Well, let’s think… One to check the tickets, and one to do the booking?
No, maybe one to check the tickets, one to do the booking, and one to grab the dodger?
Okay okay, two to check the tickets, one to book the dodger, and another one to hold him down… So that’s four.
Maybe one more to chase them if they run off? And a couple more to stand around looking officious… Yes. Seven ticket inspectors for the only exit at Blackheath station from the platform coming back from London.
And they wanted to see the photo after I’d taken it. Probably to check that I captured their good sides.
I know they’re just doing their jobs, and really, that’s fine. But you me and everybody else sweating on those miserable trains is paying £712 a week year for this.
It ain’t great. They didn’t even reply to my email yet.
Presumably another seven people are looking into it as I type this.
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8 Comments
October 15, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hey, it could be worse – like at Brockley station where they have one inspector and therefore a one-at-a-time system in the evening rush hour …
October 15, 2008 at 10:30 am
£712 a *week*?
I would hope you get a private carriage for that amount! ;)
I have to say when I complain to SET I usually get a pretty prompt (albeit useless) reply.
October 15, 2008 at 7:32 pm
If this was taken yesterday then a couple of them were on my train home – they must have sent out for reinforcements a bit later!
I wondered, given that the ticket collector stepped out of the door just before me, if he’d ask to see my ticket but I think I had a few minutes grace as he was just setting up.
I’ve got a ticket of course but mine’s a slightly more horrifying £1,136 per year for the privilege of travelling across London.
Jo
October 16, 2008 at 12:36 am
In reply to Andrew K Brown’s comment
“How many inspectors does it take to catch a fare dodger?
A lot, but another question is surely how many do they catch and do they pay for themselves or do they add to the £712 that the Bugle’s paying for the privelage of riding the sardine tin.”
http://andrewkbrown.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/links-for-2008-10-15/
A rail enforcement officer earns £22k after 12 months: http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/main.php?page_id=99
If seven of them were to be placed on every job, that would mean £154,000 per year. If you are allowed 4.8 weeks off for holidays, that makes 47.2 weeks in a year for working… So you would have to apply fines of £3262.71 per working week in order to break even. That’s £466.10 per day, or if we assume that each fine is £20, then 23.3 fines per 12 hour day. Or are my numbers way off?
November 17, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Hey, at least you have the privilege in getting off at Blackheath and not Eltham!
November 17, 2008 at 11:23 pm
You’re right, and I do really love living here… Don’t know anything about Eltham, I wouldn’t want to do it down…
February 3, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Ok Firstly a REO doesn’t get 22k he gets 26k (with 1k commission ontop of basic wage – the SE website is 3 years out of date). The people you see in that picture are NOT Railway Enforcement Officers but are Revenue Protection Officers – if you had bothered to read their cap badges or name badges.
Secondly there are over 250,000 people travelling on SE trains at peak times, so each station will get HUNDREDS of passengers it will take at least 4 officers to check tickets at any one exit. Because believe it or not there are LOTS of passengers who don’t pay for their journey or buy (knowingly) the incorrect ticket (one stop but continue their journey). If I am at a busy station in a period of 3 -4 hours I can get over 15 passengers who have no ticket or the wrong ticket, so do the maths and you see there are hundreds of passengers who are committing FRAUD. These passengers are the ones you should be moaning at as its one of the main reasons for fare increases.
I go out and deal with passengers (fare dodgers) who have no tickets, who are abusive (both to passengers and staff) I also deal with minor crime and issue railway byelaw infringements, I can issue fix Penalty notices and penalty fares I assist the RPO’s with their station blocks.
So before you make a stupid comment take a breath and OPEN YOUR EYES, there is more to the world than your little commuter bubble – get up wash,eat, leave house, get coffee, get train, get off train, go to work etc, a lot of the commuters haven’t got a clue what goes on outside this routine they take every day. There is always one passenger who says “how many of you does it take to check tickets” – a lot more than YOU realise, take a look at a ticket – believe it or not people amend their tickets! (by cutting up other tickets and sticking the bits on their own – to extend the date or add new stations to the ticket) holding their fingers over the information, showing the ticket back to front or upside down etc……
How many inspectors does it take to catch a fare dodger? more than the amount in the picture matey. -
February 4, 2009 at 6:39 am
[...] firstly because Bob suggested it, and secondly because of the brilliant rant added to the bottom of How Many Inspectors does it take to catch a fare dodger? He’s got a point… I know nothing about the train systems, and I probably do need to get [...]