(15 Dec 2023, 10:41 am)Rob44 wrote Wasn;t sure where to put this so feel free to move.

As i mentioned in a previous thread I've been using the bus a lot recently to get to work.   In the past when i was a young un I obviously saw different types of fraud like jumping the metro, two lads getting on the bus and passing the bus pass backward so getting 2 on with same pass but what ive seen for the last few days...

A teenager in school uniform ( school in Gateshead )  gets on the 93 i get to Old Durham Road and every time her card is not working. The machine just make that Nosie like a (errrr). Every time the driver has just waved her on but this morning she get a stern talking too as i think the driver must have remembered her.  He still let her on after she said she had no cash wan something about having to walk.... and she had quite a grin on her face as she went upstairs.


Thoughts?

Ticket pass backs have happened for years. Once upon a time, kids would spread out in the queue, then the first ones on would run straight upstairs and drop the ticket out the window for one of their mates. It's not really possible with QR coded tickets, as similar to smart cards, I believe they have a short throttling period to stop multi-scans in succession. 

Regarding Metro, I was at Heworth when Heworth Grange was kicking out yesterday. Not a single member of staff there, so the gate-line was wide open to kids on the verge of celebrating that there's "no checkies". I think the ticket barriers have considerably helped to tackle fraud on the core of the system, but it must still be rife in the suburbs. Especially on an evening/at night.

(15 Dec 2023, 10:46 am)deanmachine wrote Us drivers have to be very careful with that type of thing, especially with kids. The company is scared of the bad press of leaving kids stranded, so takes a harsh stance when a driver doesn't let one on and the parents complain. So not many of us do much about it, the kid has clearly cottoned on, and the driver probably has realised what she's doing but feel he can't just leave her still.

I think it's a very difficult judgement for a driver to have to make, so best to err on the side of caution. You never really going to know if it's someone taking the piss of it's someone who is vulnerable. I suppose if you notice a pattern, it's something that should be flagged to management, so that they can try and highlight it to their school or something. Shouldn't be impossible, if the card scan is being attempted (and assuming it's a smart, not a payment card).