Secondary schools in Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside have today featured in a list of the ‘Top 5’ schools for students caught fare evading by Northern Rail.
The train operator is now working with the schools highlighted in the list to urge parents to buy the existing, widely popular and heavily discounted (up to 75% off) Educational Season Tickets when schools return in September rather than give their child money for the fare – which some students decide to pocket and take the risk of travelling without a ticket.
The ‘Top 5’ schools for student fare evaders are:
- Rainhill High School in Rainhill, Merseyside
- Honley High School, Holme Valley, West Yorkshire
- Wilmslow High School, Wilmslow, Cheshire
- Turton School in Bolton, Greater Manchester
- Wade Deacon High School, Widnes, Cheshire
Many fare evasion incidents took place when students were travelling relatively short distances between rural and suburban stations which are not barrier-controlled.
Given the high number of students on-board and the limited journey time, conductors cannot always carry out a full ticket inspection, which emboldens students to ‘risk it’.
Northern Rail is now deploying revenue protection teams to undertake random ticket checks to tackle the problem.
