Put more staff at ticket gates to stem fare evasion

Around 80% of Londoners believe that Transport for London (TfL) is not doing enough to tackle fare evasion,¹ with lost revenue caused by unpaid fares costing TfL almost £190m in 2024-25.²

Today, the London Assembly Transport Committee has written to TfL to warn that more must be done if it is to reach its target of reducing fare evasion to 1.5% of journeys by 2030 – with the most recent figures showing rates are more than double the target.

The Committee is concerned that unstaffed ticket gatelines at stations are not a priority for TfL and calls on TfL to ensure that they are being used and sufficiently staffed across its network.

Further recommendations include:

• TfL should publish the details of the financial resources that are being committed to reducing fare evasion in terms of infrastructure, staffing and other measures.
• TfL must reconsider its approach to staffing stations and its routine use of lone working without sufficient mitigation to improve both the reality and perception of staff safety in the context of fare evasion.
• TfL should provide the Committee with annual updates on progress toward its target to reduce fare evasion by 1.5 per cent by 2030

The Committee has also written to the British Transport Police, asking what action will be taken to reduce response times – after hearing evidence that officers often do not arrive before those committing violent offences have left the scene.

Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, Elly Baker AM, said:

“Fare evasion is unacceptable – causing TfL financial losses that eventually become the expense of the vast majority who pay their fares.

“All too often, fare evasion is also linked to violence and aggression towards TfL frontline staff who feels this issue is getting worse.

“TfL must ensure more is done to ensure gatelines are in operation and staffed at all stations and reduce the amount of times staff are being asked to work on their own on our transport network.”