Black Country News: Fare dodgers put to shame; RAILWAY: Cheats are fined after crackdown.Byline: By Ben Hurst TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT FARE dodgers from the Black Country were forced to pay more than pounds 20,000 after a crackdown over the last month. A total of 112 people were convicted in court and fined pounds 20,000 for fare evasion Fare evasion, as distinct from fare avoidance, is the act of illegally travelling on public transport, having deliberately not purchased the required ticket to travel (having had the chance to do so). on Central Trains services in the West Midlands during April. Central Trains is running a campaign called "Don't be a loser - buy a ticket", which includes naming and shaming those caught on posters, displayed at stations around Birmingham, naming and shaming offenders. During April those found to not have a valid ticket paid a total of pounds 21,763 in fines, costs and compensation. On average, those convicted paid more than ten times more than their ticket would have cost, along with their court costs court costs n. fees for expenses that the courts pass on to attorneys, who then pass them on to their clients or, in some kinds of cases, to the losing party. . The campaign was launched in March last year and to date has seen pounds 336, 513 collected in fines, compensation and costs and around 1,600 people convicted. The "name and shame Name and Shame is a practice to discourage some kinds of activity (generally anti-social or criminal) by publishing the names of those involved. The term was coined by British newspapers in the 1980s. " initiative is part of a much wider campaign which has seen a dramatic fall in the number people travelling around the West Midlands without a ticket, from six per cent to three per cent. The ticket cheats caught in your area DUDLEY Neil Bagley, 23, of Baptist End Road, pounds 176 Carl Eldridge, 26, of Stourbridge Road, pounds 152 Gerald P McGoldrick, 29, of Baptist End Road, pounds 206 HALESOWEN Paul McSorley, 28, of Spiral Close, pounds 176 OLDBURY Chantelle Roberts, 21, of St Michael Mews, pounds 162 ROWLEY REGIS Craig Oakley, 25, of Penn Road, pounds 176 SMETHWICK Heidl Bryan, 27, of St Pauls Road, pounds 176 Terence Maxwell, 38, of Oxford Road, pounds 176 Kerry Porter, 22, of Francis Road, pounds 206 TIPTON Wayne Bartley, 24, of Dovecote Close, pounds 176 Majid Hussain, 20, of Park Lane East, pounds 176 Heath Mansell, 25, of Cobden Close, pounds 176 Scott Parish, 23, of Victoria Road, pounds 151 Curtis Shrigley, 41, of Stanton Grove, pounds 206 WEST BROMWICH John Johnson, 33, of Anvil anvil Iron block on which metal is placed for shaping, originally by hand with a hammer. The blacksmith's anvil is usually of wrought iron (sometimes of cast iron), with a smooth working surface of hardened steel. Walk, pounds 176 WOLVERHAMPTON John J Maughan, 34, of Cannock Road, pounds 176 Marlan Thompson, 20, of Newbridge Crescent, pounds 201 CAPTION(S): CLAMPDOWN clamp·down n. An imposing of restrictions or controls: "Advertisers and broadcasters would raise howls of protest against any strong clampdown" Wall Street Journal. ... ticket inspectors on duty at New Street station. |
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