Fare chet fine is set to rocket

May 2 2005 By Ben Hurst

Fare dodgers who cheat honest passengers on Birmingham trains will face double trouble from tomorrow.

The penalty fare is rising from £10 to £20 on all Central Trains services.

The increase was announced by the Government three weeks ago in a move welcomed by Central Trains, which recently launched a new name and shame crack-down on the cheats.

In the first four weeks of the "don't be a loser - buy a ticket" campaign, more than 80 people convicted paid out more than £13,000 in fines, compensation and costs after being convicted.

Their names and addresses have also been displayed on posters around the network.

The number of people who travel without a ticket in the West Midlands stands around six per cent, a figure which Central Trains hopes through its naming and shaming campaign and the new penalty fare rise will halve.

Richard Brooks, business manager for Central Trains, said: "We are delighted that the penalty for travelling on our trains without a ticket has been increased and we hope this will be a further deterrent.

"The 'don't be a loser- buy a ticket' campaign is already having a large impact on people around the West Midlands, with them realising that we will come down hard on those who deliberately set out to travel on one of our trains without a ticket."

The penalty fares scheme was introduced in September 1997, when around 14 per cent of passengers were travelling around the West Midlands without tickets, and covers many stations. It was recently extended to Birmingham New Street.

People taken to court for not paying their penalty fare could be fined up to £1,000 and in some cases could face up to three months in jail.