Re: Ticket inspector IDs

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 21:13:23 GMT, Palindrome <me9@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

MM wrote:
On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:24:36 GMT, Palindrome <me9@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

M.I.5¾ wrote:
"Palindrome" <me9@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Syfwi.2977$Fw7.1101@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
sk8terg1rl wrote:
MM wrote:
On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:33:15 -0700, sk8terg1rl
<sk8terg1rl_2006@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

One other question - is the onus on the official (not only in this
instance but on others, like the TVLA) to prove they are bona fide, or
is the responsibility on the customer to check with the relevant
people that they are?
Welcome, Skate Gurl, to the land of officious, petty-minded
jobsworths, who will spread like mushrooms once the ID card is here.
That person you confronted could be found everywhere in 1930s Germany,
just waiting to pounce on members of the public who knew it was better
to keep quiet for their own good. Just because your guy spoke English
(which is really only a bastardised form of German, like all derived
Germanic languages) doesn't make him any less of a Nazi.

MM
Hi MM,

In principle I'm OK with ticket inspectors as they help to keep free
loaders paying their fare like everyone else. The acid test is whether
the salaries paid to such inspectors justifies the savings the system
might achieve by ensuring compliance by ticket dodgers. I would say as
it currently stands, they end up costing us honest users more.

IME I would say I only see fare dodgers perhaps a few times a month
despite using the bus frequently (in lieu of the hot, dirty Tubes).
The three inspectors were on salaries of I'd say at least £20k each.
So ~£60,000 vs. £10 in dodged fares? Hmm. So I would say TfL would be
better off sacking them and tolerating a few fare dodgers every now
and then.

That said, my only grievances over the whole episode was my handling
of it (I could have said things better and really shone the light on
the prevailing attitudes), the inspector's atittude ("I'm an inspector
so everyone stick 'em up!") and the other passengers (Blind
thoughtless compliance).

I think that the argument would be that, without the inspectors, there
would be many, many, many more freeloaders..

So the salaries are justified on the basis of the amount of fare evasion
that is deterred, rather than the amount of fare evasion that is
detected...

I quite agree. The only problem that the inspectors have in this country is
that they are relatively toothless. For a stark contrast, see how they
operate in a country like Belgium or Germany or maybe even Russia (though I
have never actually one there - most Russians seem happy to cough up their
12p).


Yet another example of the age old problem, do you go for lots of
resources and deter people by the certainty of being caught - or few and
deter them with the arguably disproportiate penalty should you be
unlucky. Some countries have arguably OTT resources and penalties.
Others seem to manage without the need for either..

Personally, I would usually tend towards resources, rather than
penalties - even though I end up paying more. This gives employment to
those that would otherwise be jobless - you have to be really desperate
to take such a job.. Plus it is fairer on the poor..

Why doesn't the government subsidise all public transport, well, buses
at least, and provide "free" travel to be paid for out of general
taxation? Since I got my bus pass and use it regularly, I see the
benefit not only to me, but to the bus company, the environment, the
traffic congestion (less of). Every time I travel the bus is usually
full - of similarly equipped passengers. Then there's far less hassle
for the driver, who doesn't need to faff about giving change, with the
advantage that the time taken at stops is far less than when tickets
have to be bought, so that the overall trip is more efficient in terms
of fuel usage. Finally, it gets older people out of their houses
visiting places, even only locally, and that has to be a good thing
for the general well-being of the nation.

A great idea in many respects but not appreciated by all. Like those who
pay for it. Like those commuters who can't get on the only bus that
their village gets in the morning - because it is full of oldies
travelling free who got on at earlier stops..

Plus think of all those that take advantage of the generosity of the
British Taxpayer. Your DM readers would be ranting on about buses full
of asylum seekers in no time at all.. People travelling from Croatia,
just to avail themselves of free british buses. Tramps using them as a
warm place to have a kip.

Anyhow - a lot of buses don't give change at the moment - exact money
only, sunshine. Any extra, you lose.

You could have added that it is far safer for bus driver and passengers
to have the bus full, not empty. For the passengers, not only do they
get others to gossip about, they stand a chance of hitting something
soft if the bus crashes. For the driver - you can end up talking to
yourself after a couple of hours without a single passenger. Worrying
that. Bit like here, really..

Plus have added all sorts of other things. Except all I have had to eat
today is a snack-sized mars bar and a cheese sandwich. I really must
organise myself better...then I might think straight.

My heart bleeds.....! While I dismount from my trusty steed (aluminium
bike) and pick blackberries to make jam. It's a bit early, here in the
wilds of the Lincolnshire countryside with only the vapour trails to
keep one company, but it's heaven knowing that the rest of the country
is slaving in front of a hot computer and a £3 sarnie from M&S. I just
pop a can of Vimto in the saddlebag, along with a home-made sandwich
with slices of thick farmhouse ham and mustard, a stick to push the
nettles away, and I'm off! One hour in the hedgerows and I've enough
to make 4 pounds of jam. I cannot see why old(er) people need to be
bored.

Somehow, a Mars bar seems to be on a different planet.

MM
.

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