ScotRail to Charge Minimum £10 Fare for Ticketless Travel from 1 July
From 1 July, ScotRail will enforce a minimum £10 fare charge on passengers who board trains without a valid ticket. This measure aims to deter deliberate fare evasion by imposing a charge that exceeds the standard fare for most short journeys and limits discounted travel on longer routes.
The introduction of this minimum fare is intended to reduce anti-social behaviour associated with ticketless travel and enable ScotRail to reinvest more funds into improving services for customers.
Below is detailed information to help passengers understand the new policy as it comes into effect.
Where can I buy my ticket?
ScotRail encourages all passengers to purchase tickets before boarding to obtain the best ticket value and comply with legal requirements. Tickets can be purchased at station ticket offices, via self-service ticket machines, or through the ScotRail app.
Digital tickets must be downloaded and activated prior to boarding to be considered valid.
Ticket offices or kiosks located on station platforms before exit barriers, such as those at Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Queen Street, will remain operational. However, passengers arriving at their destination without a ticket, despite having the means to purchase one before boarding, will be required to pay the minimum fare.
Tickets can also be bought in advance by phone by calling 0344 811 0141.
Can I buy a ticket using cash?
Passengers can still use cash to buy tickets at ticket offices, ticket machines, or online.
Some ticket machines accept cash payments; if a machine only accepts card payments, passengers should obtain a Promise to Pay ticket from the machine. This ticket allows them to purchase a valid ticket from on-train staff or at the ticket office upon arrival without incurring the minimum fare charge.
What happens when the journey costs more than £10?
The new minimum fare means that a passenger travelling from Bishopbriggs to Glasgow Queen Street, for example, would pay £10 instead of the £3 pre-bought fare if caught without a ticket, resulting in a £7 increase.
Passengers travelling without a ticket on journeys where the fare exceeds £10 will be charged the full price of an undiscounted single or return ticket. The minimum fare does not apply in these cases.
To qualify for discounted travel or use a railcard, passengers must purchase a ticket before boarding.
What do I do if the ticket machine is broken or the ticket office is closed?
ScotRail operates 143 staffed ticket offices and 179 ticket machines across its stations nationwide.
Independent analysis of ticketless travel indicates that many passengers travelling without tickets had the opportunity to buy one before boarding. Data shows that station ticket offices were open in 74% of cases and 90% of journeys involved stations with functioning ticket machines.
ScotRail aims to serve customers within five minutes during peak periods and three minutes during quieter times.
Passengers who arrive late at a station and board a train without purchasing a ticket first will not be exempt from the minimum fare policy.
If a ticket machine is out of order or the ticket office is closed, passengers may buy a ticket on the train. On-train staff will have access to an app linked to a central database that displays ticket machine availability and ticket office opening statuses.
When will the minimum fare not apply?
The minimum £10 fare will not be charged under certain circumstances, including:
- If a station lacks a ticket office or ticket machine
- If the ticket office is closed or the ticket machine is not working
- For specific ticket offers, such as Kids for a Quid
- For customers with a registered disability that prevents use of ticket machines or access to ticket offices
Why has a minimum fare been introduced?
ScotRail emphasises that the minimum fare is not a penalty or fine but the fare charged when someone travels without purchasing a ticket beforehand where it was reasonably possible to do so.
No personal details will be collected under this policy, and existing procedures for deliberate fare evasion or non-payment remain unchanged.
The train operator estimates that fare evasion costs the state-owned railway more than £11 million annually.
The policy is also expected to reduce anti-social behaviour on trains, which ScotRail associates with a small minority of passengers travelling without tickets.
ScotRail initiated a "period of education" starting 1 April to inform passengers prior to the full rollout of the scheme.
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."
- ScotRail to charge ticket dodgers £10 minimum fare
- ScotRail fares to be frozen for the next year
