04.09.14
Southeastern trials electronic penalty fares scheme
Southeastern is trialling a new electronic system for issuing penalty fares on its trains.
The six month trial started on 31 August and is taking place in the Dartford area of the operator’s network. It is party of a new Electronic Penalty Fare Notice Project (EPFN) designed to simplify and streamline services.
Southeastern’s revenue protection officers will start using an app on a smartphone or tablet to collect details electronically and issue penalty notices to passengers.
The project will reduce administration by automating some processes; removing the current practice of hand-writing penalty fares and phoning a centralised number to verify passenger details. In addition, revenue protection officers will no longer take cash payments from customers as there will be an option to make payment online or by post.
Southeastern worked with its parent company, Go-Ahead, to develop the system.
Siobhan Bradshaw, commercial manager on board and security for Southeastern, said: “We’re really excited about the trial of electronic penalty fare notices. The new system is a much smarter way of handling the whole process and provides an opportunity to improve efficiency. It’s also a much simpler system from passengers’ viewpoint, with no requirement for them to fill in paperwork and provides a faster response time for payments and appeals. This project is the start of a range of Apps we hope to develop for our teams to keep them at the forefront of revenue protection and enforcement.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below or email [email protected]