Inspectors make money fining passengers on Rye line

Southern, which operates trains on the line. Pays five percent commission for each 20 penalty fare that is paid on the spot.

The practice has raised eye-brows among rail users but Southern say the practice is was approved by the Government.

Rye parliamentary candidate Amber Rudd has reservations about the policy. She said: "We need to be caregul it does not encourage aggressive behaviour from the collectors, but we also neeed to ensure passengers pay for tickets.

"Too many not paying will mean that other law-abiding citizens will be subsidising them."

A spokesman for Southern said; "Our revenue protection officers do earn five percent commission on monies paid to them at the time a penalty fare is issued.

"Howver, this is not an incentive as any outstanding monies paid on the penalty fare at a later date are not subject to commission.

"This means that if a passenger pays the part of the penalty fare on the train or at the station revenue officers will get no more commission on that penalty fare.

"Some passengers choose not to spend a penny on the train and simply sign for the penalty fare notice and take their chances on appeal.

"In these cases revenue officers do not receive any commission.

"The commission is approved by the Department for Transport and is part of our penalty fares policy."

he said around 6,600 penalty fares per month had been issued across the Southern network in the last six months.

Of those around 11 percent of recipients appealed, of which almost 80 percent had their appeal rejected by the Independent Penalty Fares Appeal Service.