Latest news with #fareDodging
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Tense moment fare dodger is confronted by ticket inspectors after 'falling £1.30 short for his ticket'
This is the tense moment a young fare dodger was confronted by rail ticket inspectors before trying to push past them while wrongly travelling on a child's ticket. The passenger was caught at Weybridge station in Surrey using the ticket which gives a half-price discount on adult prices for children aged five to 15. South Western Railway revenue protection inspectors intercepted him on the bridge over the platforms after an issue was flagged at the gates when he went through. But when the team demanded that he show them his ticket, he refused to do so before trying to force his way pass them to walk down onto the platform. Other officers stepped in to assist and try to block the passenger at the top of the stairs, as he brazenly told them: 'You can't actually physically touch me.' But after a stand-off, the man eventually relented and showed them his child's ticket, claiming that he had bought it because he was £1.30 short of the adult fare. Camera crews captured the moment he was stopped in the latest episode of Channel 5's Fare Evaders: At War With The Law which airs next Monday at 9pm. The man was issued with an unpaid fare notice, which gives permission to travel and pay the fare within 21 days. If unpaid, passengers face the risk of prosecution. The documentary revealed how the railway industry has noticed a rise in passengers aged over 15 trying to get away with using half-price child tickets. In a clip shared exclusively with MailOnline, two South Western Railway inspectors called Sharon and Carlos confront a young man who refuses to show his ticket. What are the rules on UK child rail tickets? Children aged five to 15 get a 50 per cent discount against the adult price on most National Rail train tickets. Children aged under five can travel for free, when with a fare-paying adult. But anyone aged over 15 travelling on a child's ticket could receive a penalty fare if caught by an inspector. Within the Transport for London (TfL) area, children can travel for free on most trains up to the age of ten when accompanied by an adult. Those aged 11 to 15 can get 50 per cent off their journeys within the TfL area with a Zip Oyster photocard. Carlos approaches the passenger after an issue was flagged at the ticket barriers, asking him: 'Have you got a child ticket? Can I have a look at your ticket?' But the passenger replies: 'No.' Carlos then said: 'Can I see your ticket? You don't have a ticket?' And the man responds: 'No, I do.' Sharon then stepped in, saying: 'Yeah we need to see it. Just needs to look at it.' As tensions mount, the passenger says: 'You can't actually physically touch me' Sharon says the inspectors are not touching him, and other officers step in to assist – telling each other to ensure their body-worn cameras are switched on. One of the team tells him: 'You're not going down on the platform mate and you're not travelling. Why don't you just show us a ticket?' The man responds: 'Because I don't need to.' But the inspector insists: 'Yes you do.' The young man eventually gives in, admitting he does not have the correct ticket. Sharon then tells the camera: 'It seems that the young lad was short of money. About £1.30 for an adult ticket, so he's purchased a child ticket, but he's over the age of 15. 'A colleague's been really fair with him. He's issued an unpaid fare notice, which is the lowest penalty we can give and it's just the price of the ticket that he should have bought.' An unpaid fare notice gives permission to travel and pay the fare in 21 days. If unpaid, passengers face the risk of prosecution. Another inspector says of his job: 'Sometimes we get bad language towards us, they will just push through and then we've got to stop them. 'We do get that level of abuse from them. And these are kids that are between 14 and 16 and they're effing and jeffing at us. And I'm like, well, hang on.' He adds: 'You do get people who are unhappy about being spoken to. No one wants trouble. You hope that everyone is going to be nice, but not everyone is the same, are they? But then you get customers who do actually appreciate it as well.' A further inspector then says: 'The gateliner was saying it's a huge deterrent us being here. He actually said 'SWR 1 Fare Evaders 0'.' The clip features in episode six of the documentary, which also showed the moment an Elizabeth line fare dodger was caught in the act by ticket inspectors after evading £1,650 in ticket costs over nearly 250 journeys. The passenger who regularly commuted from Harold Wood or Romford to Stratford was confronted with 35 pages of evidence dating back eight months. A passenger is spoken to by investigators at London Waterloo station after only buying a ticket from Vauxhall, as he is finally caught after evading nearly £20,000 in ticket costs One of his common methods while travelling through East London was to pay for a fare in Zones 2 to 3 only, rather than the full fare for his journey in Zones 2 to 6. On the morning of the sting, the passenger was caught not touching in on the card After being taken to a private room for questioning, the man eventually hands over the Oyster card and is told he could be taken to court for the offences. The man was then allowed to go on his way but told he would continue to be tracked on the Oyster card – and the case was passed to TfL's prosecution team. MailOnline has already covered a series of incidents featured in the documentary, which comes after Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging at Stratford last month. The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at the station. Separately, a report released on June 4 found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers . Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law is on Channel 5 on Monday, June 23 at 9pm
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment commuter who dodged fares for eight months is confronted by investigaros after racking up £1,650 in unpaid tickets
This is the moment an Elizabeth line fare dodger was caught in the act by ticket inspectors after evading £1,650 in ticket costs over nearly 250 journeys. The passenger who regularly commuted from Harold Wood or Romford to Stratford was confronted with 35 pages of evidence dating back eight months. One of his common methods while travelling through East London was to pay for a fare in Zones 2 to 3 only, rather than the full fare for his journey in Zones 2 to 6. Stratford station is in Zone 2, while Harold Wood and Romford are both in Zone 6. There is a big price difference between travelling in Z2-3 instead of Z2-6 - at £33.50 against £55.90 for a weekly travelcard, or £128.70 and £214.70 for a monthly pass. The annual cost is £1,340 against £2,236. When paying for a single journey, the cost is £2.10 peak or £2.00 off-peak for Z2-3; and £3.20 peak or £2.70 off-peak for Z2-6. On the morning of the sting, the passenger was caught not touching in on the card reader when starting his journey in an apparent attempt to avoid paying entirely. Camera crews captured the moment he was eventually stopped in the latest episode of Channel 5's Fare Evaders: At War With The Law which airs next Monday at 9pm. The clip begins with Transport for London (TfL) revenue protection officers revealing their plan to confront the suspect at Harold Wood station at 5.30am. They have been tracking the suspect after a rule break on an Oyster card was picked up by TfL's Irregular Travel Analysis Platform (Itap), a detection system that identifies fare evasion and revenue loss from patterns in ticketing and passenger data. The investigators say they have totted up £1,651 in unpaid fares across 245 journeys that he had not paid full price for – and wait for him to arrive at the station. After one of them spots him getting off a bus outside the station, they see him walk through the ticket gates and intercept him on a bridge between the platforms. As he approaches, the investigator asks: 'Hi buddy, just need to do a ticket check on your Oyster card.' The man replies: 'I don't have Oyster card.' But the investigator replies: 'You do - so what did you use to come here?' The man insists he used a 'bank card.' However, the investigator says: 'No, I've got a case against you, I see you coming through with the coat all the time. What Oyster card do you use?' The passenger continues to insist he uses a bank card, but he is told: 'You do. So where are you travelling to today?' A passenger is spoken to by investigators at London Waterloo station after only buying a ticket from Vauxhall, as he is finally caught after evading nearly £20,000 in ticket costs When the man replies 'Stratford', the investigator says: 'I know you go to Stratford. On this Oyster card number you go to Stratford and come back all the time. Have you got any ID with you please?' The traveller gives them his name and address but not his Oyster card, claiming: 'I don't have it anymore.' The investigator then tells him: 'I know where you buy your ticket. I know everything about the Oyster card. I will show you all the journeys in a moment.' And the investigator's colleague adds: 'Look, listen, it's not going to go away. The other option is we get the police down and they can come and deal with it, alright? 'So we know you've got an Oyster card, you might as well show us the Oyster card. At the moment you're being obstructive, OK?' After being taken to a private room for questioning, the man eventually hands over the Oyster card and is told he could be taken to court for the offences. The man was then allowed to go on his way but told he would continue to be tracked on the Oyster card – and the case was passed to TfL's prosecution team. MailOnline has already covered a series of incidents featured in the documentary, which comes after Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging at Stratford last month. A fare dodger is finally caught at Preston Road station in North West London after he avoided paying for more than 200 journeys using a concession card registered to a female relative The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at the station. Separately, a report released on June 4 found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers.
Telegraph
12-06-2025
- Telegraph
The tech arms race to beat fare-dodgers
A technological arms race has broken out to combat the fare-dodging crisis plaguing Britain's railways. Faced with the prospect of £500m in lost ticket sales, rail operators are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and so-called machine learning to crack down on freeloaders. Evasion tactics that once went little further than hiding in a train lavatory to avoid the guard have changed radically since ticket barriers – first trialled on the Tube in 1964 – were introduced at major stations and across commuter networks. Miscreants are often seen forcing their way through the barriers to avoid paying, a trend recently highlighted by Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, as he issued a call to arms. However, evasion tactics span well beyond brute force. The digitisation of ticketing in particular, with the bulk of payments made by bank card, travel card or mobile phone, has opened up whole new avenues for fare abuse and forced operators to respond with tougher safeguards. Transport for London (TfL), which puts its annual losses from fare-dodging at £130m, says that 4.7pc of Tube passengers – almost one in every 20 – skipped paying or stumped up the incorrect fare in the last financial year alone. Yet, across its wider network of the Tube, Overground, buses, Docklands Light Railway and Elizabeth Line, the rate of offending fell from 3.8pc to 3.4pc after fines were raised to £100. TfL aims to bring it down to 1.5pc by 2030 through an intelligence-led approach combined with new technologies and more proactive enforcement. While offending in London is well short of New York's 13pc evasion rate, Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, says that fare-dodging 'is not a victimless crime'. She says: 'It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe and reliable transport network. The overwhelming majority of customers pay the correct fare, and it's unfair to those who do that a minority avoid paying.' The main weapon in TfL's armoury is its Irregular Travel Analysis Platform (ITAP), which uses ticketing and journey data, passenger information and CCTV to identify repeat offenders. The tool is integral for a TfL investigations team that seeks to identify 'high-impact offenders', some of whom cost the network up to thousands of pounds a year in lost revenue. After studying data, the team liaises with 500 uniformed enforcement officers and plain-clothes inspectors, who can demand proof of a ticket or travel card while staging sting operations in stations, sometimes supported by the British Transport Police. This crackdown led to TfL securing fines of £400,000 last year after prosecuting 360 of the most prolific offenders. Among the offences deployed by fare evaders are techniques known as zonal avoidance and re-tokenisation. The former, colloquially dubbed 'doughnutting', involves travel through zones that have not been paid for. In re-tokenisation, or 'card tumbling,' the fraudster deletes a virtual card from a digital wallet on a mobile device after a journey to prevent authorisation of the transaction overnight. The card is then reloaded, at which point it is allocated a new tokenised number, preventing it from being blacklisted. A similar con involves the use of a bank card with insufficient funds to pay for a ticket. Tube gates identify the card as genuine and will let the holder in and out, only for the payment to bounce when requested. One offender last year used a contactless card to avoid paying the correct fare on 202 journeys, resulting in £1,427 in fines. Other scams include the abuse of Freedom Passes, which offer free travel in London for the disabled and those aged 66 and over. Meanwhile, outside of the biggest cities, at least 2,000 of Britain's 2,500 or so stations still lack barriers. Therefore, bosses are required to rely on traditional checks to ensure passengers are paying. Graham Sutherland, chief executive of FirstGroup, which runs express trains on the West Coast and Great Western main lines, said on-train ticket checks remained vital to prevent 'revenue leakage'. But there is no doubt that technology has been a game-changer. LNER, which runs trains between London King's Cross and Edinburgh, has led the way among long-distance operators in deploying AI to uncover unusual ticket-purchase patterns and identify fraudsters, setting up a 'machine learning team' to work alongside its risk experts. A pilot project that began in 2023 immediately identified a customer who had failed to pay for £10,000 worth of travel. Using information uncovered by the new technology, the team then built a case, which resulted in the customer repaying the full loss to LNER. Paul Larder, at LNER, said the application of machine learning had been revolutionary. He said: 'Previously, we've relied on our revenue protection team to identify customers who deliberately purchase incorrect tickets for travelling on our services. 'By using AI, we can accurately analyse large amounts of information quickly and identify patterns that our team can investigate further.' While companies are ramping up efforts to catch offenders, a report from the Office of Rail and Road this month identified 'significant inconsistency' in how operators target fare-dodgers, which has led to unnecessary and unfair prosecutions. Lord Hendy, the rail minister, who put the cost of fare evasion in England outside London at £400m a year, said a planned new ticketing system as part of the nationalisation programme should reduce instances of people mistakenly buying the wrong tickets. However, for the thugs who push through – known as bumpers, jumpers and tailgaters – sturdier barriers are being created. Developed by Cubic Transportation Systems, the barriers stretch from the floor to shoulder height and use AI-aided scanning software to detect instances of fare-dodging. Cubic says the gates 'can accurately detect, record and flag fare evasion as it's happening, distinguishing between different types of fare evasion, such as pushing through and climbing under the paddles or tailgating'. Sir Sadiq Khan's TfL has not yet said if it will order the equipment. However, if they do, they may finally offer some solace to law-abiding passengers confronted by petty criminals cheating the system while regular staff, who are forbidden from staging physical interventions, look on.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Shocking moment jobless fare dodger hurls abuse at rail inspectors after refusing to buy a ticket
A rail passenger hurled shocking abuse at inspectors after refusing to buy a ticket, threatening to slash their throats and saying he hoped they died from cancer. The man was confronted by revenue protection officer Lauren on a South Western Railway train from London Waterloo to Weymouth after avoiding her colleague. He admitted he had no ticket because he had 'just lost my job' before warning Lauren not to 'start threatening me with legal action', adding: 'I don't care about police.' The passenger became further agitated as he shouted at the camera operator filming the ongoing incident for Channel 5 series 'Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law'. He said: 'Listen, get that camera out my face, bruv. I don't give a s***. Put it down before you get f***ing knocked down. You asking me for a ticket - I ain't got a ticket. The last guard, I put a blade to his throat because he was f***ing p***ing me off.' The section of the line between Bournemouth and Weymouth is known as a fare dodging hotspot because there are no ticket barriers at the intermediate stations. And Lauren encountered the same passenger again a week later at Weymouth on board a 6pm London-bound departure which was preparing to leave the station. He again began hurling abuse at her and colleagues, with security guards and British Transport Police officers called to assist staff in getting him off the train. The man is seen on CCTV on board the train at Weymouth hurling abuse at security guards Abusing a bearded security guard, the man shouted: 'Yeah, what are you gonna do, f*** off you f***ing plastic gangster. I'll grab that beard and rip it off your f***ing chin. 'Yeah call the old bill, I don't give a f***. You f***ing prick. F***ing don't look at me then, you f***ing prick. What are you going to do about it, you f***ing fat p****?' Lauren called her team manager then spoke to the guard to ensure the train did not depart while they waited for police to attend, as the man continued being abusive. The passenger shouted: 'Don't put your f***ing hands on me.' Security eventually succeed in getting him off the train, but he continued to shout at them as he walked out of the station, telling them: 'Don't put your f***ing hands on me.' He continued: 'F*** off, I hope you f***ing die of cancer. F*** off, n****-looking p****. Don't start a fight with me, stay where you f***ing are. I mean it, I'll smash your f***ing head in.' A passenger is spoken to by investigators at London Waterloo station after only buying a ticket from Vauxhall, as he is finally caught after evading nearly £20,000 in ticket costs Once the man was safely off the train, the revenue protection officers then checked with other passengers on board that they were all OK, before the train departed. Producers of the documentary, which next airs this Sunday at 9pm, said the man is now under police investigation, adding that SWR have had to close their case for unpaid fares because he provided false information. The production team also said the incident was a 'sobering reminder of how a routine fare check can spiral into a threatening confrontation', adding that tackling fare dodgers can be 'dangerous' for rail staff. Violent assaults on railway staff and police across the UK are said to be at a four-year high, with 600 incidents of assault reported on SWR alone last year. British Transport Police figures show there were 3,330 recorded assaults on rail staff across the UK as a whole last year, a rise of almost 25 per cent on the previous year. Other incidents in the latest episode include a 'gate block' turning ugly as a team of six revenue protection officers from SWR try to catch fare dodgers at the barrier. Two officers are also seen going undercover on a major sting operation at Byfleet and Haw in Surrey. MailOnline has already covered a series of incidents featured in the documentary, and it comes after Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging at Stratford. The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media last month in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at the station. Separately, a report released last Wednesday found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers. 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law' is next on Channel 5 this Sunday at 9pm
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Brits who challenge train ticket inspectors or make silly mistakes when booking are at risk of getting a criminal RECORD, new report reveals
Train passengers who are caught travelling without a valid ticket could find themselves with an unexpected criminal record, it has emerged. A review published by the Office of Rail and Road revealed that even passengers who have mistakenly bought the wrong tickets for their journey could be prosecuted if their appeals against a penalty fare are rejected. Penalty fares are handed by inspectors to passengers without a valid ticket while travelling and on National Rail services typically cost around £100 plus the full cost of a single fare for the journey. They can be appealed within 21 days of receipt. But in some extreme cases, fines of up to £1000 can be brought forward if a person is convicted of travelling with the intent to avoid payment. The rule change comes in a bid to clamp down on fare-dodging and was ruled by a judgement from the Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring earlier this year. An extract from the independent review reads: 'In February 2025, the Chief Magistrate ruled on whether an unsuccessful penalty fare appeal provided protection from prosecution for certain fare evasion offences. 'He ruled that criminal prosecutions can be brought following a penalty fare appeal being rejected.' Christian Waters, 47, from Leeds, was targeted for prosecution in 2022 after he had an appeal for a penalty fare rejected and told The Telegraph that the ruling, which was until now private, should have been made public. He said: 'Why was this ruling not published, given it affects the protection of that hundreds of thousands of passengers would assume they had from the regulations?' Mr Waters eventually had his case dropped after realising Northern Rail, a train company owned by the government, had broken their rules by trying to prosecute him at the time. He says his avoidance of prosecution now feels like he 'got off on a technicality' and still disputes that their ticket machine was not working at the time. The ruling at Westminster Magistrates' Court, which was allegedly seen by the newspaper, came after the also government-owned Southeastern asked the court if previous convictions it had brought were lawful. The newspaper last night reported that Judge Goldspring said: 'It is clearly irrational that a person who brought an unmeritorious appeal could not be prosecuted, whereas someone who did not could be.' Rules for commuters hit with penalty fares originally brought to the House of Commons had always sought to avoid seeing passengers criminalised. Conservative peer Lord Marshall told Parliament in 1988: 'If, however, a passenger on a train is not in possession of a ticket, he is not to be treated as a criminal under this bill. 'He is simply asked to pay a penalty fare which is a civil penalty and not a criminal one.' Regulation 11 (3) of the Railways (Penalty Fares) Regulations Act 2018 states that prosecution is only allowed where the penalty has been cancelled by the operator before the appeal panel has decided the outcome. Judge Goldspring allegedly said in February that prosecutors 'should not bring a prosecution if it is excluded' and that there is 'no obligation on the court to investigate whether the defendant has a defence'. Private company Appeal Services handle all penalty fare appeals, and are paid by train operating companies to do so. Its website reportedly says that four in five first-stage appeals were rejected in the last 28 days. A Department for Transport spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Deliberate fare-dodging costs the taxpayer up to £400 million annually – money which could be better spent on improving passenger experience. 'This must be dealt with in a balanced manner, which is why Great British Railways will bring operators together to establish oversight and better standardise practices, putting an end to inconsistent prosecutions and making sure passengers are treated fairly. 'We're working at pace to simplify ticketing as part of our rail reforms, to alleviate confusion and make it easier for people to buy the right fare.' They added that only a small number of prosecutions could see a person land a criminal record.
