Fare dodging teenagers fined £2,000

Metrolink tram

Six teenagers have been fined a total of £2,000 plus costs after being caught riding on the Metrolink without a ticket.

The teenagers, who each had at least one previous offence of fare evasion, received eight convictions between them at Bury and Rochdale Magistrates Court and were ordered to pay £2,000 between them with costs ranging between £200 and £370 each.

At the time of the offences, the teenagers were all 17 years old and collectively owed a total of £1,100 in unpaid fines. This total had accumalated after they had failed to pay the standard fine of £100 imposed for not having a ticket to travel.

This latest conviction comes as part of a bigger operation to tackle fare dodging set out by Metrolink RATP Dev Limited – which runs the Network for TfGM.

These convictions are against a back drop of new figures which shows that 18% of fare dodgers in the past year were under the age of 18. Out of that number, 72% were aged between 16 and 17 therefore prompting Metrolink to tackle this age group.

Carla Taylor, Revenue Recovery Manager at Metrolink RATP Dev Limited, said: “Taking anyone to court, especially a young person is a last resort. Offenders have ample opportunity to pay a fine within 28 days or face the consequences so it’s just not worth the risk for anyone, regardless of age. Money we receive from these prosecutions goes back into running the tram system.

“Our main focus, as part of this new campaign, is to look at the bigger picture and educate young people around the consequences of not buying a valid ticket before travelling on Metrolink. Even when you are young, failure to pay can affect your credit rating and could, for example, prevent your ability to get a mobile phone contract.

“We’ve done a lot of work with schools, colleges and academies across the network to give a better understanding of the impact of fare evasion, but also the Metrolink system in general and the expected behaviours of young people while travelling.

“So far, this has proved extremely successful with many not being aware they could be prosecuted for not having a valid ticket and that all our trams and platforms are fitted with CCTV. Over the coming mand platforms are fitted with CCTV. Over the coming months we will continue to work with schools to address the behaviours of students around fare evasion.”