FOI request detail

Ticket evasion statistics

Request ID: FOI-2430-1617
Date published: 29 March 2017

You asked

Can you provide an annual estimate for 1- the number and percentage of journeys taken without paying for a ticket 2- the average cost of a journey (or the total value lost to evasion)

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-2430-1617

Thank you for your email received by us on 06 March 2017 asking for information about fare evasions statistics.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked for:

Can you provide an annual estimate for
1- the number and percentage of journeys taken without paying for a ticket
2- the average cost of a journey (or the total value lost to evasion)

Please see the table appended below. 

Note that this table represents TfL’s best estimates of the very detailed figures requested.

Our fare revenue is used to keep front line services running. Across the TfL network, fare evasion costs Londoners around £70m a year. This is money which could and should be used to further improve public transport. The Penalty Fare is one of several tools available to minimise this revenue loss and deter individuals from committing fare evasion. Penalty Fare Notices are issued in lieu of initiating a criminal prosecution following fare evasion, in circumstances where the offender is considered not to have deliberately set out to avoid the fare due. Fare evasion is a criminal offence that could lead to a fine of up to £1000 and a criminal record.

We recognise that the decision to prosecute is a serious one and will ensure all relevant mitigating factors are taken into consideration before any such decision is taken. The system of prosecution of offences seeks to be robust, effective, consistent, and, above all, fair.

Fare evasion results in a loss of 1.8% of revenue each year, which equates to around £80m. We do not estimate a figure for fare evading journeys.

Please see the attached information in response to your request.

1 Bus and Underground only prior to 2008.
2 Figures for each mode are calculated differently and so may not be precisely comparable.
3 TfL took over the London Overground network part way through 2007.
4 DLR data are unavailable prior to 2009.
5 TfL took over the Tramlink network part way through 2008.

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

Paulina Tuffour
FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

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