Sheffield Supertram fare row: Pregnant care worker ordered off tram after payment machine fails over £2 fare

As the 28-year-old, who is six months pregnant, got onto the tram from her job in Gleadless, her thoughts were just on getting home to Hackenthorpe.

But she was left shocked and upset when problems over taking her £2 fare payment ended with her being ordered off the tram, and left to take a 30 minute walk alone in heavy rain yesterday morning.

Faye, a support worker for people with spinal injuries, who worked all through lockdown, tried to pay her tram fare using her mobile phone. She said she knew she had the funds in her account to make the payment, but it would not register.

When the tram reached Gleadless Town End, she was ordered off at 7.10am in the morning, finally arriving home, soaked, at 7.40am.

Faye today told how upset she was about the way she had been treated, and called for lessons to be learned by the tram operator so that no one else had to go through the same experience.

She said: “I have well over sufficient funds in my account to pay a tram fare.

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“The machine didn’t work. The conductor asked if I had any other way of paying, so I looked in my bag for my purse, but I’d not fetched it with me. I said no, so I asked him to try again. It still didn’t work. It didn’t give any ‘declined’ sign, it just wouldn’t go through.

“He could clearly see I was pregnant and it was raining.

“I asked for an ‘owing note’ and he wouldn't give me one. Previous conductors have done this for me as the machines they use are just not reliable. They say the preferred payment option is contactless, google-apple pay which is what I use, yet on this occasion they have decided to kick me off to walk home in the rain after a 12 hour night shift, and I'm six months pregnant.

“I’m a grown up, this was a £2 tram fare. I have the money to pay it and was willing to pay it.

“I felt distraught, and disgusted. I cried on my way home from the tram stop.

“What would have happened if it had been a young child on their way to school, or a pensioner with mobility problems?”

Stagecoach Supertram apologises after passenger ordered off in rain

After The Star contacted tram operator Stagecoach, they apologised.

The company said in a statement: “We are sorry to hear of the issues experienced by Ms Baldwin.

“We have a very clear policy, in circumstances where payment is not processed by a ticket machine, to ensure the safety of customers who may be young or potentially vulnerable by allowing them to travel.

“We provide extensive training to our employees on customer service, including situations such as the one experienced by Ms Baldwin which involve problems with payment. We are also talking directly to Ms Baldwin on this issue.

“We are investigating the specific circumstances involved in this case and would like to apologise to Ms Baldwin for any inconvenience she experienced."

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