Northern, which runs services through Ilkeston Railway Station, is urging customers using digital tickets on their services to ensure they always have sufficient battery power to present their ticket for inspection – or face a £100 penalty fare.
The company recently issued a statement which said that: “I’ve got a ticket but my phone has died” is an increasingly popular excuse given by those unable to satisfy ticket checks.
Unable to distinguish between genuine customers caught ‘power short’ and those deliberately attempting to fare-evade, a spokesperson for Northern said that the train operator’s conductors and revenue officers have no option but to issue the national penalty fare, which has recently increased to £100.
However, in the last 12 months, the company has moved to counter the problems its customers might face by installing more than 11,800 plugs and 17,200 USB sockets on-board their trains – providing ample opportunity for customers to charge their devices, and has launched a trial with a company which will provide power packs at stations for those travelling without their phone charger or power cable.
Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “Customers not only have a duty to buy a ticket before they board one of our trains – but also to be able to present it for inspection.
“We were fascinated by research from the power pack provider which suggests 50% of smartphone and tablet users run out of battery at least once a day and 96% carrying no form of backup power with them.
“Through this trial – and the roll-out of out of nearly 30,000 plugs and USB sockets on our trains – we’re doing our bit to make sure no-one finds themselves ‘out of juice’ when they hear the words ‘tickets please’.”
Fare evaders are prosecuted under the provisions of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the Railway Byelaws made pursuant to the Transport Act 2000.