Tram conductors to be retrained as fines to soar

Transport for West Midlands said people often could not purchase tickets on board at peak times due to overcrowding

Tram conductors in the West Midlands are to be retrained as enforcement officers as fines for fare dodgers are set to increase tenfold.

Penalty fares will increase from £10 to £100, although there will be a 50% discount for those who pay within 14 days.

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) approved the plans at a meeting on Friday and said they would "help us manage and protect our revenues".

"As we expand the Metro network we've got a need for increased levels of staff for drivers, safety operatives and enforcement officers as well," Anne Shaw, Director of Transport for West Midlands, said.

The changes are expected to come into effect at the same time as the new ticketing policy, dubbed Buy Before You Board, although as yet there is no date earmarked for the introduction of the rise in fines.

It is believed the change will be introduced over a matter of months to allow passengers to transition to the new system.

Currently, people are able to get on board a tram and buy their tickets from a conductor.

However, it has been noted by people, including paying passengers, that some are able to complete their journeys without purchasing tickets – especially at peak times when the Metro is full.

At the meeting, concerns were raised about how retraining conductors would be enforced and whether the on-board conductors would be redeployed.

Ms Shaw said: "When this board considered the Buy Before You Board project, there was an absolute condition on us to make sure there were no redundancies.

"The number of people who can't pay on board because of the overcrowding at busy periods means we are losing out on revenue."

She said ticket machines were currently being installed on the Midlands Metro network.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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