Northern pre-empts season ticket ‘scam’ akin to ‘Netflix password sharing’

Northern Rail, which runs services through Ilkeston Railway Station, has made made it more difficult for fraudsters to cheat ticket checks on its trains in a scam the operator says would have been akin to ‘Netflix password sharing’.

By introducing new Barcode Season Tickets, which are housed within a travel app and update repeatedly throughout the day, they have stopped fare evaders from being able to ‘screenshot and share’ season tickets for others to use.

Customers are also required to upload a profile photograph when purchasing a Barcode Season Ticket, which displays alongside the barcode within the app and forms part of the ticket inspection.

Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “Season tickets are no different to people’s gym memberships, store loyalty cards or indeed their Netflix account – they’re designed for use by the person whose name is on the bill.

“Whilst upwards of 95% of the journeys made on our network are by customers who do the right thing and buy a ticket before they travel – for the remaining 5% that are made by people who attempt to travel without paying their way, switching these particular sales to Barcode Season Tickets will ensure only the device that made the purchase is able to satisfy checks by our conductors and ticket gatelines.”