New Bye Laws
 

The RPA had enacted a new set of bye laws on the Luas

The principal change is to clear up the legal grey area about being checked after leaving a tram.

You can be stopped

How about enabling another bye-law so we can get a Red Cow stop built in the proper place, not the "Ryanair" solution that exists?

On the subject itself, basically imo, when not on a Luas, what a passenger does is not the RPA's business or responsibility in any form. The platform is not a mandatory ticket area, inside the tram is. People may be outside it or on the platform for any given reason.

But the platform is RPA property.

We all know of the mass evacuation when the doors close when inspectors are spotted.

The rules are not unreasonable and if you have a ticket there is no problem.

Under RPA rules you MUST have a ticket, if the machine is out of service you can't travel...

The rules says one thing, what happens on the ground is often very different. Having a ticket is not enough. The ticket must also be the right time, day, direction, zone, single or return journey, and sometimes require ID. For those unfamiliar with the network or the honour system, unintended mistakes are common, and how the border zone stops work in particular, can be very confusing.

The platform is RPA property, but so are many other things. Passengers however buy a ticket to get a tram from A to B. That ticket is a contract from the moment they board to the moment they alight, not before or after. Once they're not in the tram, they should be free to go about their business.

The Luas rules are appropriate and proportional

As with any transport system there is an obligation to have the correct ticket. There is extensive information at each stop including a full map, timetable and fare details. The RPA have satisfied the basic requirement to be clear and consistent in its information and application of rules.

Rail Users Ireland does not condone fare evasion in any form. These revised rules close a grey area used by some to dodge a fine.

The rules clearly state you can stand at a Luas stop without a ticket, it is only if you have been seen disembarking the tram can you be stopped.

The contract specifically states that you agree to abide by the bye laws and all other relevant legislation while you are in the process of traveling with the RPA

"In the process of travelling" is the key phrase. When you're not travelling in a public transport vehicle, you are a free citizen in a free country, entitled to do as you please.

RUI doesn't and shouldn't condone fare evasion. But it's important to state that this bye law isn't going to combat fare evasion. It'll be the sole, respectable, and therefore vulnerable citizen who will be requested to produce a ticket which will be valid, while the gang of 7 mouthy intimidating fare evaders from the suburbs who will be let off. I'm sure you've seen it happen before, so you know what I mean.

The rule is there and gives legal status to the request, however in practice, little will change on either side as a result of this enactment.

Broadly the rules are fair, but my quibble would be with this part:
If I remember right, Tyne and Wear Metro has a specific procedure for when a ticket machine is out of order. Essentially, if you tell the inspector that the machine is out of order, he has a way of finding out quickly if this is true. So it's not an easy tactic for a chancer, but it doesn't deny you the right to travel if the machine is faulty. It recognises that it's not the passenger's fault it he encounters a broken machine.

I think that's a fairer way. On Luas, if a machine is broken, the company loses revenue, and passengers suffer inconvenience or risk a fine. In the Tyne and Wear system, the company might recoup some of the lost money, and the company doesn't alienate passengers.

Not exactly true. All two/four ticket machines or smart card validators at a single stop have to be out of order before you're stuck.

If Luas Control and/or inspectors are aware that all the machines are not working at x stop, they allow you to travel from there free.

On the move - what would you have them do? (serious question)

Just to elaborate on this point, this is what is happening at Belgard stop at the moment. After 18 months ignoring it, suddenly CSO's have rekindled their interest in the stop because of the connecting Saggart trams. They've no intention of boarding the trams themselves, but 2-4 of them are loitering around the platforms for lengthy periods of time quizzing alighting passengers. It's the easy targets as outlined above who are getting hassled, while the fare evading gangs and groupies are getting off scot-free. Because of it, the rest of the line is generally neglected by CSO's at the moment, and that shouldn't be happening.

I imagine they have been sent there to assist people switiching between trams (I imagine some passengers for Tallaght are staying on Citywest-bound trams in error), not as an enforcement measure.

Both Veoila and Irish Rail deploy ticket checks based on feedback and evasion levels. So we have been told where they are targeting this month and its not Belgard.

Staff are sent to locations which in the very recent past have had high rates of evasion. Irish Rail has a comprehensive piece of software to plot detections and direct checks based on hard data.

Veoila has hired several additional CSO's recently. There principal role is one of customer service and given Belgard new status as an interchange it is appropriate to deploy some staff there during the initial weeks of service. There are still CSO's roaming the Red Line.

Total complaints concerning Veoila CSO so far received here ZERO

End of the day, if you have a ticket there is no problem and you will not be delayed.

correct me if i'm reading this wrong...you can be stopped for a ticket if they see you getting off a tram AND are at a platform (may request that the individual produces a valid ticket for inspection on the stop platform) ??

so if i get off and get off the platform then they have no right to request a ticket off me??

If you are on a tram, or seen getting off a tram (and are still on the platform) you can be stopped and challenged for a ticket

You clearly can never be checked if at say Racecourse since no trams stop at that platform...

so if u are seen getting off a tram but not on a platform they cant challenge you for a ticket?

Wrong.

how so?


(2) Where an authorised person observes an individual alighting from a light rail vehicle they may request that the individual produces a valid ticket for inspection on the stop platform.



if i'm not on the platform how can they request a ticket?

1. You can also be asked for your ticket before* you board and/or while on the tram.
2. They can do enforcement anywhere on the light railway property.
3. You can be asked anything anywhere. Enforcement may be another matter.Legally, the word "may" gives them a choice. It does not say "shall" which would mean they (a) would have to ask for all tickets and/or (b) they could only ask for them at the platform.


* If you don't have one, you'll be told get one or to leave

And eventually http://www.irisoifigiuil.ie/currentissues/Ir140212.pdf

http://www.rpa.ie/en/luas_lines/Pages/LuasByeLaws.aspx continued ...