Madam, – On Thursday last I arrived at Mullingar station on my foldable bike to catch the train to Dublin with a return ticket. An Irish Rail employee asked me for my ticket, which I showed. He then asked for a ticket for the bike. I explained that I had been travelling for years with Irish Rail with my foldable bike, and was therefore familiar with the rules and that there was definitely no charge for bringing a foldable bike. The employee insisted that all bikes are bikes and that I would have to purchase a ticket.
Following a discussion I offered to buy a ticket, if the employee would give me a receipt and his name, so that I could make a complaint and claim a refund afterwards. The employee got angry and asked why I should want to ask his name and whether I would ask the name of a shop assistant in Tesco? The discussion continued and the employee eventually left, saying he would return.
He did, five minutes later, simply saying that I could take the bike. Nothing more was said. No apology was offered.
Do passengers have to assume that any person in an Irish Rail high-visibility jacket is an Irish Rail employee? Or do they have the right to ask for an employee’s name and position?
Finally, while buying my paper this morning in my local Tesco I noticed that all employees had a clearly displayed badge with their name and position. Is this too much to ask for? – Yours, etc,