SCOTRAIL has announced that the company are set to “clamp down” on various forms of ticket fraud starting this month.
They have said they will increase their staff by 69 more to reduce the £10m of public money lost yearly to ticket fraud.
ScotRail noted that the three most common types of evasion are short journey claims, railcard misuse and self-service ticket machine abuse.
Revenue protection officers are responsible for identifying and preventing ticket fraud. They are already thought to generate around £2m in revenue that would otherwise have been lost.
The revenue protection teams can set up temporary barriers at any station and conduct complete ticket checks. If passengers are found to be attempting fare evasion, they are authorised to take their names and addresses for further investigation.
For example, on-train staff discovered a passenger was travelling between Easterhouse and Glasgow Queen Street, claiming a discount, which they were not entitled to.
The revenue protection team reviewed CCTV and the individual’s account history and after interacting with a revenue protection officer, they settled for over £1,000.
Another passenger, travelling to Glasgow Queen Street, had been committing short journey fraud. They claimed to board at Bishopbriggs but actually boarded at Falkirk High.
They were found to have falsified their journey several times, and the individual was issued a bill of more than £1,500.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: “Tackling ticket fraud has always been a priority for ScotRail.
“It’s a small minority of passengers who deliberately try to avoid paying the proper fare, but it’s honest, fare-paying passengers who bear the burden of lost investment in Scotland’s Railway.
“Our goal is to ensure that our genuine customers can travel without disruption, knowing that the fare system is fair and enforced.
“We are fully committed to ensuring that everyone who uses our services pays their fair share.
“These measures not only protect public money but also allow us to reinvest in improvements for the benefit of all passengers.”
