Request ID: FOI-2553-2223 Date published: 15 February 2023
You asked
Please can you provide a weekly breakdown for fare evaders on TfL Underground network (please do not include the Overground or DLR).
Please provide a weekly number of penalty fares for fare evasion from the start of 2019 until present.
Please provide a weekly number of prosecution reports for fare evasion from the start of 2019 until present.
Please provide a weekly number for how many app alerts of fare evasion were created by TfL staff for fare evasion from 2019 until present.
Does TfL have numbers of how many times a person has jumped a barrier without paying, and if so, please also provide a weekly breakdown of these numbers.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-2553-2223
Thank you for your request received on 12 January 2023 asking for information about fare evasion. 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. We take fare evasion extremely seriously and our team of 450 revenue inspectors operate across our 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 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. We have strategies in place to tackle fare evasion head on and a commitment to reduce any form of ticketing irregularities. Efforts to tackle fare evasion have been helped by changes to the way we manage our stations, with more staff visible in and around stations including on gate lines. 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 £1,000 and a criminal record. You asked: Please can you provide a weekly breakdown for fare evaders on TfL Underground network (please do not include the Overground or DLR). We do not hold this information as we do not have any way of recording those who have fare evaded who are not caught. We do however have a record of how many fare evaders who are caught. The information you have requested for the following questions is held by financial period, not by week as requested. Please note that the figures for 2020/21 were affected by the pandemic, when ridership on the TfL network at times fell to five per cent of pre pandemic levels. During this time Revenue Officers were mainly focused on supporting face covering compliance activity. Please provide a weekly number of penalty fares for fare evasion from the start of 2019 until present Penalty Fares issued per period. Each period can be divided by four to work out the average penalty fare issued each week:
Financial Year
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
2019/2020
1400
1630
1647
1686
1428
1402
1809
1669
1322
581
1694
1316
770
2020/2021
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
27
43
0
0
0
2021/2022
240
511
458
533
465
446
586
798
495
195
592
567
975
2022/2023
1030
1065
529
913
569
641
1089
885
897
338
N/A
N/A
N/A
Data only goes to P10 in 2022/23 to reflect date of request. Data only goes to P10 in 2022/23 to reflect date of request.
Please provide a weekly number of prosecution reports for fare evasion from the start of 2019 until present Prosecution reports issued per period. Each period can be divided by four to work out the average reports issued each week:
Financial Year
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
2019/2020
323
342
275
308
265
243
373
332
239
115
303
354
216
2020/2021
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
9
0
2
2
2021/2022
43
166
196
181
208
187
209
220
200
88
268
172
246
2022/2023
462
612
338
306
230
295
351
245
368
296
N/A
N/A
N/A
Data only goes to P10 in 2022/23 to reflect date of request. Data only goes to P10 in 2022/23 to reflect date of request.
Please provide a weekly number for how many app alerts of fare evasion were created by TfL staff for fare evasion from 2019 until present. The information we hold is not recorded separately by weeks. We are able to provide an average for the time period requested: per week there were 7.568 revenue disputes. Does TfL have numbers of how many times a person has jumped a barrier without paying, and if so, please also provide a weekly breakdown of these numbers. London Underground staff use an app called WAASB (Workplace Aggression & Anti-Social Behaviour) to record these incidents. The average number of incidents reported per week since 2019 is 153. 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
