Transport for London (TfL) has announced that it will be employing more investigators as part of what it calls “a bold new strategy to crack down on fare evasion”.

The investigators will concentrate on identifying and targeting persistent and high-impact offenders.

TfL says that the most persistent of these cost it thousands of pounds in lost revenue each year.

The investigators have been working on London Underground, and will now extend its remit to cover the Elizabeth line and London Overground, and will then extend further to cover all other rail modes.

TfL already has more than five hundred uniformed staff dealing with fare evasion and anti-social behaviour, and believes that the team of investigators will complement their work.

It says that the team will “take an intelligence-led approach”, including the use of CCTV and journey data to identify regular fare evaders.

Last year, courts awarded TfL more than £400,000 following the conviction of 360 prolific evaders of London Underground fares.

TfL says that it continues to tackle obvious fare evasion, such as pushing through ticket gates, highlighting that this can create an intimidating atmosphere for staff and passengers and increases the risk of work-related violence and aggression. Disputes over fares prompt around half of all reported work-related violence and aggression incidents towards frontline TfL staff.

TfL hopes that its strategy to further reduce fare evasion across all it services, with a target of reducing the rate of fare evasion to below 1.5 per cent by 2030.

Between April and December last year, fair evasion dropped to 3.4 per cent. Prior to this period, TfL stepped up action against fare evasion, including increasing Penalty Fares.

TfL also highlights that its fare evasion rate is significantly lower than in many major cities in other countries. In New York City, for example, fare evasion runs at 13 per cent.

“Fare evasion is a criminal offence which deprives TfL of thousands of pounds of vital revenue every year that could be reinvested in London’s transport network.

“That’s why we’re expanding our team of professional investigators to cover the whole network and investing in the latest technology to target the worst offenders. It sends a clear message: fare evasion will not be tolerated, and we will hold those who do it to account.

“The team is supporting more than 500 uniformed TfL officers across the network who are already going after fare evaders and helping to keep the public safe. The latest data shows that TfL’s efforts to reduce fare evasion on the network is working, but there is more to do. I’m determined to do all I can to support the vital work TfL is doing to ensure these vital funds are reinvested into improving transport services for Londoners.”

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan