Train firms have been urged by the rail passenger watchdog to give a “yellow card” to people travelling without the correct ticket rather than rush to fines or prosecution.
Transport Focus said a new system was needed to ensure that passengers who had made an honest mistake were not punished unfairly, amid growing concern at measures being taken to tackle fare evasion.
A number of passengers have been penalised or prosecuted for minor discrepancies, including some who were fined more than £400 when inadvertently using railcards incorrectly and saving less than £2.
The watchdog called for the introduction of a nationwide yellow card system, under which passengers who made a mistake for the first time would be informed of the issue and have their names taken and recorded, with fines only issued for repeat offences.
Transport Focus called for the introduction of a central digital record of railcards issued to allow passengers’ eligibility for discounts to be checked easily by inspectors, should passengers have forgotten to carry a card or be unable to access them online when required.
Passengers could be issued reminders to alert them when their railcards are close to expiry, it said. More broadly, the watchdog said the industry should simplify its fares and ticketing system.
Natasha Grice, the director for rail at Transport Focus, said the watchdog had long been concerned about the complexity of rail fares, making it hard for some passengers to buy the correct ticket.
“We understand and support the principle that all users of rail should be paying for their ticket, but we want to make sure that passengers who make an innocent mistake aren’t punished unfairly,” Grice said.
The call came in response to a government-mandated inquiry into how train operators were tackling fare evasion, after ministers expressed concern about innocent mistakes being unfairly punished.
Fare evasion is estimated to cost the industry £240m a year.
Grice added: “There are some things that the industry could do now to make things better and our research tells us that if the railway is to build trust and confidence, an improved approach to revenue protection is needed. Recouping this money could help boost investment in services, making things better for passengers.”
The government has also committed to simplify the ticketing system as part of the wider Great British Railways reforms.
The Office of Rail and Road launched a review last month into revenue protection practices, including penalty fares and prosecutions, and has asked any passengers penalised for boarding trains without the correct ticket to share their experience.
Notorious reported cases have included a Northern rail passenger who was prosecuted and fined £462 for travelling before 10am on an Anytime ticket mistakenly bought with her railcard, saving just £1.60 on the fare. The operator has since said it was dropping similar prosecutions.
More than 70,000 prosecutions for fare dodging were quashed under a ruling last year. Northern and three other rail operators had pressed cases in magistrates courts behind closed doors.
