Excess fares are not fines'
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HE CONFEDERATION of ritish Road Passenger Transcod has hit back at critics of • amendment to the Trans ort Bill designed to penalise tres over-riders.
Passengers who over-ride, it lys in a memo sent to MPs, ery rarely do so unintentioally. A ticket, it argues, must e bought for a stated detination — and once a assenger has boarded a bus )r a particular journey he is nder a legal obligation to pay le right fare.
If the passenger fails to meet is obligation, the operator an demand that the full corect fare be paid. If the assenger persists in refusing, e is committing an offence — legal position which is not -"addled by the amendment. What is altered by the mendment, argues CPT, is he amount of the excess fare he wilful over-rider will be sked to pay.
Since fares are subsidised, ays the CPT, there is no reason ,rhy the cheat should continue D enjoy the subsidy. Extra ispectors are required to trap ffenders so, the CPT submits, here is a clear case for a pecial fare for passengers vho over-ride.
As for the criticism that hese excess fare "fines" vould infringe the important irinciple that judicial discreion should remain in the Lands of judiciary, CPT ounters that this principle as in no way been altered by he amendment.
A passenger who honestly ■ elieves himself to have cornnitted no offence can still go o court. The proposal simply ■ rovided a speedy way of Lealing with a problem which vas costing bus operators all over the country a great deal of money.
The only extra power given to bus staff is that of collecting an excess fare.
CPT also points out that the excess fare scheme has already worked well in Cardiff for the past eighteen months with considerable success. No assaults on bus crews could be attributed to it.