Fines of nearly £66,000 for fare dodgers

Monday, 16 October 2017

Fare dodgers have been fined nearly £66,000 after they were caught riding Greater Anglia trains with no intention of buying a ticket.

The train company prosecuted a total of 370 people in the last six weeks for fare evasion across the Greater Anglia Network.

The people were taken to court after Greater Anglia Revenue Protection Inspectors discovered them on trains with no ticket and in some cases no money or cards on them to pay for a ticket.

In total, the fare dodgers were fined £65,848 and ordered to pay £31,189 costs.

The largest number of offenders were found on the Southend Victoria line. On Wednesday 6 September, there were 50 cases at Southend Magistrates’ Court. Defendants were fined £7.821.50 and ordered to pay £4,050 in costs.

A further 152 cases were heard by magistrates in Southend on Monday 11 September, when magistrates fined offenders £25,872.50 in total, with costs of £9,650.

On Tuesday 10 October, another 100 cases were heard at Southend Magistrates’ Court, when magistrates imposed fines of £15,131 and costs of £10,789.

A total of 24 cases were heard at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 12 September. Magistrates imposed fines of £7,082 and costs of £2,300.

Another 27 cases went before magistrates at Ipswich on Tuesday 10 October. Fare dodgers were fined £4,866 and ordered to pay costs of £2,700.

Seventeen people caught deliberately avoiding paying for tickets on Greater Anglia trains in London were prosecuted at London City Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 21 September. They were ordered to pay fines of £5,080 and to pay £1,700 in costs.

Andrew Goodrum, Greater Anglia Customer Services Director, said: “In the long run it’s cheaper for everyone to pay for a ticket to ride one of our trains. A train ticket is far cheaper than a fine for not having one.

“Out of every £1 that is spent on a rail ticket, 97p goes back into the railway. By not paying for a ticket, we have less money to invest in making the railway better for everyone and it could lead to bigger increases in rail fares for everyone.

“Our Revenue Protection Inspectors act with discretion when they find people travelling without tickets or with the wrong ticket, but if people catch a train with no intention of paying for a ticket, then we will take action.”