NEW CITY HALL TORIES REPORT REVEALS WAYS SADIQ KHAN CAN CUT FARE EVASION
- City Hall Conservatives
- Nov 14
- 2 min read
A new report out today by City Hall Conservative Transport Spokesman Thomas Turrell AM reveals just how easy it would be for the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan to cut fare evasion in the capital. In the report, published by the Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, the issue, which has plagued the underground for years, is examined against international metro systems to compare best practices and examine how authorities can get a grip on what City Hall Conservatives call “the scourge of fare evasion.”
Fare evasion occurs on around 3.4% of TfL’s more than 3 billion annual journeys, with the lost revenues from those 100 million dodged fares amounting to more than £190 million for the transport giant
As social media platforms explode with content depicting and glorifying fare evasion, the public begins to question whether TfL has a grip on the crisis
TfL lacks the roles, training, or confidence in staff to confront offenders
Mr Turrell’s report considers the cultures and evasion prevention strategies put in place in subway systems like New York, Paris, and Tokyo to sharply reduce the number of rides where passengers haven’t paid their fare, and suggests implementing a number of similar schemes in the London system. Amongst the recommendations, the City Hall Conservatives Assembly Member suggests looking at how TfL approaches:
BARRIERS: Installing barriers at all entrance points to the London Underground, such as the DLR, as well as replacing barriers with taller models to make it harder to jump over, crawl under, or push through them. It should be harder for fare dodgers to get into the system without paying in the first place.
STAFF: Creating specific roles within TfL to tackle fare evasion, stationed in ticket halls, with appropriate training and support for staff to confront those who do try to avoid paying for their travel.
GOVERNANCE: TfL should aim to create an Evasion Taskforce that is transparent in its reporting about the scale of the issue, whilst also considering best practices in the sector to better target efforts to reduce fare evasion long-term.
TfL’s current target is to reduce fare evasion from 3.4% to 1.5% by 2030, but Mr Turrell claims that, on current trends, that simply isn’t going to happen.
Thomas Turrell AM, Transport Spokesman said:
“Every Londoner has watched someone push through the barriers or jump over them to avoid paying the fare, knowing full well that they will be picking up the cost of the offender’s non-payment in the form of eye-watching fare rises. It’s just not good enough, and Sadiq Khan continues to pay lip service to the problem in spite of the concern Londoners have when using the tube. It’s not good enough, and Londoners are fed up with watching this happen unchallenged.
My report sets out the scale of the problem but also points out that it doesn’t have to be this way - a better London is possible. The Mayor can’t bury his head in the sand on this - the solutions are right there, in black and white for him to read, and excuses will not be enough. Conservatives have had to drag him kicking and screaming to address this issue, and we’re not going to stop until change happens.”