TfL fare rises in March are offset by revenue lost to fare evasion

The network raised fares across bus and tube journeys in March to raise an estimated £168 million to maintain and improve services (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images) Transport for London has been accused of ‘sheer incompetence’ as ticket rises have been ‘wiped out’ by constant fare dodgers. The network raised fares across bus and tube journeys in March to raise an estimated £168million to maintain and improve services. But the Centre for Government Reform said that fare evasion across the Underground and the Elizabeth line is costing £165 million a year, almost matching the savings. Ameer Kotecha, the chief executive of the Centre for Government Reform, said: ‘Londoners were told the March fare rise was necessary to improve the network. What they weren’t told is that fare evasion is costing TfL almost exactly the same amount the rise was expected to generate across the entire network. ‘Before asking Londoners to dig deeper into their pockets, TfL needs to get serious about enforcement. This is not a funding problem, but sheer incompetence. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page ‘Almost everyone using the Tube will see people pushing through the barriers day in day out. TfL should get tough on fare dodging and stop asking hard-working Londoners to subsidise the lifestyles of criminals.’ In March, a suite of measures was unveiled to stop chronic freeloaders who cost the taxpayer £350 million every year across the UK. Under the new plans, railcard users must complete a ‘simple validation check’ to prove they are entitled to discounted travel. They will have to enter their railcard number online or scan it when buying tickets at a station. A government source said the system would eventually form part of a single Great British Railways app. Fare evasion has become a major problem for Transport for London (Credits: EPA) TfL said: ‘By 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 pan-TfL fare evasion rate has dropped to 3.5%, down from 3.9% in 2022/23. Latest London news Record number of illegal e-bikes seized in Met crackdown on phone thefts I cleared my £30,000 debt by living in a London hostel for a year Two major London stations close for £20,000,000 upgrade works – with no trains stopping To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro's London news hub. ‘This builds on the work of our team of more than 500 uniformed officers already deployed across the network to deal with fare evasion and other anti-social behaviour, keeping staff and customers safe. ‘By increasing enforcement activity to tackle fare evasion, last financial year we issued over 69,000 penalty fares and reported over 21,000 individuals for possible prosecution. ‘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.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

TfL raised fares in March across their bus, Underground and overground networks to maintain and improve services - but the costs of fare evasion are matching the saving