Transport for London (TfL) is increasing its crackdown on fare evaders by carrying out more checks on tickets and people paying the correct fares, and issuing more penalty fares.

In the year April 2025 to March 2026, TfL enforcement officers checked 50 per cent more tickets and issued 69,001 penalty fares, 9 per cent more than the previous year.

To support the increase in fare evasion, another 50 Transport Support and Enforcement Officers are being recruited to patrol the network. The enforcement teams operate across the entire transport network, at night as well as during the day, and use technology to identify anyone travelling either without the correct ticket or not having paid the correct fare.

Enforcement Officers issued 6.9 million contactless payment cards and issued 21,533 Irregularity Reports for possible prosecution, up 18.7 per cent from last year. The checks resulted in £5.4 million in Revenue Inspection Charges from people who did not have a valid Contactless Payment Card.

The officers also checked 3.3 million passengers on London’s buses.

This year, there have been 14,406 convictions for fare evasion, for which the courts have awarded £2.6 million in penalties. Other areas of enforcement include gate-pushing, where 4,428 individuals were reported for possible prosecution. Of the 50 new Transport Support Enforcement officers being recruited, 36 will focus on night transport.

In April 2025, Transport for London launched a fare evasion strategy aiming to reduce fare evasion to 1.5 per cent or less by 2030/31. Among the actions to be taken are more targeting of repeat offenders, improved enforcement across the network, and using advanced tools to identify evasion patterns.

In 2024, penalty fares were increased to £100, and staff were issued with body-worn video cameras.

“The overwhelming majority of customers pay the correct fare, and it’s unfair that a minority avoid paying. That’s why we are strengthening our capability to detect and deter fare evasion, as shown by the significant increases in enforcement activity across our network, from more customer ticket checks to more officers on the ground and higher levels of revenue recovered. Fare evasion is not a victimless crime. It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network. We are committed to ensuring that those who evade fares face the consequences of their actions, and that the cost of fare evasion is paid by the evaders, not our fare-paying customers.” 

Siwan Hayward, Director of Security, Policing, and Enforcement, Transport for London