Arriva Train Service
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Posts
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@Andy 9133 wrote:
Railway company employees do have powers to detain people.
This power only applies if you have refused to pay ( or refused to show a ticket etc.) It is not carte blanche for railway employees to detain people because they havn’t got a satisfactory system for collecting the money first and refusing to accept it later.
They have to give you the option to pay, if they don’t and they try to detain you then they are assaulting you and you are within your powers to use reasonable force to stop them. Probably best to let them detain you and then sue them. Much more profitable.@thewayneinspain 9114 wrote:
Thanks
it’s of concern that they have the monopoly for the public transport of that area. How has this been allowed to happened? have prices gone up much in the last few years?
Arriva only operate the daytime buses, and only on certain routes. In the evening, and on some routes throughout the day, other local companies such as GHA and Pats operate buses.
Although an Arriva monopoly could allow them to over-charge, there are other ways in which it could make life easier. If you buy a day-pass or a return ticket on an Arriva bus at the moment, its unclear which buses it is valid for or whether you then have to pay again in the evening when it switches.
Another reason to bring in the GoCymru card as quickly as possible … if it applies to all buses, then you can just pay once and use it on all buses instead of having to check each individual route and time of day.Oh dear…Arriva trains didn’t do so well today…I got on the Holyhead to Cardiff train, at Rhyl….The train had already been swapped twice by the time I got on…Then in Chester that train had to be taken out of service, as it had problems,…3rd train!!!!…I got off at Wrexham, but I wondered how the poor people going to Cardiff fared…Did the train have to be changed again I wonder ???…
Seems simple enough to me- the report states ‘The letter states that ‘travelling without a valid railway ticket on the railway with the intention of avoiding a railway (fare) is an offence under Section 5 of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889′.
Arriva will have to prove in court that there was ‘intention of avoiding’ paying the ticket cost. When there is no machine to purchase a ticket and no guard to purchase one from then this would be a hard case to prove. My advice (though I’m no legal bod) to Mr Price and the passengers would be to refuse to pay any fine and go to court- ask Arriva to prove you intended to avoid the fees. Show evidence- photographic of the stations with no ticket machine.
See Citizens advice page: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/travel_leisure_and_food_e/consumer_transport_e/consumer_public_transport_e/consumer_trains_e/train_penalty_fares.htm
If Arriva want to prosecute under section 5 then they have to prove intent. If however, they prosecute under the Railway Bylaw section 18 then it’s a strict liability offence of having no ticket. The latter charge does not carry the threat of a criminal record.
And at the moment, the payment requested is NOT a fine. Only a court can impose a fine. It’s more of an out of court settlement. The TOCs generally prefer this as they get to keep the money, if it goes to prosection then they don’t receive any proportion of the fine.
As an occasional train user could someone explain what I should do if I went to Gwersyllt station and wanted to go to Wrexham ? From what I have read there is no ticket machine at the station, so common sense suggests you pay on the train. Do you have to instigate that before you are asked for your ticket?
When I first read this story, I got the impression the passengers were travelling FROM Gwersyllt TO Wrexham, that they were stopped at Wrexham Central (the smaller of the two stations in town) and that up until they were stopped had not had any opportunity to buy a ticket.
However, in today’s report after one of the lads received his letter with the £31 fine it appears they were in fact stopped at Gwersyllt after travelling FROM Wrexham TO Gwersyllt. In this case, I don’t think they have any excuse! Both stations in town have ticket machines, Wrexham General also has a ticket office. Tickets may at times be purchased on the train, but this is supposed to be a last resort if there was no opportunity to buy a ticket before boarding.
I think these lads had got used to the fact that a ticket inspector doesn’t always get round the whole train between it leaving Wrexham and arriving at Gwersyllt and decided to chance it … and got caught out! In which case, they should just put their hands up, admit guilt and pay up the £31!
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