt Recovery and Prosecutions Unit reveal ticketless travel accounted for as little as 3 per cent of journeys on the network during the last twelve months April 1, 2023 to the end of March this year.
That's the lowest on record, said a spokesperson for the operator, which has been run by the Government since March 2020 when the Operator of Last Resort (OLR) took over its franchise.
But during the same period, Northern said it still had to investigate 57,302 reports of attempted fare evasion - and issue 41,922 Penalty Fare Notices. There were also 172 court sittings during the period, combined with which Northern said 'ultimately helped recover almost £4m of lost revenue for the taxpayer'.
Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: "The reality is that fare dodgers expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for their journey – and that's just not on.
"The rail industry receives a great deal of public subsidy and we have a responsibility to do everything we