Transport for London (TfL) has come under fire after being accused of using “misleading scare tactics” to suggest fare evasion is a criminal offence.
This comes after posters warning passengers to scan in at ticket barriers to avoid a £100 fine or criminal proceedings have been displayed by TfL across London’s transport network.
TfL has denied misleading anyone, arguing that because courts keep a record of fare evasion prosecutions, and a conviction may come up on someone’s future DBS check, the description “criminal record” is justified.
In response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in May, TfL said: “We penalise and prosecute thousands of fare evaders every year, and we push for the toughest penalties for anyone caught fare evading on our services.
“Fare evasion is a criminal offence that could lead to a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record.”
From 2024 to 2025, 63,301 penalty fares were issued for fare evasion on the TfL network, while only 13,823 successful prosecutions were issued, according to TfL data.
By comparison, from 2024 to 2024, 64,780 penalty fares were issues, while 18,570 prosecutions were made. From 2022 to 2023, 54,161 fines were issues while 15,436 prosecutions were made.
This includes fare evasion offences across Tubes, buses, Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and Tram services.
The Standard previously revealed the cost of fare dodging to TfL is soaring, amounting to around £190 million a year.
But is fare dodging actually a criminal offence?
Yes, according to TfL, which said penalty fares, or fines, are “issued in lieu of conducting a criminal investigation into a possible fare evasion offence in circumstances where the offender is considered not to have deliberately set out to avoid the fare and it is their first offence,” in an FOI response from April 2024.
TfL added: “Fare evasion is a criminal offence on our Rail and Underground services under both the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the TfL Railway Byelaws.”
Questions around whether fare dodging is a criminal offences comes after TfL launched a new fare evasion strategy, including expanding its team of investigators and using more advanced technology to tackle the issue in April.
