Request ID: FOI-1869-2122 Date published: 17 December 2021
You asked
This request relates to assaults on operational staff and level of fare evasion on the transport network.
1. For the years from January 2015 to September 2021 what were the number of assaults reported/ recorded on staff employed as bus inspectors, RTEO, TPH officers, RCI and LU customer service assistants?
2. For the years from January 2015 to September 2021 how much revenue was lost estimated or actual by TFL due to fare evasion on the following modes of transport; buses, tube, DLR and overground. Please state the yearly loss for each mode separately and as a monetary amount.
3. For the years from January 2016 to September 2021 what is the percentage of fare evasion on a one person operated bus? Please state the percentage/rate for each year.
4. For the years from January 2016 to September 2021 what is the percentage of fare evasion on a routemaster bus(Boris bus)? Please state the percentage/rate for each year.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1869-2122
Thank you for your request received on 19 November 2021 asking for information about assaults on operational staff and fare evasion levels.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
1. For the years from January 2015 to September 2021 what were the number of assaults reported/ recorded on staff employed as bus inspectors, RTEO, TPH officers, RCI and LU customer service assistants?
TfL staff work hard to serve the millions of customers who use the transport network every day and have the right to go about their work without fear or intimidation. TfL takes workplace violence extremely seriously and always encourages staff to report any instance of abuse whether physical or non-physical so that preventative measures can be taken, and the strongest penalties brought against offenders.
A specialist unit within TfL works with both the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and British Transport Police (BTP) police services to investigate crimes against staff. This Workplace Violence and Aggression (WVA) Team support staff and their managers, and assists the Police in the investigation of physical assault and verbal aggression against our staff, which can include public order offences and hate crime. Their purpose is to improve the quality of staff assault investigation and provide feedback to police and other criminal justice partners, as well as improve victim care and support provided by TfL.
The objective of this work is to encourage staff to report every incident, and over the last five years the WVA team have proactively engaged with TfL staff across all types of transport to demonstrate the benefits of reporting. We have also rolled out the use of body won cameras - 4,500 body worn cameras for staff have been in operation across the TfL network since the end of 2020 to help reduce workplace violence.
The data below is derived from internal incident reporting in our safety management systems. It captures all types of assault, including verbal abuse and physical assault as reported. The data does not show incidents reported to the police and classified as an assault. We do hold some data that includes police reports and staff reports, however this data only goes back to April 2020.
Following a restructure in 2019, Bus Revenue Protection Inspectors, Roads and Transport Enforcement Officers and Taxi & Private Hire Compliance officers are classified as Operations Officers, and fall with the Compliance, Policing, Operations and Security (CPOS) directorate.
Business Area Total recorded assaults 2015 - 2019 TPH Licensing and Regulation Directorate* and CPOS Operations officers undertaking Taxi and Private Hire Compliance activity 65 All London Underground** (including Revenue Control Inspectors and Customer Service Assistants ) 16,807 Operations Officers (Compliance, Policing, Operations and Security – includes Bus Revenue protection function, excluding Taxi and Private Hire Compliance Officers) 721 *The data relating to TPH does not split workforce. Therefore all records where workforce (contractors or employees) were verbally or physically abused are included **Please note the figure provided is for all assaults regardless of whether they are on duty or off duty. We are not able to distinguish between CSAs and other type of staff so the figure above is for all London Underground staff
Please note that the information provided above is for confirmed incidents that occurred between 01/01/2015 to 30/09/2021.
2. For the years from January 2015 to September 2021 how much revenue was lost estimated or actual by TFL due to fare evasion on the following modes of transport; buses, tube, DLR and overground. Please state the yearly loss for each mode separately and as a monetary amount.
We take fare evasion extremely seriously and our team of 450 revenue inspectors operate across the whole network day and night, using new technology and intelligence to identify anyone travelling without a ticket. Through continued partnership working with the police and intelligence gathering we will push for the toughest penalties for anyone caught fare evading on our services. Fare evasion takes away vital revenue for us to reinvest into our transport network to keep London moving.
Historically we have estimated the level of fare evasion for each mode. Fare evasion rates are estimated for each mode of transport through a mix of independent surveying, staff-led surveying and monitoring of inspection data, and monitored by the respective operational teams to inform deployment. The numbers for 2015 and 2016 are below: Mode 2015 Estimated Revenue Loss 2016 Estimated Revenue Loss London Underground £35.3m £36.9m Buses £16m £16.1m DLR £0.5m £0.5m London Overground £1.9m £1.9 Trams £0.3m £0.3m Total £54m £55.7m
Following the introduction of the first pan-TfL Revenue Protection Group and the revision of TfL’s fare evasion methodology, TfL does not have data for 2017 and 2018. This new methodology led to the 2019 figures below. This data is more accurate, consistent and a comparable measure of revenue loss across the different networks
In 2019 we undertook a thorough analysis of existing data to give our most accurate estimate of annual revenue loss to date. A summary is provided below:
Mode Estimated Revenue Loss (p/a) London Underground £91m Buses £23m DLR £9m Other modes (London Overground, London Trams, and TfL Rail) £8m Total £131m
All survey activity has been paused since the beginning of the pandemic to minimise the risk of infection to staff. This means data is not currently available to estimate recent losses. We are currently reviewing our fare evasion data with a view to developing a more consistent, robust and reliable way of calculating revenue loss in the future.
3. For the years from January 2016 to September 2021 what is the percentage of fare evasion on a one-person operated bus? Please state the percentage/rate for each year. 4. For the years from January 2016 to September 2021 what is the percentage of fare evasion on a routemaster bus (Boris bus)? Please state the percentage/rate for each year.
The below table shows independently surveyed fare evasion rates on both open boarding (commonly known as New Routemasters) and one person operated (OPO) buses.
As mentioned in the answer to Q2, all survey activity has been paused since the beginning of the pandemic.
Open Boarding Surveyed OPO Surveyed Nov 2015 2.60% 1.20% May 2016 3.60% 1.30% Nov 2017 4.10% 1.50% Nov 2018 5.7% 1.60% Nov 2019 6.3% 2.10%
In 2020, all Routemasters were converted into front boarding only buses.
If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
