Freedom of Information request - Tailgating at Watford High Street
Request ID: FOI-0480-2223 Date published: 28 June 2022
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
Can you advise how many people tailgate and enter through the gates at Watford High Street station please without paying? I ask as there seems to be a lot, especially when a member of staff is next to the gates, and they seem to like doing it when I am going in or out of those gates myself.
We answered
TfL Ref: 0480-2223
Thank you for your request received by us on 28 May 2022 asking for information about London Overground’s Watford High Street Station.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. You asked:
how many people tailgate and enter through the gates at Watford High Street station please without paying? I ask as there seems to be a lot, especially when a member of staff is next to the gates, and they seem to like doing it when I am going in or out of those gates myself.
Tailgating data is unfortunately not captured via the ticket barriers. However, please be assured that TfL has a Revenue Protection Programme which focusses on reducing fare evasion through a number of initiatives from tackling counterfeit tickets to investing in technology which will improve how we target fare evaders. In addition to working in partnership with the police, we have a team of over 400 revenue protection staff who safeguard our revenue by checking customer tickets and act as a deterrent to fare evaders. We will continue to push for the toughest penalties for anyone caught fare evading on our services.
We also currently have a new app on trial at Watford High Street Station and the following table shows the requested information during April, May and June 2022, as reported by station staff:
Station
00:00 - 07:00
07:00 - 10:00
10:00 - 16:00
16:00 - 19:00
19:00 - 00:00
Total
Watford High Street
6
28
219
338
342
933
Station staff are not trained to get physical or confrontational with fare evaders and so will not engage but only report. Our staff will then use this data on fare evasion and run specific activities like regular blocks to catch fare evaders or deter them. Since the pandemic we have noticed an increase in antisocial behaviour particularly around fare evasion and continue to do our best to combat it.
Furthermore, we have recently began working with a team of dedicated travel safe enforcement officers who are trained to prevent and reduce work place violence. One of their remits is to work with our revenue protection team. They have the power to remove offenders who are trying to access our network from the stations as well as reporting such individuals for any breach of the railway byelaws.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
