New ScotRail crackdown on fare dodgers as £1.3m recouped by staff incentive to scan tickets

Train operator vows to make it difficult for passengers to travel without having tickets checked

ScotRail is to launch a new crackdown on fare dodgers that will build on £1.3 million of extra revenue being generated by a staff incentive scheme to scan tickets, The Scotsman has learned.

The Scottish Government-owned train operator is to deploy extra staff on busy services and stations in a new blitz amid an expected increase in passengers fuelled by the trial suspension of peak fares being advertised for the first time. The six-month experiment launched last October is to be extended by three months to June.

ScotRail said it had already recorded a significant reduction in so-called “ticketless travel” after checks were reimposed following the Covid pandemic, whose lack may have encouraged some passengers not to bother buying tickets.

ScotRail will deploy extra staff to check tickets on trains and at stations. (Photo by John Devlin/The Scotsman)

The company said it now wanted to make it difficult for passengers to use trains without encountering staff checking tickets.

That will include adding a second ticket examiner to the busiest trains because the normal single member of staff can struggle to get through every carriage.

Staff will also more regularly check tickets at some of the busiest stations on the network which do not have automatic barriers, such as Partick and High Street in Glasgow.

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The impending new drive comes after the success emerged of a scheme that pays staff a small bonus for checking tickets – 2p for each one scanned.

Minutes of a ScotRail board meeting revealed: “After six months of operation, the impact of the initiative has been to increase revenue collection on-train/gateline [platform barriers] and reduce fraudulent refund claims, together generating £223,000 in additional revenue per [four week] period.” That’s the equivalent of £1.3m in six months.

A spokesperson for the company said the move had coincided with a major increase in the number of tickets on both mobile devices and traditional paper that could be scanned electronically.

They said: “The 2p per scan commission initiative was introduced in line with the significant growth in barcode tickets, which can be both digital or ‘mTickets’ and paper, issued from the improved equipment used by front line staff.

"Barcode tickets are now the most commonly used ticket type on the ScotRail network, and are simple and convenient for the customer.

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"The scan commission initiative has increased revenue protection effectiveness, reduced the ability for fraudulent refund claims, and generally increased the visibility of front line staff. This provides visible support for our customers and generates an overall revenue benefit.”

However, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, which represents most staff involved, claimed ScotRail was still losing thousands of pounds a day from fare dodging because of the lack of checks.

Scotland organiser Mick Hogg said: “As ScotRail does not have barriers at every location and barrier staff are not at every station, on a lot of occasions it’s free travel when using Scotland’s trains.

“While the initiative is helpful, there is still lot to do to capture the millions of pounds that are not being collected.”