A STUDENT has launched an online petition over plans by TransPennine Express (TPE) to introduce a £20 no-ticket fine as the company launches a new compensation scheme.
Ollie Gledhill, 16, who is a pupil at Malton School, started the petition after hearing about the new fine last week.
He said: “I travel by train to Scarborough three times a week for a work experience placement.
“I appreciate they want to stop people using the train without paying, but at the moment the service is so bad they should be doing all they can to encourage people to use the trains.
“This fine would be a good idea theoretically since its main goal is to cut down on people getting on the train without paying, but it will hit the people who get to the station late, and who currently don’t have to worry because they can buy the ticket on the train.”
Ollie added: “It also isn’t good that the trains are usually late, which means I am late for my work experience. I have got to the point that when I can drive I will stop using the train.”
Leo Goodwin, managing director for TPE, said: “Fare avoidance is an real issue within the rail industry and those who travel without paying is unfair on customers who pay their way to get to their destination. This is why from Sunday, February 2, we will be introducing penalty fares on our services, meaning that customers must have a valid ticket before they board one of our trains.
“Customers have the option of buying a ticket from the booking office or a ticket vending machine before they board. In addition to this, customers can buy online or using the TPE app with no booking fees.”
TPE has also announced that from Sunday customers who are delayed by 15 minutes or more will be entitled to compensation. Delay Repay 15 (DR15) is a further extension of the current Delay Repay compensation that customers receive, when their train is delayed by 30 minutes or more.
Mr Goodwin added: “The last few months have been difficult for customers, and I am truly sorry to anyone who has experienced disruption as a result of this. We have been working hard to stabilise services since the start of the year and performance has improved.
“Customers who board our services expect them to run on time and when things go wrong, and they get delayed, we believe they should be appropriately compensated.”
The petition can be found at change.org/p/people-of-malton-and-york-trans-pennine-remove-20-fine
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