Northern clamps down on digital tickets fare dodging as new phone charging scheme launched
Northern is urging customers using digital tickets to ensure they always have sufficient battery power to present tickets for inspection – or face a £100 penalty fare.
The train operator said conductors have no option but to issue a blanket approach to national penalty fares as staff are unable to distinguish between genuine customers caught without power and those attempting to dodge fares.
They added that “I’ve got a ticket but my phone has died” is an increasingly popular excuse given by passengers who are unable to produce a valid ticket.
Northern said in the last 12 months it has installed more than 11,800 plugs and 17,200 USB sockets on board its trains.
It has now begun a trial with mobile phone charging company BattPoint to provide power packs at stations for those travelling without a charger or power cable.
They cost 99p for the first 10 minutes or £3.99 for the day and come with Micro USB, Type C and iOS adapters – making it suitable for a range of devices.
The whole process is contactless and no app download is required.
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.”
Since 2005, the Government’s penalty fare had been £20. This was raised to £100 in January as it was deemed the fine was “too low” and “no longer an effective deterrent”.