Many Londoners say they see fare dodging on a frequent basis
Fare dodgers reportedly cost Transport for London (TfL) £130m a year according to figures from 2022/23. This summer, it was reported in the summer that TfL had spent nearly £22m cracking down on fare dodging, but that this had only accrued £1.3m in penalty charges.
A new YouGov survey of 1,086 London adults shows that the issue has not gone unnoticed by travellers in the capital.
Among Londoners who travel by Tube or national rail on at least one day a week, more than three quarters (79%) say they have seen people evading fares in the last year, including 49% who see it very or fairly frequently.
Only one in four Tube and train travellers (24%) say they have seen staff tackle barrier jumpers in the last year. In fact, most (54%) say they have seen fare evaders flagrantly go through ticket barriers under the watchful eye of staff who did nothing to intervene.
When it comes to London’s buses, 62% of those who take the bus at least once a week have seen fare jumping taking place in the last year, including 32% who say they see it frequently.
Bus travellers are much more likely to have seen staff confront fare evaders (42%), although an equal number (41%) still say they have seen drivers turn a blind eye.
Fare dodging bothers most Londoners, but they are split on enforcement
Most Londoners say that it bothers them a great deal (25%) or a fair amount (32%) when they see someone fare dodging on public transport.
Fare dodging bothers older Londoners far more than their younger counterparts. While 72% of those Londoners over the age of 65 say seeing someone failing to pay for a ticket bothers them a great deal or fair amount, this falls with each age group to just 38% of 18-24 year olds – in fact, 44% of the youngest London adults say it doesn’t bother them much or at all to see someone fare dodging on public transport.
While some have attributed increased fare dodging to the rising cost of living, the public are sceptical of such claims. The majority of Londoners (54%) believe that most fare dodgers could afford to pay travel fares, compared to 19% who believe most evaders haven’t got enough money for transport.
While the recent crackdown on fare evasion has not generated much by the way of a return, many Londoners see no reason to stop. Four in ten (40%) say that the priority should be cracking down on fare dodgers, even if the money recouped does not cover the cost of enforcement. However, a further 33% would prefer to save the money spent on enforcement, even if it means fare evaders will be able to continue getting away without paying.
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Photo: Getty
