On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 19:32:17 +0000 (UTC), "evan"
wrote:

Sorry if this is an FAQ.

My partner has just been summonsed for fare evasion, for an incident in
November last year. She was worried about something important, got on an
R-route bus near Cannon St through the middle door & forgot to get her
pre-pay ticket (one of the hexagonal ones) validated by the driver. She was
asked for her ticket, realised that she'd forgotten, apologised, showed the
inspector her pre-pay voucher & offered to pay a penalty fare. He was
perfectly polite but wouldn't take this, & took her name & address.

[snip]

on the basis of what you have written the decision does seem to be a
little over the top to me. As others have suggested the non issuing of
the Penalty Fare seems odd - there must have been something your partner
said in response to the inspector's questions that made him conclude
that there was an intent to defraud London Buses. They do have
discretion as to what they do and their questioning technique is
designed to flush out the facts and intent behind the action. I should
point out that people carrying a £10 note or book of tickets "just in
case" can be seen as a sign of having "a back up" in your pocket in case
you are intercepted even though you are a determined and regular fare
evader (note that I am not casting aspersions here).

I assume you mean she was on a Red Arrow route - the 521? Did the
driver actually open the front doors? Many of them don't in order to
force people to use the other doors. Given the route can get
extraordinarily packed it can become impossible to offer a ticket to the
driver as you physically cannot get to the front. Your partner should
try to remember the journey in detail.

I understand that a conviction for fare evasion will result in a
criminal record because of the way the legislation works with regard to
public transport. Again as others have suggested you should enlist the
services of a solicitor.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!