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Nexus prosecuted 418 people during April for fare evasion on the Metro, netting fines and costs totalling £64,000. The 418 were taken to court after failing to pay the standard £20 penalty fare within 21 days after being caught riding the Metro network without a valid ticket or pass. They will now have to pay fines of to up to £500 and will get a criminal record. Their names have been added to the Metro ‘Loser List’, which names and shames ticket cheats on posters which are displayed prominently across the network. Metro Director, Mick Carbro, said: “Cheats who don’t buy a ticket are only cheating themselves. You only have to look at the amount they have had to pay in fines to realise that. “It makes financial sense to buy a ticket for as little as £1.30 instead of being taken to court and fined up to £500.” Nexus’ anti-fraud strategy involves more frequent targeted ticket inspections at stations and on board trains. Inspections are also aimed at stations outside the central areas of Newcastle and Sunderland as shorter journeys account for a high percentage of ticketless travel. In September last year Nexus secured £13m from the Government to pay for 249 new ticket machines and electronic barriers. The barriers, similar to the ones on the London Underground, will be installed at 13 key stations next year and will make it even harder for cheats to avoid being caught. Metro employs a private contractor, St James Security, to provide revenue control staff.
Metro’s own Travel Support Officers, who patrol the system into the night, and Northumbria Police officers, also check tickets.
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