New Consultation on penalty fines will not Change Britain’s Broken Approach
It was widely reported recently that the Department for Transport is consulting on the possible doubling of the penalty fines for those who fare evade. But the proposed changes are likely to do little to stop the huge number of people being unfairly and prosecuted in the court.
The DfT justified the possible changes via a spokesman, who said ‘It is vital that everyone travels with a valid train ticket, and this consultation will help decide if the existing penalty fee remains an effective deterrent’.
It was also pointed out that before the coronavirus crisis, around £240 million a year was being lost through fare evasion across Britain, according to industry estimates.
However, if we consider the circumstances of the people who end up being caught without valid ticket, it is difficult to see how publicity around increasing the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to £40 will make an impact. For example, we often we young adults using another person’s discounted travel card because they are difficult financial position. Often little thought is given to the potential risks of being caught.
Secondly, whether a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued is entirely within the discretion of the revenue inspector. The current system is therefore often applied unfairly, with large numbers of people not even being given the chance to accept the FPN.
Instead, the train company sends out a letter of intended prosecution, often followed by a court summons. Once in this situation, the train company are incurring administrative costs in preparing the file for prosecution and indeed paying for a lawyer to prosecute at court. The person being prosecuted is asked to pay for part of these costs when being sentenced at court.
Interestingly, the system is radically different in many other countries in Europe. In Berlin, the city’s public transit uses an honesty system (backed up with unannounced inspections) and relatively low fines for fare dodging. It is estimated that 3 to 5 percent of journeys are fare evaded. A survey conducted into the London transport found that a similar percentage of people evaded fares, despite the extra costs associated with maintaining barriers etc.