Tube 'fare dodger' caught swerving £3,500 in fares using a dodgy card
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A Tube fare evader was caught in action after he racked up more than £3,500 in unpaid tickets.
The man was caught by Transport for London investigators at Surrey Quays station.
He said he has been using a card his 'friend gave him' to travel for more than a year.
The card had no money on it, but the ticket barriers accepted it every time.
He was then able to push the exit gates open at stations without ever paying a penny as each tap resulted in a payment failure, MailOnline reports.
However, investigators eventually caught on to the trick, and they were able to track him down on his journey to work using CCTV.
The operation was captured on cameras as part of the Channel 5 documentary 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law,' which airs on Monday.
He was asked in for an interview, where the TfL staff showed the man he now owes £3,573 for over 500 journeys taken in more than a year.
Lisa, an investigator, questions the suspected fare dodger, who then changes his story, saying the card is not his and he 'found it.'
Lisa says: 'Oh that's a whole different ball game now.'
She then pulls out a scanner, which confirms that the card is faulty.
When asked about whether he knew he owed TfL money for the travel, he replies: 'My friend told me you can use this card for travelling.'
He eventually admits not paying for his morning journey after faced with evidence – and the total he has racked up, which 'might be a bit of a shock,' Lisa says.
Lisa says as the reality sinks in: 'You have had that card for over a year and they have never been paid.'
The man then apologises and signs a document admitting on more than 500 trips.
But this isn't the end of the matter as it is now up to the TfL prosecution team to look into the case and decide what happens next.
Elsewhere, the shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick decided to chase people at Stratford Tube station, where one man told him to 'f*** off' as he ran up to strangers he suspected of fare dodging.
In a video posted on X, Jenrick walks a man to TfL staff, who tell the enthusiastic MP to 'just step to the side' as they deal with the situation.
The transport authority spent almost £22 million on a fare dodging crackdown last year.
Around 3.4% of passengers avoided paying for travel between April and December last year.
TfL said it uses an intelligence-led approach with advanced tools like an Irregular Travel Analysis Platform (ITAP).
It combs through ticketing and journey data, passengers' information, CCTV and travel patterns to spot fare evaders racking up the biggest bills.
TfL recovered £400,000 through the courts after the prosecution of 360 worst evaders. More Trending
One of the focus areas is contactless payment card fare evasion.
Another fare dodger caught recently had to pay £1,472 in fines after avoiding payment on 202 journeys, TfL said.
In a previous episode, a 'short farer' was caught after he had avoided paying £20,000 in tickets on his commute from Surrey to London Waterloo.
The next episode of Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law is on Channel 5 airs at 9pm on Monday, June 2 on TV and on the streaming platform.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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