Fines of £100 for fare dodging passengers caught without tickets on Metrolink trams could be increased under a 'review' of the network's byelaws, the M.E.N. can reveal.
Under the Metrolink's byelaws, the charge for a standard fare notice issued during an inspection is £100 and must be paid within 21 days. Fines reduce to £50 if settled within two weeks.
But after the Government announced the penalty for evading rail fares in England will increase from £20 to £100 next year, Metrolink bosses have confirmed they are looking at 'potentially increasing' the £100 standard fare.
No decision has been made as yet, said Transport for Greater Manchester, but Metrolink bosses said the £100 standard fare rate had been in place for 'some time'.
Some 5,667 fines have been issued for fare evasion on the Metrolink network between January this year and mid-October. If none were paid within 14 days, the sum would equate to more than half a million pounds - £566,700 in total.
On the railways, from January next year, fare dodgers will be charged the new penalty fare of £100, which is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days, plus the price of a ticket for the journey. Currently, those travelling without a ticket are fined whichever is greater of £20 or twice the ticket price to the next station the train calls at.
Announcing the review, Danny Vaughan, TfGM's Head of Metrolink, said: "Under the Metrolink byelaws, the charge for a standard fare notice issued during an inspection is £100 and must be paid within 21 days. If the standard fare is paid within 14 days, the fine is reduced to £50.
"This has been the standard rate for some time, but we are currently looking at reviewing it and potentially increasing the standard fare, though no decisions have been taken at this time."
Metrolink said the TravelSafe Partnership works with operators and police to deter and tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, including fare evasion, as well as 'promoting and encouraging ethical behaviour' on Greater Manchester's public transport network.
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A spokesman said TravelSafe runs regular specialist operations at least one a week where officers are deployed to hot-spots areas across the region. As part of these operations, added TfGM, passengers are engaged and ticket checks are carried out.
The spokesman said: "Between the start of the year and mid-October, 129 of these operations have been carried out, with officers engaging with over 62,000 passengers. Across these operations, 5,667 fines have been issued for fare evasion on the Metrolink network."
On the railways, the Department for Transport (DfT) said the present system, which has not been updated since 2005, was not enough of a deterrent for fare dodgers. The Rail Delivery Group estimates that fare evasion is costing the rail industry an estimated £240 million per year. The new rules will bring the National Rail penalty fare more in line with the £80 fine handed out by Transport for London, as well as Manchester's Metrolink network.
The DfT said the level of increase was based on public consultation into what will make an effective deterrent, and that the new fare would stop thousands of people 'riding for free at the taxpayers' expense'. The increase will only impact travellers without valid tickets and not those passengers who do buy a ticket to travel on the railway.
A DfT spokesperson said: “Fare evasion is estimated to cost taxpayers around £240 million a year. We need penalty fares to act as a proper deterrent, and we are putting in place a modern system that will help create a more sustainable railway.”
Train operator Northern announced earlier this year it had recovered over £2m for taxpayers from fare evaders during the past 12 months - 1 April, 2021 to 31 March, 2022. There were 90,000 reported instances of attempted fare evasion in 2021-22, of which 53,000 were issued with a formal penalty fare.
Northern successfully prosecuted more than 11,000 of the worst offenders and, in total, was able to recover £2,077,559.
Mark Powles, customer and commercial director at Northern, said: "Northern is investing in the largest network of digital ticket infrastructure of any train operator in the country - making it easier than ever for customers to buy a ticket via our app, website or one of more than 600 ticket machines across the network. There is no excuse."
Fare evaders are prosecuted under the provisions of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the Railway Byelaws made pursuant to the Transport Act 2000.
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