Ticket Barries - Blocking Child Tickets

DailyClicker

Hello,

Most of my local National Express East Anglia stations are not blocking Child Tickets, whether it's a return ticket, travelcard paper ticket, or even a Child Travelcard pre-loaded on an Oyster card.

The barries just display the message, 'Seek Assistance' and require me to go and get my Oyster scanned every time, often having to wait a while if there is a big queue or if they cannot find it, which has happened before, making me miss my train.

This is really unfair, so I just wanted to get others views on this, and whether this is Age Discrimation as I was told my a Fare Evasion Officer they have done this because there are a lot of young people fare evading these days.

Just another way to punish ALL young people today for just a minority? It's not as if Adults don't fare evade!?

Let me know what you think, and whether I am just being OTT.

Thanks!

dmg24

Yes, you are just being OTT.

It is due to the high number of young fare dodgers, but also so that adults cannot use the tickets.

Sounds like good common sense to me.

DailyClicker

But I pay for my tickets, they are valid like yours.

Surely I should be able to get on and off the platform just like you instead of waiting in a queue and being constantly quizzed about my age?

I'm sure you wouldn't like it if your ticket did not work at all and at every station you had to have someone check it and ask for your age and then date of birth.

I'm sure the amount of adult fare dodgers is greater than child fare dodgers, as child tickets are only £2, where adult travelcards are much more expensive meaning they could be more inclined to try and evade the fare.

Keith

An adult buys a child ticket, when he gets to the barrier he has to be allowed through.

If he can't prove he is a child he has to pay a penalty.

DailyClicker

Yep exactly, and the barriers that the Tube Stations use beep twice I believe when someone uses a Child Ticket.

Not too sure if the Rail Station Barriers do this.

But simply I am getting judged by NXEA because of my age. This is not fair, and they should use other alternatives such as installing ticket barriers that will beep when someone uses a child ticket, and if they look over the correct age for that type of ticket then confront them, or have more Ticket Inspectors on the trains instead of causing young people an unnessecary delay at the entrance!