London Regional Transport (Penalty Fares) Act 1992

5 Penalty fares on trains

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, if a person travelling on a train service fails to produce a fare ticket or a general travel authority on being required to do so by an authorised person, he shall be liable to pay a penalty fare if required to do so by an authorised person.

(2) (a) A person (other than one falling within paragraph (b) below) shall not be liable to pay a penalty fare under this section if at the time when and the station where he started to travel on the train service there were no facilities available for the sale of the necessary fare ticket for his journey.

(b) A person who starts to travel on a train service by transferring to that service from a train service provided by a third person shall not be liable to pay a penalty fare under this section if—

(i) on being required to produce a fare ticket or general travel authority he produces a valid deferred fare authority issued by that person; or

(ii) at the time when and the station where he started to travel on the train service provided by that person there were no facilities for either the sale of the necessary fare ticket for his journey or the sale of deferred fare authorities.

(c) Without prejudice to paragraph (a) or (b) above, a person shall not be liable to pay a penalty fare under this section if at the time when and the station where his journey began—

(i) there was displayed a notice (however expressed) indicating that it was permissible for passengers beginning a journey at that station at that time to do so without having a fare ticket or a general travel authority or (in the case of a station controlled by a third person) a deferred fare authority; or

(ii) a person in the uniform of the person controlling that station gave permission to the same effect.

(3) In paragraph (b) of subsection (2) above,“deferred fare authority” means a ticket or other document described as such on its face; and a deferred fare authority is valid for the purposes of that paragraph if it authorises a person in possession of it to start a journey at the time when and the station where the person producing it started his journey.

(4) Subsections (5) and (6) below have effect with respect to the burden of proof in any action for the recovery of a penalty fare under this section, so far as concerns the question whether the facts of the case fall within paragraph (a), (b) (ii) or (c) of subsection (2) above.

(5) In any case where the defendant has provided the plaintiff with a relevant statement in due time it shall be for the plaintiff to show that the facts of the case do not fall within paragraph (a), (b) (ii) or (c) of subsection (2) above and in any other case it shall be for the defendant to show that the facts of the case fall within any of those provisions.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) above—

(a) a relevant statement is a statement giving an explanation of the defendant’s failure to produce a fare ticket, general travel authority or (where relevant) deferred fare authority, together with any information as to his journey relevant to that explanation (including, in every case, an indication of the time when and the station where he started to travel on the train service and also, if he started so to travel when he transferred from a train service provided by a third person, the time when and the station where he started to travel on that service); and

(b) a statement is provided in due time if it is provided when the defendant is required to produce a fare ticket or general travel authority, or at any later time before the expiration of the period of 21 days beginning with the day following the day on which the journey is completed.