As a direct result of passenger and driver feedback, National Express has introduced a dedicated Coventry ticket inspector team so that revenue staff can be based permanently on the city’s bus network.

In January, two National Express inspectors started out on routes across the city to help combat fare evasion and anti-social behaviour on the bus network.

So far this year, the duo has boarded nearly 4,000 buses and checked over 70,500 tickets.

National Express Inspector Ajay said:

“It’s been great getting to know our National Express Coventry routes and customers.

“It can be a tough job when we come across the small minority of customers that chose not to pay their way but the honest-fare paying passengers do seem to appreciate that we are working alongside them and our drivers to tackle fare evasion and anti-social behaviour.”

Tom Stables, National Express Managing Director, said:

“Ensuring that everyone buys a valid ticket is really important - it means we can continue to keep our fares as low as we can.

“We created this dedicated team in response to requests from both our passengers and our drivers. They give us greater coverage on our bus network to fight fare evasion and anti-social behaviour.

“Our Coventry inspectors are getting to know their patch really well, so they have the local knowledge to target prolific fare dodgers and fraud hot spots.

“We’ve also invested in the technology, staff and police assistance to back up our teams of inspectors as they do their job on the frontline.”

National Express Coventry and Safer Travel recently put joint partnership working into action when the inspectors were joined by Safer Travel Police, with whom they’re working closely to tackle fraudulent travel and anti-social behaviour on the bus network. More dates for joint partnership working are being planned in the near future.

The ticket inspectors work in pairs - one inspector for upstairs, one for downstairs, to ensure the ticket checks are carried out as quickly as possible. Unless there are discrepancies, most inspections take less than two minutes.

Once on board the bus, inspectors check tickets and passes visually, and Swift cards electronically. Passengers that have paid using contactless are asked for the last four digits of their card number or the last four digits of the Apple or Android device card number they paid with, which is then checked against a list printed from the bus that is being checked.

If incorrect travel is detected, the passenger will be requested to get off the bus so any details discussed remain confidential. Where appropriate, National Express Coventry provides onward travel on the next available service.

For incorrect travel inspectors issue a Standard Fare Charge notice with information about payment contact details, extracts from the National Express Coventry conditions of carriage and the nature of the offence.

The Standard Fare charge is £40 if paid within 21 days and passengers have the option to pay at the time of issue by cash or card. It can also be paid after the event by cash, card, cheque or postal order to the National Express office or in a Travelshop. After 21 days, the charge will increase to £70.

Those using expired Travelcards are subject to an additional levy from the date of expiry to the date of detection, as per the terms of use of the Travelcard scheme.