Penalty fares for passengers using Nottingham’s tram network without a ticket could be increased to £120.
An Artificial Intelligence feature is also being trialled in a bid to tackle antisocial behaviour.
It all comes as more effort is being put into making the NET network safer and more financially sustainable.
Penalty fares for people found riding the tram without a ticket are £70, but permission is being sought by the operator from the Government to increase the amount to £120.
This would be discounted to £60 if paid within 14 days.
During a meeting to discuss the network on Tuesday (January 13), Tim Hesketh, the Chief Executive Officer of Tramlink, said: “Currently, the penalty fare is a single price of £70, and if you go beyond the second appeal there is a £25 admin charge.
“Currently, there is no real incentive for people to just pay. It is very easy for people to kick the can down the road.
“So, in line with the changes to national rail penalty fare schemes, we are asking the Secretary of State if we can increase penalty fares to £120, but discount them to £60 if paid within 14 days.
“£70 is not hugely dissimilar to a monthly season ticket cost for an adult, and we’ve always been wary that somebody may say they will risk getting caught once per month because they are never going to be paying more than a monthly season ticket anyway. So, we think this is actually going to make it easier for us.
“If, in a year, we decide it hasn’t been any better, we will look at changing it again.”
Mr Hesketh also revealed a new AI tool will be trialled in a bid to clamp down on antisocial behaviour on the network.
During the meeting, he showed footage of the AI tool being used to detect a group of young people picking up ballast from the tracks, before using the small rocks to smash a shelter at Cinderhill tram stop.
He said there are almost 300 CCTV cameras across the network, but only 30 are visible at any one time to staff working in the control room.
The AI tool can flag up specific incidents to control room staff, or the dedicated police officer who has just been placed in the control room as part of a new operation, Operation SafeNET, to respond to and deal with them more quickly.
“The other thing we are due to start trialling soon is the use of AI to monitor our CCTV,” Mr Hesketh added.
“We are working with a research company to train an AI to look for and monitor antisocial behaviour, and other key elements around the network.”
