TfL fare-evasion crackdown as prosecutions hit six-year high
The Transport for London (TFL) fare evasion strategy has entered a new phase, with prosecutions for unpaid journeys across London reaching their highest level for six years. Despite a budget of almost £14.2 million on the Tube and £7.7 million on buses in 2023-24, only £1.3 million was recovered in penalty charges, raising concerns about enforcement effectiveness.
City Hall Conservatives claim that the number of prosecutions is increasing, yet say the targets remain out of reach. “Every Londoner has watched someone push through the barriers or jump over them to avoid paying the fare, knowing full well that they will be picking up the cost of the offender’s non-payment in the form of eye-watching fare rises,” said Thomas Turrell, the Conservative transport spokesman.
TfL responded that fare evasion is a criminal offence and has renewed its efforts. “That is why we are strengthening our efforts to detect and deter fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators, focusing our enforcement teams on locations with a high prevalence of people pushing through gates and using the latest technology to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network,” the body said in a statement.
Where the figures stand
- A Freedom of Information response shows that in 2023-24 the fare evasion rate across all TfL services was estimated at 3.9 per cent, equivalent to a revenue loss of more than £130 million.
- TfL has set a target to reduce fare evasion to below 1.5 per cent by 2030.
- Critics argue the goal is unrealistic unless enforcement is scaled up significantly.
Enforcement and technology
TfL says that around 450 revenue inspectors operate across the network day and night, and technological investment is being made in barrier monitoring, gate sensors and automated analytics. The penalty fare on all TfL services was increased from £80 to £100 in 2024.
Political tension
The challenge of fare evasion has become a political battleground. At a recent Assembly meeting, Turrell accused the Mayor of London of “paying lip-service to the problem in spite of the concern Londoners have when using the Tube”. Meanwhile Elly Baker, chair of the Transport Committee on the London Assembly, dismissed such accusations as “political grandstanding” and pointed to the cross-party report emphasising better staffing and practical solutions.
What next?
TfL will expand its professional investigations unit, deploy enhanced technology and concentrate efforts on high-evasion stations. It also aims to ensure that penalties are enforced and repeated offenders face serious consequences. For Londoners, the key question is whether these measures will translate into fewer unpaid rides and fewer cost burdens falling on paying passengers.
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