TfL issues 69,000 penalty fares as fare evasion crackdown intensifies

Mattplans · 13 Jun 2026

The DLR also publishes revenue protection stats at stations which are even linked to by a dynamic qr code on display on notice boards.

I can’t say I get out much on the DLR network any more, but when I did in the latter months of 2025 I did get the impression that the new operator had ramped up revenue protection.

RailUK Forums

boiledbeans2 · 16 Jun 2026

Hadders said:
Overall TfL Fare evasion is 3.5% but the breakdown is interesting:

Trams 7.3%
Tube 5.0%
DLR 4.0%
Buses 2.6%
[...]

Lol.

On buses, the "customer" just walks past the driver, ignoring the driver. Or board from the rear door. I see this on a daily basis.

gembercannelle · 16 Jun 2026

Wolfie said:
I can only apply my own experience but ticket checks, particularly on the DLR, seem to be becoming much more common as do station blockades. However numbers of fare evaders continue to just push through barrier lines.

Edited to add: many more ticket checks on LNWR/WMR too.

In addition to more frequent ticket checks on LNWR/WMR, they seem to be processing every delay repay claim manually now. I feel somewhat uncomfortable claiming small amounts under 5GBP now, because I know this would involve a human being either correcting "ticket duration" issue or "non-existent fare" problem due to tickets bought with two together railcard. And in order to get attention from the human being, I will need to send an email to the customer service.

speedy1 · 16 Jun 2026

boiledbeans2 said:
Lol.

On buses, the "customer" just walks past the driver, ignoring the driver. Or board from the rear door. I see this on a daily basis.

Same at Romford - staff see them coming and take out their phones for a distraction and I guess to claim they don't see it? They just push through the barriers. (Or tailgate, which actively dissuades elderly people including my parents from using public transport)

Mawkie · 16 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
Same at Romford - staff see them coming and take out their phones for a distraction and I guess to claim they don't see it? They just push through the barriers. (Or tailgate, which actively dissuades elderly people including my parents from using public transport)

For the umpteenth time, but I suspect not the last time, Station staff are specifically instructed NOT to engage with fare evaders. They don't need to claim the didn't see anything. They are doing exactly what is demanded of them by the company - ignoring the evader.

Incidentally, CSAs on London Underground have an app on their iPads which allows them to register basic information about evasion, which records times, locations, basic descriptions. This is collated centrally and used to identify fare evasion hotspots. So it's not always the case that 'looking at a phone' means they are looking for a distraction, it could mean they are actually reporting the incident! I'm sure national rail station staff would have a similar electronic method of reporting evasion.

After the fatal assault of Jorge Ortega just down the road at Ilford, I don't blame station staff for being hesitant in engaging either.

speedy1 · 16 Jun 2026

Mawkie said:
For the umpteenth time, but I suspect not the last time, Station staff are specifically instructed NOT to engage with fare evaders. They don't need to claim the didn't see anything. They are doing exactly what is demanded of them by the company - ignoring the evader.

Incidentally, CSAs on London Underground have an app on their iPads which allows them to register basic information about evasion, which records times, locations, basic descriptions. This is collated centrally and used to identify fare evasion hotspots. So it's not always the case that 'looking at a phone' means they are looking for a distraction, it could mean they are actually reporting the incident! I'm sure national rail station staff would have a similar electronic method of reporting evasion.

After the fatal assault of Jorge Ortega just down the road at Ilford, I don't blame station staff for being hesitant in engaging either.

Fair points. But the fare payers care about optics too and visibly fare evasion is getting worse. Your frustration is easily matched by ours. Frequent excuses aren't good enough

Edit: to use your phrase: for the upteenth time, but I suspect not the last time: we need methods that work

Haywain · 16 Jun 2026

gembercannelle said:
In addition to more frequent ticket checks on LNWR/WMR, they seem to be processing every delay repay claim manually now. I feel somewhat uncomfortable claiming small amounts under 5GBP now, because I know this would involve a human being either correcting "ticket duration" issue or "non-existent fare" problem due to tickets bought with two together railcard. And in order to get attention from the human being, I will need to send an email to the customer service.

Why would you be worried about claiming Delay Repay if your claim is genuine and the ticket is valid?

Wolfie · 16 Jun 2026

gembercannelle said:
In addition to more frequent ticket checks on LNWR/WMR, they seem to be processing every delay repay claim manually now. I feel somewhat uncomfortable claiming small amounts under 5GBP now, because I know this would involve a human being either correcting "ticket duration" issue or "non-existent fare" problem due to tickets bought with two together railcard. And in order to get attention from the human being, I will need to send an email to the customer service.

Funny that you say that but l've just had an email about a Delay Repay claim stating that they can't see any delay....

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Jun 2026 ==

Haywain said:
Why would you be worried about claiming Delay Repay if your claim is genuine and the ticket is valid?

Worried? Nope. The fact that WMR seem to be making it as difficult as possible - cynically, to dissuade people from claiming - hell yes.

Haywain · 16 Jun 2026

Wolfie said:
Worried? Nope. The fact that WMR seem to be making it as difficult as possible - cynically, to dissuade people from claiming - hell yes.

You're answering for someone else?

AlterEgo · 16 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
Fair points. But the fare payers care about optics too and visibly fare evasion is getting worse. Your frustration is easily matched by ours. Frequent excuses aren't good enough

Edit: to use your phrase: for the upteenth time, but I suspect not the last time: we need methods that work

It's a fair point. There is a difference between crime committed openly (tailgating, leaping barriers etc) and that which is more silent, like Freedom Pass abuse.

FWIW I think TfL do a good job with the pass abuse. They prosecute nearly everyone, and so they should. It's flagrant dishonesty.

On the other hand, the job is more difficult with the gate jumpers. Britain will eventually get to a point where the general public will accept security staff using more physical methods to prevent this, because the perception of unfairness is what is eating away at the already torn social contract in this country.

Wolfie · 16 Jun 2026

Haywain said:
You're answering for someone else?

Nope, quoting my personal experience. They seem.tp challenge every single claim.

gembercannelle · 17 Jun 2026

Haywain said:
Why would you be worried about claiming Delay Repay if your claim is genuine and the ticket is valid?

I never said I am worried, only that it makes me feel uncomfortable. This is because the amount concerned is small enough and makes it to feel like I am creating a lot of hassle for no good reason. Perhaps I should request it to be donated to a charity, but as far as I am aware I cannot select the charity myself :frown:

On the other hand, as TfL can take one to court for a similarly small amount, perhaps this is justified. So I am a bit torned.

speedy1 · 17 Jun 2026

AlterEgo said:
On the other hand, the job is more difficult with the gate jumpers. Britain will eventually get to a point where the general public will accept security staff using more physical methods to prevent this, because the perception of unfairness is what is eating away at the already torn social contract in this country.

Well put, that's what I was getting at.

However I think most would already accept extra physical security and probably have felt that way for some time

Another example: I think there was some kind of sporting event meant that a lot of sports fans from a nearby country were in Romford and the amount of "gift of the gabbing" through the barriers was crazy. Staff were so soft. Being chatted up as they pushed through lol. Honestly they could have just opened the barriers it wouldn't have made much difference. They even swiped through a few when they believed their stories about being penniless. Many then went into Asda and hocked a load of stuff

island · 17 Jun 2026

WesternLancer said:
so 67% convicted of those reported for prosecution

so of those 33% not convicted, what would that include?

- on investigation of the report found no offence committed
- decided to give a warning rather than prosecute
- name and or address details could not be accurately verified and as such it was decided not to go forward with prosecution
- people reported gave the names of other real people (not a made up name) and that person then convinced TfL that it was not them, so no prosecution went ahead
- got to court and magistrates decided the person was not guilty

would that list be correct?
any other reasons I've not thought of?

- Process gets strung out long enough to foul the 6 month limit
- on investigation of the report an evidential defect is found
- Case goes to SJP and the SJPN gets returned undelivered due to false details
- Ditto except the SJPN gets a response which convinces TfL that the offender gave false details
- Case goes to court and is dropped on the day
- Case goes to court, defendant is prepared to plead guilty, and the legal adviser or a magistrate picks a hole in it and it gets binned
- defendant ends up in custody for other matters and TfL bin the case as not in public interest (because on conviction the defendant would be fined and would inevitably ask for the fine to be lodged against their jail time or written off on account of no means to pay)
- the person gets convicted in absence and when the bailiffs catch up with them to collect the fine or it gets attached to their earnings, they make a statutory declaration or section 142 application and TfL drop the case

AlterEgo said:
Magistrates' courts convict nonexistent people all the time under SJP, with rail offences surely one of the most common (others, like driving offences or TV licence offences involve a registered vehicle or address visited - not just stopping some random person in public and hoping they give the right details).

Indeed.

WesternLancer · 17 Jun 2026

island said:
- Process gets strung out long enough to foul the 6 month limit
- on investigation of the report an evidential defect is found
- Case goes to SJP and the SJPN gets returned undelivered due to false details
- Ditto except the SJPN gets a response which convinces TfL that the offender gave false details
- Case goes to court and is dropped on the day
- Case goes to court, defendant is prepared to plead guilty, and the legal adviser or a magistrate picks a hole in it and it gets binned
- defendant ends up in custody for other matters and TfL bin the case as not in public interest (because on conviction the defendant would be fined and would inevitably ask for the fine to be lodged against their jail time or written off on account of no means to pay)
- the person gets convicted in absence and when the bailiffs catch up with them to collect the fine or it gets attached to their earnings, they make a statutory declaration or section 142 application and TfL drop the case

Indeed.

Thank you!

saismee · 17 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
They even swiped through a few when they believed their stories about being penniless. Many then went into Asda and hocked a load of stuff

They don't necessarily believe the story, they just can't do anything else. Saying they can't be let through is going to create conflict that the companies don't want.

speedy1 · 17 Jun 2026

saismee said:
They don't necessarily believe the story, they just can't do anything else. Saying they can't be let through is going to create conflict that the companies don't want.

What I got from this comment is: "ahah! You can't prove they believed it, and this is the only important part of your post, and if I disprove that, I therefore teardown the entire comment".

Regarding your second sentence, let's just leave barriers open 24/7 then? That will avoid all conflict.

It's ridiculous, weak and pathetic for TfL and other operators to be bullied. Probably easier prosecutions for pass misuse etc will increase in an attempt to compensate for the free travel they hand out to chancers and barrier-shovers.

saismee · 17 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
What I got from this comment is: "ahah! You can't prove they believed it, and this is the only important part of your post, and if I disprove that, I therefore teardown the entire comment".

Regarding your second sentence, let's just leave barriers open 24/7 then? That will avoid all conflict.

It's ridiculous, weak and pathetic for TfL and other operators to be bullied. Probably easier prosecutions for pass misuse etc will increase in an attempt to compensate for the free travel they hand out to chancers and barrier-shovers.

I don't understand the hostility here, I only commented on the part that I had something to say to. Nobody who works at a gateline believes any of the stories they hear unless it's a regular traveller who they have seen with a ticket many times.

I agree that more security should be stationed at gatelines, but they still can't prevent people from leaving without a ticket, they aren't allowed to AIUI.

Leaving barriers open 24/7 will stop a lot of normally honest people from paying. I imagine you'd see a spike in "oh I forgot to tap!!!"

gembercannelle · 17 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
What I got from this comment is: "ahah! You can't prove they believed it, and this is the only important part of your post, and if I disprove that, I therefore teardown the entire comment".

Regarding your second sentence, let's just leave barriers open 24/7 then? That will avoid all conflict.

It's ridiculous, weak and pathetic for TfL and other operators to be bullied. Probably easier prosecutions for pass misuse etc will increase in an attempt to compensate for the free travel they hand out to chancers and barrier-shovers.

I will play a devil's advocate here. Is there another country in Europe where for travelling without a valid ticket you can get a criminal record rather than a fine of £(ticket cost)*100 or less?

Haywain · 17 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
It's ridiculous, weak and pathetic for TfL and other operators to be bullied.

Is it "ridiculous, weak and pathetic" for barrier staff to not want to be abused and assaulted in the course of doing their job?

Wolfie · 17 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
What I got from this comment is: "ahah! You can't prove they believed it, and this is the only important part of your post, and if I disprove that, I therefore teardown the entire comment".

Regarding your second sentence, let's just leave barriers open 24/7 then? That will avoid all conflict.

It's ridiculous, weak and pathetic for TfL and other operators to be bullied. Probably easier prosecutions for pass misuse etc will increase in an attempt to compensate for the free travel they hand out to chancers and barrier-shovers.

The level of TfL staff intervention noticeably declined after a station worker on the Lizzie was literally murdered for challenging someone. Strange, that.

JamesT · 17 Jun 2026

gembercannelle said:
I will play a devil's advocate here. Is there another country in Europe where for travelling without a valid ticket you can get a criminal record rather than a fine of £(ticket cost)*100 or less?

Germany. In that they're considering downgrading it from criminal to civil:

Germany: Fare evasion is a crime that can send you to prison

In Germany, riding without a ticket on public transportation can land you in jail. The justice minister would like to change this, but her conservative coalition partners are skeptical.

www.dw.com

Does everyone who boards a public bus or train in Germany even know that riding without a ticket is a criminal offense that usually results in a €60 ($70) fine? Or that people who don't pay the fine might end up in jail?

The somewhat unwieldy German word for this harsh penalty is "Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe" — literally "substitute prison sentence" — and can be as long as one year. In recent years, somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 people have served time in prison for fare evasion in Germany.

speedy1 · 17 Jun 2026

Wolfie said:
The level of TfL staff intervention noticeably declined after a station worker on the Lizzie was literally murdered for challenging someone. Strange, that.

I only learnt about that today. That is of course horrific.

Let's leave the barriers open and get rid of all staff. That is the safest thing to do. London is done.

Kenny G · 17 Jun 2026

Worth noting there are few barriers on the DLR and the level of evasion isn't significantly higher.

SECR 65 · 17 Jun 2026

Kenny G said:
Worth noting there are few barriers on the DLR and the level of evasion isn't significantly higher.

I think it must be that there are a high number of revenue checks / blocks on there, so people know they can't get away with it.

AlterEgo · 17 Jun 2026

Kenny G said:
Worth noting there are few barriers on the DLR and the level of evasion isn't significantly higher.

The methodology of the survey will be very important. How are they detecting people who haven't paid their fare on the DLR?

Sonic1234 · 17 Jun 2026

speedy1 said:
Probably easier prosecutions for pass misuse etc will increase in an attempt to compensate for the free travel they hand out to chancers and barrier-shovers.

Exactly. The polite, meek traveller who let their railcard expire by a few days and truly believes they did nothing wrong is the target.

The incentive is to be difficult, be aggressive and/or be sneaky. That being said, few people can actually do it and that's how the system works - the middle class student or commuter is most likely unable to become an imposing thug who tells an inspector to **** off, intimidates them with their presence, pushes through them and jumps a barrier, even if in fantasy they'd like to be.

WesternLancer · 17 Jun 2026

AlterEgo said:
The methodology of the survey will be very important. How are they detecting people who haven't paid their fare on the DLR?

Most organisations have a Department of Imaginary Statistics who find ways to generate this sort of data for use in media and other reports.

gembercannelle · 18 Jun 2026

JamesT said:
Germany. In that they're considering downgrading it from criminal to civil:

Germany: Fare evasion is a crime that can send you to prison

In Germany, riding without a ticket on public transportation can land you in jail. The justice minister would like to change this, but her conservative coalition partners are skeptical.

www.dw.com

I suspect many TfL evaders we see on this forum would happily pay 60 EUR fine.
Incidentally, in addition to the attack in Ilford, there was a most recent one, although the details of the argument are not clear (?)

Murder investigation begins into attack of London bus driver

Sergei Krajev, 64, was a "wonderful husband, father, and grandfather", his family said.

www.bbc.com

BazingaTribe · 20 Jun 2026

gembercannelle said:
I never said I am worried, only that it makes me feel uncomfortable. This is because the amount concerned is small enough and makes it to feel like I am creating a lot of hassle for no good reason. Perhaps I should request it to be donated to a charity, but as far as I am aware I cannot select the charity myself

On the other hand, as TfL can take one to court for a similarly small amount, perhaps this is justified. So I am a bit torned.

You can do that automatically from the ticketing applications (GWR contacted me over all of £7.60 or something back in May). I just asked them to donate it directly.

TfL issues 69,000 penalty fares as fare evasion crackdown intensifies

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