Penalty Fares will be introduced on the South Wales Mainline from Monday 4 March as part of a range of measures to tackle an estimated £10m in lost revenue each year due to fare evasion and fraud.
A three-week period of guidance to customers will begin from Monday (4 March), when anyone travelling without a valid ticket or permit to travel for their journey will be given information about the potential consequences by authorised Revenue Protection Officers.
From Monday 25 March anyone travelling without a valid ticket or permit to travel for their journey will be given a Penalty Fare of £20 or twice the full fare – whichever is the greater amount.
It will apply for journeys on routes between Severn Tunnel Junction in East Wales and Carmarthen in West Wales on Transport for Wales (TfW) services.
Alexia Course, Chief Commercial Officer at TfW, said: “The vast majority of customers pay the correct fares and this revenue is vital for us as we continue to transform the Wales and Borders network with £800m of brand-new trains and the delivery of the South Wales Metro.
“Unfortunately, there are a minority who don’t pay their fare or use fraudulent activity to try and avoid paying the correct amount for their journey. Not only is this unfair on their fellow passengers, but it also costs TfW millions each year in lost revenue.
“TfW is a not-for-profit organisation with no shareholders, and all revenue is used to fund the running of the services and future improvements. By reducing the money we lose through fare evasion and fraud, we can also reduce the subsidy required from Welsh Government, which is funded by the taxpayer.
“We will be using the initial three-week period to educate customers about the new scheme and we encourage all passengers to buy before they board using the TfW website, award-winning app or by using the best value Pay As You Go fares, where available.”
This is TfW’s second Penalty Fares scheme on the Wales and Borders network following the successful launch of the first roll-out between Shrewsbury and Birmingham. The scheme will be rolled out to the rest of the network over the coming months.
Penalty Fares are administered by authorised Revenue Protection Officers who can check tickets and issue Penalty Fare Notices to passengers who are found without a valid ticket or permit to travel. Revenue Protection Officers will always wear uniforms and carry identification badges.
They can also issue Unpaid Fare Notices (UFNs) to passengers who cannot pay the Penalty Fare on the spot or who have committed a more serious offence, such as using a forged or altered ticket.
