by In a report last month, TfL commissioner Andy Lord said staff would “introduce a new anti-fare evasion poster across the network”.
He added that 414 people regularly avoided paying for their TfL journeys, avoiding a total of over £363,000 in fares.
“In one case, an individual was identified who had not correctly validated their contactless payment card 193 times, leaving a total of over £1,200 in unpaid fares,” Mr Lord said.
“The perpetrator appeared in court in April and pleaded guilty to all charges.
“We have also identified another person who evaded fares by using a bank card with insufficient funds.
“The analysis of card usage showed that validation could not be carried out for any journeys over a period of more than one year.
“We used CCTV footage to track down the offender. The offender appeared in court and pleaded guilty to all offences. He was ordered to pay us £1,796.”
A TfL spokesman said: “We take fare evasion extremely seriously and try to ensure, wherever possible, that the cost of fare evasion is borne by the fare dodgers themselves, not by passengers or taxpayers.”
“We know that our revenue protection measures are a cost-effective investment that acts as an important deterrent to potential fare evaders and helps ensure that around 96 percent of our customers pay their fares correctly.”
“Fare evasion is costing us important revenue that we could reinvest in our transport network to keep London moving.
“Fare dodgers often intimidate or insult our colleagues and customers, and the damage they can cause is much greater than just the lost fare.”
