London’s fare-dodging crisis is spiralling, and the Mayor is still pretending it isn’t happening

The purpose of my visit was to discuss fare evasion, ahead of the launch of my report examining the £190 million criminal practice, retreading the steps of the viral video this last Summer that laid bare to Britain what we in London have known for years: that the Mayor, and TfL, simply do not have a grip on fare dodging.

I’m ashamed to say that even despite assurances from the Mayor; despite TfL making performative crackdowns after Jenrick’s viral video; and despite promises that the issue would be dealt with, I still saw fare evasion happening before my very eyes.

Fare evasion occurs on roughly 3.4% of the more than three billion journeys made on the London Underground each year, TfL estimates.

Those 100 million or so journeys account for around £190 million worth of lost revenue that we, the fare payers, have to pick up the bill for.

When Sadiq Khan imposes another round of eye-watering fare rises - 4.6% this year, and god knows by how much next year - remember when you tap your card that that only has to happen because the person besides you has barged through the barriers and alighted without paying a penny for the service.

At the London Assembly, where I am proud and privileged to represent Bexley and Bromley as their Conservative Assembly Member, we hear repeatedly from that the matter is in hand.

That they’re doing something. That TfL’s 2030 target - to reduce the incidence of fare evasion to 1.5% - will be met. But I know - and Londoners know too - that this is just windowdressing.

That’s why I’m taken matters into my own hands and decided to do the work for the Mayor. My report, “Fare Evasion: Mind the Gap” examines not only the scale of the problem, but also sets out ten things the Mayor of London can do to confront this problem head on.

For example - the current ticket barriers are easy to shove through, climb under, or scale over. Many stations don’t even have barriers, and some that do just keep them open all day.

This all contributes to giving fare evaders an easy way into the network in the first place - so easy in fact that some of them even document their crimes on platforms like TikTok to show off how easy it is.

Installing new barriers - that are taller, that go all the way to the floor, and that use “flap” gates, rather than the current “swing” ones - would go a long way to stopping offenders gaining entry.

Installing barriers at stations that don’t currently have them - like on the DLR - would go one step further in preventing fare dodgers getting into the network.

If it seems like such a simple solution, it’s because it is - and yet the Mayor and TfL still don’t do this - at a cost, resultantly, to those of us who do pay our way.

This is before we consider changes to staffing - such as creating specific roles to confront fare evasion in stations, providing training and support to staff to do so - and TfL governance to force the company to consider best practice in tackling fare evasion.

There is so much that we can do to stop fare evasion, but the Mayor needs to start listening. Londoners are becoming more fed up - I know I certainly am - with platitudes and inaction on this antisocial behaviour.

We deserve a fair transport system where everyone pays their way, and I know that’s possible with just a bit of political courage.

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Thomas Turrell AM is the Conservative Deputy Chairman of the Transport Committee in the London Assembly.

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