TfL fare evasion costs £190m as prosecutions halve since 2020
Westminster councillor Festus Akinbusoye says bonuses for senior staff reward failure while enforcement falls
Incident → evidence → outcomeTransport for London lost £190m to fare evasion last year, as prosecutions for unpaid fares fell by half since 2020. Westminster City Councillor Festus Akinbusoye said the figures show senior staff are being rewarded for failure while enforcement declines.
Akinbusoye, a former Police and Crime Commissioner, called on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to redirect bonus payments to hire more enforcement officers. He said the £165m lost on the Tube and Elizabeth Line alone could fund 2,000 additional revenue inspectors.
Prosecutions fall as evasion rises
Figures released by Conservative London Assembly Member Neil Garratt show prosecutions for fare evasion dropped from 29,113 in 2020 to 14,406 last year. The number of enforcement officers on the network has remained at around 500 since 2010, as reported by MyLondon.
Akinbusoye said the decline in prosecutions contrasts with rising evasion. He told MyLondon: "Enforcement has halved in the last year, whereas evasion has doubled. Clearly, something is not right here."
“You cannot be giving a bonus to people who are failing. There is no way that the Commissioner for TfL should be getting any bonus whatsoever at all at a time where fare evasion is rising.”
TfL defends progress
TfL said its fare evasion rate fell from 3.9% in 2022/23 to 3.3% last year. A spokesperson told the London Datastore and Research Service (LDRS) that enforcement teams are targeting high-evasion areas and prolific offenders.
Last year, TfL issued over 69,000 penalty fares and referred 21,000 individuals for prosecution. The spokesperson said the organisation remains committed to reducing evasion to 1.5% by the 2030/31 financial year.
Calls for taller barriers and more officers
Akinbusoye backed proposals from Conservative Assembly Member Thomas Turrell for taller barriers at Tube stations. Turrell’s 10-point plan, published last year, also includes AI-enabled ticket gates and a city-wide awareness campaign.
Akinbusoye said the cost of delays from taller barriers would be outweighed by savings from reduced evasion. He added: "This is about a collapse in the social contract that we have in London, where law-abiding citizens see every day people pushing through the barriers."
What happens next
TfL’s long-term target to cut fare evasion to 1.5% by 2030/31 remains in place. The Mayor’s office has not responded to Akinbusoye’s call to halt fare increases until evasion is reduced.
It is unclear whether TfL will adopt Turrell’s proposals for taller barriers or increase the number of enforcement officers. A decision on fare increases for 2025 is expected later this year.
Questions this report answers
01How much does fare evasion cost TfL each year?
Fare evasion costs Transport for London £190m annually, according to figures reported by MyLondon. This includes unpaid fares on the Tube, buses and DLR, with £165m lost on the Tube and Elizabeth Line alone.
02Why has Festus Akinbusoye criticised TfL’s senior staff?
Akinbusoye says bonuses for senior staff, including the commissioner’s £635,533 pay package, reward failure while fare evasion rises. He argues the money should fund more enforcement officers instead, as reported by MyLondon.
03What is TfL’s target for reducing fare evasion?
TfL aims to reduce fare evasion to 1.5% of all journeys by the 2030/31 financial year. The current rate is 3.3%, down from 3.9% in 2022/23, as stated in its official response to the London Datastore and Research Service.
04How many fare evasion prosecutions were there last year?
Prosecutions for fare evasion fell to 14,406 last year, down from 29,113 in 2020. The figures were released by Conservative London Assembly Member Neil Garratt, as reported by MyLondon.
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