What you need to know as ScotRail starts charging ticket dodgers minimum £10 fare

ScotRail has started charging ticket dodgers a minimum £10 fare in a bid to crack down on people deliberately boarding a train without paying.

The charge will be more than the standard ticket fare on most shorter journeys and restrict discounted rail travel on longer journeys.

It is hoped the minimum fare policy will help reduce anti-social behaviour and allow more money to be reinvested in improving services for customers.

Here is what you need to know as the charge comes into force.

ScotRail is encouraging all passengers to buy a ticket before boarding to get the best ticket value and comply with the law.

There are many ways to buy tickets - including a station ticket office, from self-service ticket machines and through the ScotRail app.

Digital tickets must be downloaded and activated before boarding the train to be valid.

Ticket offices or kiosks that are located on station platforms before the exit barriers, for example at Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Queen Street, will remain open.

However, customers would be required to pay the minimum fare if they arrive at their destination without a ticket and had the means to buy one before boarding.

Passengers can also buy a ticket in advance on the phone by calling 0344 811 0141.

It is still possible to use cash to buy a ticket.

Some ticket machines accept cash but if it is card only, the passenger must obtain a Promise to Pay ticket from the machine.

Passengers will then be able to buy a ticket from on-train staff or at the ticket office when they reach their destination without being required to pay the minimum fare.

The new minimum £10 ticket fare would see someone travelling from Bishopbriggs to Glasgow Queen Street pay £7 above the £3 pre-bought charge.

This means a passenger who deliberately travels without a ticket could end up paying significantly more.

It will not apply where the cost of the ticket is already more than £10.

Instead, if a passenger boards the train without a valid ticket, they will be charged the price of an undiscounted single or return ticket.

Passengers have to buy a ticket before boarding the train to be able to use a railcard or qualify for discounted rail travel.

There are 143 staffed ticket offices and 179 ticket machines at ScotRail stations across the country, according to the train operator

There are 143 staffed ticket offices and 179 ticket machines at ScotRail stations across the country.

ScotRail said independent analysis of ticketless travel showed that many passengers travelling without a ticket could have bought one before boarding.

The data revealed station ticket offices were open in 74% of cases, while 90% of journeys involved stations with working ticket machines.

ScotRail added it aims to serve customers within five minutes during peak times and three minutes at less busy times.

Arriving late at a station and boarding a train without buying a ticket first would not be considered a valid exemption and the minimum fare policy would apply.

If the ticket machine is not working or the ticket office is closed, passengers will be able to buy a ticket on the train.

ScotRail said on-train staff will have an app that links to a central database for showing ticket machine availability and the opening statuses of ticket offices.

For customers who have a registered disability that prevents them from using a ticket machine or accessing a ticket office

ScotRail said the minimum fare was not a penalty or a fine but rather the fare charged when someone travels without buying a ticket beforehand where they could have reasonably done so.

It said no personal details would be taken and existing processes for deliberate fare evasion or non-payment remain unchanged.

The train operating company estimates fare evasion costs the state-owned railway more than £11m each year.

The change is also expected to reduce anti-social behaviour on trains, which ScotRail said is often linked to a small minority of passengers travelling without a ticket.

"A period of education" for passengers was launched on 1 April before the full scheme was rolled out.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail's customer operations director, said: "We know most people are honest and pay the correct fare but the minority who don't are costing the railway millions of pounds each year.

"The success of our new policy will not be measured by the number of minimum fares we hand out, but by the amount of people who buy a ticket before getting on board a train."

He praised the success of the education campaign and added: "We look forward to more and more people doing the right thing and buying before they board."