![PERTIS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/PERTIS.png)
In the
ticket
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...
ing system of the
British rail network, a Permit to Travel provisionally allows passengers to travel on a
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
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
A penalty fare, standard fare, or fixed penalty notice is a special, usually higher, fare charged because a passenger using public transport did not comply with the normal ticket purchasing rules. It should not be confused with an unpaid fares n ...
.
Because some rail passengers may travel without having their tickets checked at any point of their journey, particularly at off-peak times when stations are less likely to be staffed, the obligation to possess a Permit to Travel allows the collection of at least some revenue from passengers who would otherwise travel for free. Most train operating companies (TOCs) have altered their penalty fare policies and have removed many ''permit to travel'' machines. PERTIS machines at larger stations have also in recent years given way to more sophisticated self-service ticket machines.
History
The system, known officially as PERTIS (Permit to Travel Issuing System ), was first introduced by
Network SouthEast
Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the netwo ...
in November 1988 on the
LTS route between
London Fenchurch Street and
Shoeburyness
Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when it ...
. The machines, which closely resemble those found in
pay and display
A pay and display machine is a type of ticket machine used for regulating parking in urban areas or in car parks. It relies on a customer purchasing a ticket from a machine and displaying the ticket on the dashboard, windscreen or passenger win ...
car park
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...
s, were manufactured by Almex Control 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 fare schemes spread across Network SouthEast in subsequent years, with AS-88 machines being used exclusively. Railway stations in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
passenger transport executive
In the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives (PTEs) are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas. They are accountable to combined authorities, which were created between 2011 and 2016 ...
areas subsequently had schemes put in place, and machines were installed accordingly.
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
A fare is the fee paid by a passenger for use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used. Fare structure is the system set up to determine how much is to be paid by various pa ...
tickets and must be exchanged for one at the first opportunity. The record of the station of issue means that passengers who travel using it cannot claim that they 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 valid for only two hours from the time shown on them.
If holders of a ''permit to travel'' are 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.
Because any amount of money on a valid ''permit to travel'' will ensure that a passenger cannot be charged a penalty fare, it is entirely possible (if the passenger is not encountered by an inspector, who will sell a full ticket) to make a two-hour train journey for as little as five
pence
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
(the lowest denomination coin the machine will accept) without breaching any fare regulations.
When a station is staffed and its ticket office open, the machine will usually be deactivated, with 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". Only the latter have the authority to issue penalty fares where a ticket or permit is not held.
Other countries
A similar ticket is known in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
as Fahrkarte Anfangsstrecke. It can be acquired at older
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the se ...
ticket machines and is priced at €15.00.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Permit To Travel
Fare collection systems in the United Kingdom
de:Fahrkarte#Fahrkartenarten