Why reward early fine paying fare evaders?
January 11, 2009 by Martin Hoscik · 3 Comments
I suspect like most fare paying passengers, I’m pretty supportive of TfL and Boris Johnson’s decision to increase penalties for fare dodgers but I’m a little less sure I agree with reducing penalties for those paying fines quickly.
It’s important any system is fair but I don’t see why someone who has taken the decision to help themselves to a free ride should then have the option of a discounted fine.
On the subject of penalties, a few readers have been in touch over the lack of coverage of Boris falling foul of the congestion charge and having to pay a fine. Truth be told, I felt it was a non-story and unworthy of the widespread coverage it got.
On roughly the same note, news of Boris being investigated over the Damian Green inquiry reached me after I’d started an early weekend and wasn’t around to cover it on the day. Again, I don’t consider it the major development others do and suspect it’s pretty unlikely to go anywhere.
On the other hand, some London Assembly Tories must now be regretting enjoying the inquiry into Ken Livingstone quite as much as they did.
I suspect it comes down to practicalities – I agree it would be fairer to make them pay the full fine, but it does cost money and effort to collect fines if they aren’t paid on the spot. TfL have probably calculated that the costs involved in collection and adminstration outweigh the difference so are happy to take the reduced money on the spot and run…
A couple of years ago I was fined £20 one Sunday morning on the railway out of Liverpool Street. I was surprised when the inspector told me my ticket was invalid as it was the ticket issued to me by TfL, good for zones 1 to 6. I explained that I used it regularly on that line and this was the first complaint but he pronounced that it was my responsibility to ensure my ticket was valid (a bit difficult with an Oyster travel pass). By this time we were attracting attention from the other passengers so I gave him the £20 so he would go away.
I had the card checked when I got to Liverpool Street and the inspector told me it was valid – his colleague had not been using his equipment properly.
I complained loud and long of course, but I never did get the £20 back from One Great Eastern or their successors National Express.
If the option to pay half had been available, I would have saved some money and maybe been less inclined to complain. Either way, the incident left me wondering if everyone accused of evasion is really guilty as charged.
I think it is important to note that penalty fares are intended to penalise those with the incorrect ticket for their journeys. This can include those who have 80p on their Oyster card when they get on a bus for example. The option to take someone to court for fare evasion remains but is not always used as it is sometimes necessary to prove intent. The increased charge effectively pays for the administration cost of chasing up those who are intent on not paying, and incentivises those who make a genuine mistake to settle up quickly!