"Tim Roll-Pickering" wrote:
Permit To Travel machines predate the widespread use of automatic ticket
barriers. In the old days it was frequently possible to travel between two
stations and not encounter any ticket inspection whatsoever at any point in
the journey, especially if you travelled off-peak and/or didn't start/finish
at one of the biggest stations. It was thus very easy to get a PTT for just
5p and if you did come across an inspector you could claim that the ticket
machines at the start of your journey weren't giving change or taking notes
(something an inspector on the train or at another station could not verify)
and produce a £5 (or higher) note and pay your fare.


While doing this, you would have to be careful not to jangle the other
coins in your pocket. That would give the lie to your claim of having
only 5p.

The problem with the Permit to Travel machines is that they were based
on trust. If it was ever safe to trust people with this kind of
system (some would say that in the 1950s and 60s, it was) it certainly
isn't now.