TfL Faces £190m Fare Dodging Crisis in London

Transport for London (TfL) has been urged to stop leaving ticket barriers unattended and open if it is serious about tackling fare evasion.

The London Assembly’s transport committee issued the warning following a cross-party investigation into fare dodging, which is costing TfL as much as £190 million annually. Many fare-paying passengers have expressed frustration at the growing number of people seen forcing their way through gates without paying.

According to a London TravelWatch survey, 80% of Londoners believe TfL is failing to do enough to combat the issue. Recent figures reported by The Standard show fare evasion rates are now 5.1% on the Underground and 7.8% on the Croydon tram network—nearly double earlier estimates.

In response, the Assembly has written to both TfL and British Transport Police, raising concerns and calling for tougher measures against offenders. The committee criticised TfL’s lack of focus on unstaffed gate lines, which are often left open during staff breaks or absences, and urged the operator to monitor the practice over the next six months.

It also recommended TfL review its staffing model, including the routine use of lone working, in order to strengthen staff safety and public confidence. TfL currently identifies four categories of fare dodgers: accidental, opportunistic, calculated, and persistent.

Jared Wood, London Transport Regional Organiser for the RMT union, argued that two of these categories—accidental and opportunistic—could largely be prevented if barriers were staffed and kept operational. Michael Roberts also told the committee that Londoners want to see gatelines in use wherever possible and urged TfL to install them at stations where they are not currently available.

TfL is developing tougher barriers designed to be harder to force open, and has set a target to cut fare evasion from 3.5% to 1.5% by 2031. However, the committee insists more action is needed to achieve this goal.

The Assembly has also written to British Transport Police to raise concerns about slow response times, after hearing evidence that officers often fail to arrive before violent offenders leave the scene.

Committee chair Elly Baker, a Labour member, said: “Fare evasion is unacceptable, creating losses that ultimately fall on the passengers who do pay. Too often, it is also linked with violence and aggression towards frontline staff, who feel the situation is getting worse. TfL must do more to ensure barriers are staffed and operational at all stations, while reducing the frequency of lone working across the network.”

Efforts to clamp down on fare dodgers have also been featured in the Channel 5 programme Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law.