Permit to travel
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[edit] Introduction
In the ticketing system of the British rail network, a Permit to Travel provisionally allows a passenger to travel on a train when they have not purchased a ticket in advance and the ticket office of the station they are travelling from is closed, without incurring a penalty fare.
Since a large proportion of rail passengers travel without having their tickets checked at any point of their journey—particularly at off-peak times when stations are more likely to be unmanned—the obligation to possess a Permit to Travel allows the collection of at least some revenue from passengers who would otherwise travel for free.
[edit] History
The system, known officially as PERTIS (Permit to Travel Issuing System), was first introduced by Network SouthEast in November 1988 on the LTS route between London Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness. The machines, which closely resemble those found in pay and display car parks, were manufactured by Almex Information Systems. Machines were given the designation AS-9 (wall-mounted) or AS-88 (mounted on a metal base), but internal workings and tickets were identical in each case.
Penalty Fares schemes spread across Network SouthEast in subsequent years, with AS-88 machines being used exclusively; railway stations in the West Midlands and West Yorkshire PTE areas subsequently had schemes put in place, and machines were installed accordingly.
[edit] Use and Operation
The front panel of the machine has two LCD displays; one shows the current time, while the other displays the amount paid when coins have been fed in. A button is pressed to print the Permit, which shows a serial number, the station name, the date and time. The passenger is supposed to insert coins as near to the value of the fare as possible (if they know the fare and have enough coins), and some machines have a list of common local single and return fares.
Permits to travel bear the warning that they are not fare tickets and must be exchanged for one at the first opportunity. The record of the station of issue means that a passenger travelling on a Permit cannot claim that they have only just boarded the train (allowing them to travel on a cheaper fare) if they are not reached by a ticket inspector until a few stops after boarding. Permits to travel are in any case only valid for two hours from the time shown on them.
If the holder of a Permit to Travel is asked to present their ticket by an inspector, they will be asked where they are travelling to and issued with the appropriate ticket, and will be charged the difference between the balance already paid, as stated on the Permit, and the full cost of the ticket for their journey. If they have already paid the full price of the ticket it will be exchanged for the Permit and no money will change hands.
When a station is manned and its ticket office open the machine will usually be deactivated, and a light illuminated to indicate that proper tickets should be purchased.
Within Train Operating Companies, a distinction is made between ticket inspectors and "Revenue Protection Inspectors" or "Authorised Penalty Fare Officers", whereby only the latter have the authority to issue penalty fares where a ticket or Permit is not held. Many Train Operating Companies (for example Southern) have altered their penalty fare policies and have removed many Permit to Travel machines; while others, such as Southeastern and Chiltern Railways, have installed more machines recently. PERTIS machines at larger stations have also in recent years given way to more sophisticated self-service ticket machines, but displaced machines have then been placed at smaller stations not previously so equipped. Thus HAM STREET (Kent, Southern TOC) has in Nov 2008 acquired 2 such displaced machines, one on each platform, and from 14/12/08 became a Penalty Fares Station.
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