Fare evasion costs London £190m a year as prosecutions halve

London’s transport network loses £190 million a year to fare evasion, as successful prosecutions for unpaid fares halved since 2020. Transport for London (TfL) reported 14,406 prosecutions last year, down from 29,113 in 2020, while the number of enforcement officers has remained at 500 since 2010.

Evasion rate drops but critics demand action

TfL said the fare evasion rate fell to 3.3% of journeys in the last financial year, down from 3.9% in 2022/23. The network aims to reduce evasion to 1.5% or less by the 2030/31 financial year. Last year, TfL issued 69,000 penalty fares and referred 21,000 individuals for possible prosecution.

Festus Akinbusoye, a Westminster City councillor and former police and crime commissioner, criticised City Hall for rewarding TfL officials with bonuses while evasion persists. He said, as reported by the Waltham Forest Echo, that the £165 million lost to evasion on the Tube and Elizabeth Line could fund 2,000 additional enforcement officers.

Akinbusoye added that enforcement had halved in the last year while evasion doubled. He said, "Taxpayers are subsidising the criminal choices of those who choose not to pay, and people in City Hall are being rewarded for failure."

TfL defends progress and outlines plans

A TfL spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the network had reduced fare evasion by targeting high-prevalence locations and prolific evaders. They said, "We are committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion to 1.5% by 2030/31 financial year and the strategy we now have in place will help us ensure more persistent evaders face justice."

The spokesperson added that TfL’s 500 uniformed officers tackle fare evasion and anti-social behaviour across the network. Last year, TfL reported over 21,000 individuals for possible prosecution, up from previous years.

Calls for higher barriers and AI enforcement

Last year, the City Hall Conservatives proposed a ten-point plan to tackle fare evasion, including taller barriers, AI-enabled ticket gates, and a city-wide awareness campaign. The plan, authored by Conservative assembly member Thomas Turrell, recommended installing barriers at every entrance and replacing current models with taller ones to prevent jumping or crawling through.

Akinbusoye supported the proposal, saying delays caused by taller barriers would be "very, very worth the money we’re going to save from it." He added that fare increases had risen by 5.5% in the last year, while evasion remained unchecked.

What happens next

TfL will continue its enforcement strategy, focusing on high-evasion locations and prolific offenders. The network plans to issue more penalty fares and referrals for prosecution while working toward its 1.5% evasion target by 2030. The City Hall Conservatives’ proposals for taller barriers and AI enforcement remain under discussion.