The Lochside Press- ScotRail will implement a £10 minimum fare for passengers boarding without a ticket starting on July 1.
- Fare evasion costs ScotRail over £11 million annually, prompting the new fare rule.
- The minimum fare is designed to target passengers who bypass open ticket offices or working Ticket Vending Machines.
- Phil Campbell, ScotRail's customer operations director, stated that the policy aims for cultural change rather than penalization.
- Since April, ScotRail's education campaign has led to nearly 750,000 additional journeys being purchased in advance.
- Passengers caught without a ticket will pay significantly more than their normal fare if it is less than £10.
- The education campaign has been a success, resulting in 36,000 additional journeys that would have been taken by fare dodgers.
- ScotRail's revenue protection measures have reduced ticketless travel from 8.8% to 2.63% since returning to public ownership in 2022.
ScotRail is set to introduce a £10 minimum fare for passengers who board without a ticket starting July 1, targeting fare evasion that costs the company over £11 million annually. This policy aims to encourage ticket purchases and reduce the financial drain on Scotland's railway network.12345
The minimum fare will apply to those who board trains without a valid ticket, where ticket purchasing facilities are available. Passengers at unstaffed request stops will be exempt from this rule. The onboard examiner will enforce the fare, which will not allow standard railcard discounts.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail's customer operations director, stated, “We want to say thank you to customers who have learned from our education campaign prior to the minimum fare being introduced on July 1.” The campaign has led to nearly 750,000 additional journeys being purchased in advance since April, significantly reducing ticketless travel from 8.8% to 2.63%.6910
The initiative follows a public awareness drive that has prompted passengers to buy tickets for over 36,000 journeys that would have otherwise gone unpaid. ScotRail emphasizes that the ultimate goal is cultural change rather than penalization, with success measured by the number of passengers purchasing tickets before boarding.
The new fare structure is expected to impact many passengers, particularly those using stations like Alloa, where the cost of a standard return journey is currently £4.70, meaning a significant surcharge for those caught without a ticket.
ScotRail's revenue protection measures have been reinforced since its return to public ownership in 2022, recovering around £2 million a year from fare evasion.
“ScotRail will implement a £10 minimum fare for passengers who board without a ticket, effective July 1. This policy follows a successful public awareness campaign that led to nearly 750,000 additional journeys being purchased in advance.”
