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Harsher penalties cut metro fare dodgers by 1 million

The number of fare dodgers caught on Tyne and Wear’s metro system has fallen by one million since the introduction of the £20 penalty fare, operator Nexus announced yesterday. The latest figures, released by Nexus, show the number of fraudulent journeys across the network fell from 3.1 million in the year to March 2005 to 2.1 million in the year to March 2006.The penalty for fare dodgers rose from £10 to £20 on May 3 last year after it was argued that £10 failed to act as a deterrent. Name and shame posters are also being used across the network to expose those who are taken to court and successfully prosecuted for non-payment of penalty fares.Record numbers of people have been successfully prosecuted for failing to pay the penalty fare over the last 12 months. This year alone, January to March, Nexus has taken 1,187 people to court, recovering fines and costs totalling £161,000.Nexus’ Director of Communications, Andy Bairstow, said: “Our aim is to get the numbers down even further over the next 12 months. I know the vast majority of law-abiding passengers want to see the cheats caught. “I want to build on the success of our anti-fraud strategy and drive the message home that riding the system without a ticket makes no sense. We will catch you out, and then you’ll face a £20 fine or prosecution through the courts and a criminal record. “Sadly, there are some people who will always try to cheat the system, but the evidence is we are making life so tough for them and they are now staying off Metro.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .