Daisy Mumba, 32, was convicted in court for boarding a train without a valid ticket and fined £600, even though she had purchased a ticket and paid £70 for it on Trainline
A woman has said she was forced to sit on the floor of a train while seven months pregnant as she was unable to get to the seat she had booked due to the number of people onboard.
Daisy Mumba, 32, began her journey in Slough, Berkshire, before changing to a CrossCountry train in Sheffield. But the pregnant woman, who was returning home from a wedding last August, had to constantly get up and down to let other passengers past while travelling from Reading to Sheffield.
The teacher had paid £70 for her ticket on the Trainline app but said an inspector deemed it invalid as she had not printed it before boarding. The passenger claimed she was told to go to the ticket office in Sheffield to print out the ticket upon her arrival. She said she did it and thought the issue was resolved, but once back home, she received a court notification for boarding a train without a valid ticket.
Ms Mumba said she responded by filling out the paperwork, attaching a photo of the physical ticket, a screenshot of the online ticket on the Trainline app and a screenshot of the purchase on her HSBC bank statement. She pled not guilty, however the letter with the evidence never reached the court and the woman was found guilty in her absence.
She was convicted and fined £600, the teacher told The Observer. The ticket Ms Mumba had bought required her to physically print it out before boarding the train and show that to the ticket inspector. While CrossCountry’s website states that “for most of our journeys, there’s absolutely no need for paper tickets,” this was not the case on the train Ms Mumba boarded.
Trainline says some tickets don’t need to be printed, such as e-tickets and tap-in/tap-out tickets, but on that particular service, e-tickets were not available. The private sector ticket operator said the passenger was told she needed to collect a physical ticket and that e-tickets were not available on that journey.
CrossCountry said in a statement shared with The Observer: “We’re sorry that Ms Mumba’s journey between Reading and Sheffield was affected by overcrowding. However, no matter how busy a service might be, it remains a legal requirement for passengers to possess a valid ticket prior to boarding rail services.
“This ensures full and correct revenue collection and helps to tackle fraud by preventing the refund of an unscanned ticket, which is a significant issue for train operators.” The newspaper reported that after its intervention, CrossCountry said it would tell the court at the next hearing that the issue can be dismissed, which should overturn Ms Mumba’s conviction and fine.
The company said: “Though we’re now working with our prosecutors to withdraw Ms Mumba’s case, her story highlights how important it is for those in similar situations to engage with prosecutors to prevent the significant personal stress of a court summons, and to avoid wasting the limited time of the courts. We’d ask anyone travelling by train to double-check their tickets – including the journey details, ticket type and ticket format – before travelling to avoid such a challenging set of circumstances.”
The passenger has spoken of her frustration following the incident and said she feared this could somehow affect her future employment as a teacher. She could have also risked being jailed if she had not paid the fine. “I am not a criminal, nor am I in the wrong, as I have all the evidence to support the purchase of the ticket. I am also terrified of the prospect of having a criminal record, as I am a teacher and will struggle to work with a criminal record,” she said.
Speaking to Mail Online, Ben Plowden, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “This case highlights just how confusing and complicated the current ticketing system is and the excessive number of rules and regulations governing ticket sales and validity. The Government’s rail reforms need to ensure that traveling by train is simpler and fairer, with clearer ticketing options to help improve the experience of passengers like Daisy and encourage more people to use the trains.”
The Mirror has contacted Trainline and CrossCountry for further comment.
