Early shift

I get to work at about 5.45am, sign in and check the duty plan. I'm in a team of three working 'mobile' in the city centre for the first half of my duty, and mobile after lunch on the Altrincham line. Initially we get sent to Piccadilly station to do a security check, restart some stopped escalators and to try to restart a failed lift.

During this we get a call from control to help a driver on the arrivals platform who is having trouble getting an intoxicated female passenger off his tram. We immediately recognise the woman – a regular 'problem' fare evader – and when one of my colleagues tries to persuade her to get off the tram, she attempts to assault him and then runs off onto a train going to Stockport.

We inform British Transport Police that she is likely to be a problem for staff and passengers on the train. The rest of the shift up to lunch is relatively incident free: several passengers without tickets are encountered are issued the standard fare of £100. A couple are on their way to Bury market and ask me if they can use their concessionary pass on the tram. I explain to them that they qualify for free travel after 9:30am and they were really happy with that!

Middle shift

Today there is a joint police operation planned between the revenue department and the local divisional police as part of their knife enabled crime and drugs initiative. We are briefed on the operation by our supervisor before we travel down to Stretford station to do the joint 'gateway' check.

All tickets are checked on trams calling through Stretford, while the police help by checking details, preventing fare evaders from leaving the station, and looking for concealed drugs, weapons and outstanding warrants. By the end of the afternoon, more than 60 standard fares have been issued and the police have made several arrests.

Late shift

The start of my shift has moved back to 4.30pm today, as there is a midweek football match at Old Trafford which kicks off at 8pm . I have been allocated Piccadilly pre-match with a group of five other Passenger Service Representatives.

We're making sure that the football supporters and passengers for other destinations have the right tickets for travel. A group of French football fans are visiting for tonight's game and have never used the Metrolink before. I tell them which tram to get to Old Trafford and make sure they have the right tickets.

I love this part of the job; coming into contact with a wide variety of customers and knowing I make a difference to their Metrolink experience.