donc
Inspector
Posts: 591 
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Post by donc on May 11, 2023 13:23:45 GMT
I see First have placed adverts on their buses claiming inspectors will return and will start asking passengers for a ticket check.
I thought that side of the business died with Mainline, is this for real or just a warning?
Are First really going to employ people to travel on buses checking tickets, surely the driver does this when a passenger boards and a ticket check isn't necessary.
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Post by kayden11 on May 11, 2023 15:57:50 GMT
They dropped the inspectors when pay by card came into effect, they shouldn't be called inspectors though I think they should ride on buses and wait until a brick comes flying through the window, because it happens in troubled areas that is renowned for it, it is the drivers job to check the passes and tickets, however I can't see it be long before inspectors gets verbally abused.or assaulted becausethey challenge a customer, at least a driver can sit behind the screen in the cab.
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Post by simonk82701 on May 11, 2023 16:01:44 GMT
According to a friend of mine, who drives for FSY, they are set to make a return. God knows why. I just hope that when I show them my pass, I don't get "is it Simon". That's what use to happen and the whole lower deck knew who I was. I use to think to myself, I have shown you my pass with my photo on, that is enough! There we go. Let's see if service improves after catching all the revenue from fayre dodgers. Seriously with all the cameras, and trackers on buses I don't see the point, but there we go!
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Post by overground on May 11, 2023 18:05:47 GMT
Are First really going to employ people to travel on buses checking tickets, surely the driver does this when a passenger boards and a ticket check isn't necessary. Yes they are, they start from next week I believe, I think that it’ll be a viable move myself If I was a driver I wouldn’t challenge anyone for not having passes or over riding (which goes on a lot), you don’t get paid any more at the end of the week for the unnecessary hassle |
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donc
Inspector
Posts: 591
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Post by donc on May 11, 2023 18:31:38 GMT
Are First really going to employ people to travel on buses checking tickets, surely the driver does this when a passenger boards and a ticket check isn't necessary. Yes they are, they start from next week I believe, I think that it’ll be a viable move myself If I was a driver I wouldn’t challenge anyone for not having passes or over riding (which goes on a lot), you don’t get paid any more at the end of the week for the unnecessary hassle The only place to over ride these days is town/city boundaries and at the moment all fares are £2 anyway. So not really sure who they are trying to catch it's not like when there were numerous single fares and promotions like the very short lived Green zone in Doncaster. Have First said which sort of fare dodgers they are trying to catch is there a particular ticket that is losing them revenue also what can the inspector do if they catch someone, can they physically remove them or does the who bus have to wait for the police to turn up. If you pay by debit card, tap n cap how can you prove you have paid to the inspector? Incidentally why are the ticketers still sat there flashing pointlessly with the not yet in use stickers still over them They must be losing a lot of money to employ staff to do this or else it won't be worth the wage they are paying. |
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Post by TC60054 on May 11, 2023 20:51:07 GMT
Driver here.
Yes, it will be worth it, especially on cross-boundary services. Despite the £2 flat fare at the moment people will try anything to pay less than they should - and no matter how much we challenge them, we either receive lies or abuse in return.
The only way of catching people with Sheffield tickets who regularly travel to areas of Rotherham is by having revenue checks. We can’t do anything if someone gets on at Meadowhall, asks for a £1.30 fare to Tinsley, and then an hour later when you reach Maltby they’re still on the bus. Might not sound much now, but when the fare cap has finished…
Same with passes. There’s no incentive to check a Zoom pass or to make sure a concessionary pass is in date, and it saves a lot of hassle and aggro.
It’ll be a good thing - revenue will increase and hopefully that will lead to better paid staff and better quality buses because the company is no longer losing money hand over fist to people who think that they shouldn’t have to pay their own way like everyone else does.
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Post by duncan on May 12, 2023 11:46:03 GMT
Yes they are, they start from next week I believe, I think that it’ll be a viable move myself If I was a driver I wouldn’t challenge anyone for not having passes or over riding (which goes on a lot), you don’t get paid any more at the end of the week for the unnecessary hassle The only place to over ride these days is town/city boundaries and at the moment all fares are £2 anyway. So not really sure who they are trying to catch it's not like when there were numerous single fares and promotions like the very short lived Green zone in Doncaster. Have First said which sort of fare dodgers they are trying to catch is there a particular ticket that is losing them revenue also what can the inspector do if they catch someone, can they physically remove them or does the who bus have to wait for the police to turn up. If you pay by debit card, tap n cap how can you prove you have paid to the inspector? Incidentally why are the ticketers still sat there flashing pointlessly with the not yet in use stickers still over them They must be losing a lot of money to employ staff to do this or else it won't be worth the wage they are paying. There are still multiple opportunities for people to evade correct fare payment. Forget the £2 fare, very few buy them, its all about regional tickets and boundaries. THAT is where massive revenue is lost. Also there are many abuses of child tickets and concessions. I am absolutely certain that a revenue protection team could pay for their weekly wage on the first day they went out. As a reduction in abuse is gained they would then form a deterrent to folks trying it on again. Long overdue, the public have been abusing the lack of revenue protection for years. |
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donc
Inspector
Posts: 591
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Post by donc on May 12, 2023 12:46:35 GMT
The only place to over ride these days is town/city boundaries and at the moment all fares are £2 anyway. So not really sure who they are trying to catch it's not like when there were numerous single fares and promotions like the very short lived Green zone in Doncaster. Have First said which sort of fare dodgers they are trying to catch is there a particular ticket that is losing them revenue also what can the inspector do if they catch someone, can they physically remove them or does the who bus have to wait for the police to turn up. If you pay by debit card, tap n cap how can you prove you have paid to the inspector? Incidentally why are the ticketers still sat there flashing pointlessly with the not yet in use stickers still over them They must be losing a lot of money to employ staff to do this or else it won't be worth the wage they are paying. There are still multiple opportunities for people to evade correct fare payment. Forget the £2 fare, very few buy them, its all about regional tickets and boundaries. THAT is where massive revenue is lost. Also there are many abuses of child tickets and concessions. I am absolutely certain that a revenue protection team could pay for their weekly wage on the first day they went out. As a reduction in abuse is gained they would then form a deterrent to folks trying it on again. Long overdue, the public have been abusing the lack of revenue protection for years. So will it be like the old days inspecting everyone's ticket or will the inspector sit behind the driver and intervene if they think a ticket isn't valid, I assume the latter as an inspector cannot know if someone has paid tap n cap or by card as there is no receipt. |
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Post by duncan on May 12, 2023 14:07:00 GMT
There are still multiple opportunities for people to evade correct fare payment. Forget the £2 fare, very few buy them, its all about regional tickets and boundaries. THAT is where massive revenue is lost. Also there are many abuses of child tickets and concessions. I am absolutely certain that a revenue protection team could pay for their weekly wage on the first day they went out. As a reduction in abuse is gained they would then form a deterrent to folks trying it on again. Long overdue, the public have been abusing the lack of revenue protection for years. So will it be like the old days inspecting everyone's ticket or will the inspector sit behind the driver and intervene if they think a ticket isn't valid, I assume the latter as an inspector cannot know if someone has paid tap n cap or by card as there is no receipt. Tap & Cap registrations ARE recorded on the ticketer so can be checked. |
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Post by swfcforever on May 12, 2023 14:52:09 GMT
Driver here. Yes, it will be worth it, especially on cross-boundary services. Despite the £2 flat fare at the moment people will try anything to pay less than they should - and no matter how much we challenge them, we either receive lies or abuse in return. The only way of catching people with Sheffield tickets who regularly travel to areas of Rotherham is by having revenue checks. We can’t do anything if someone gets on at Meadowhall, asks for a £1.30 fare to Tinsley, and then an hour later when you reach Maltby they’re still on the bus. Might not sound much now, but when the fare cap has finished… Same with passes. There’s no incentive to check a Zoom pass or to make sure a concessionary pass is in date, and it saves a lot of hassle and aggro. It’ll be a good thing - revenue will increase and hopefully that will lead to better paid staff and better quality buses because the company is no longer losing money hand over fist to people who think that they shouldn’t have to pay their own way like everyone else does. Exactly. Personally I have to go out ticket checking on the Trams and the amount of abuse we get from people with the wrong ticket is lots. For example people with Zoom 18-21 passes and have child tickets on them (Issued on Trams and Buses), people with Citybus tickets, people ignoring the conductor, people over riding (which will come into effect again when the £2 fare is scrapped) |
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Post by kayden11 on May 13, 2023 16:38:50 GMT
Yeah they need the ticket inspectors I agree, after all they losing revenue because of customers overriding and nit paying the correct fare which is why they are losing revenue, but nothing to do at all with paying a sum of money for repaints and scrapping the buses a few months later, surely that costs more than a customer overriding the boundary, 🤣🤣.
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Post by kayden11 on May 13, 2023 16:42:53 GMT
Just when it comes at a time companies are wanting people to use buses and tbh as a driver oast experience the ticket revenue inspector then reports you to manager for letting them ride, in my opinion it doesn't need an inspector it needs a police officer but that's not gonna happen.
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Post by kayden11 on May 13, 2023 16:48:12 GMT
This position for the inspector will be someone will have lost his licence due to ill health so they have opened a job for him to keep him employed
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Post by overground on May 13, 2023 21:43:52 GMT
This position for the inspector will be someone will have lost his licence due to ill health so they have opened a job for him to keep him employed There is more than one position and that isn’t the case at all, the job was advertised |
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Post by kayden11 on May 14, 2023 19:05:59 GMT
I apologise then if that's the case it was advertised, however I have noticed first are advertising for drivers, however a new driver let's someone override unknowingly they get reported by the inspector to the management they in for a discipline or possible dismissal, what about through covid when we was doing a absolute fantastic job (apparently) when no one bothered about overriding, looks like country back to normal and forgot about a deadly pandemic, however my past experience with a company ticket inspectors were in the management pockets and couldn't do enough boot licking tbh but that's my personal opinion, I always said to avoid trouble let them on and let them off as long as the ticket was in date and you was issuing fares correctly and paying money in correctly it didn't matter whether they was overriding to me,I never got any trouble
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