FARE WARNING: Lovetta Pring from Ellis Jones Solicitors says that there has been a jump in enforcement action by train operators
Lawyers have told of rising requests for help from distressed travellers facing criminal prosecution for fare dodging on the railways.
Ellis Jones Solicitors says it is helping increasing numbers of people avoid court proceedings and a criminal record after they have been caught without a valid ticket, railcard or travel pass, especially students and young professionals.
The firm, with offices in London and the south, credits the surge to a determined clampdown by rail operators nationwide and the application of sophisticated technology.
Its experts, Senior Associate Solicitor James Constable and Legal Assistant Lovetta Pring in the firm’s Crime and Regulatory team, have seen an uplift in requests for legal representation since the start of the year.
Lovetta, who is based in the firm’s Fleet Street offices in London, said: “Many people are still unaware that fare evasion is a criminal offence and can have significant consequences.
“Evading fares on public transport can lead to a financial penalty of up to £1,000, prosecution and even a criminal record, which can have life-changing consequences.
“Many younger people, including students and young professionals, don’t realise the far-reaching consequences that this kind of offence can bring.
“It can also have a massive impact on careers and employability, for example those people working in a regulated profession, such as accountancy, where a conviction must be declared.”
Lovetta added: “We are seeing a surge in cases, especially on the railways.
“It may be that more people are using the rail network now or are being tempted by fare evasion because of the cost of living crisis.
“But train operators have definitely launched a concerted clampdown to tackle fare evasion with dedicated railway ticket enforcement officers and greater use of technology to track purchasing histories.”
Fare evasion includes:
- Travelling without a ticket
- Using a railcard that is out of date
- Travelling further than the destination on the ticket
- Travelling at a time that is not permitted by ticket conditions
- Using someone else’s travel pass
- Use of a child’s ticket by someone over 16
As of January last year, passengers caught without a valid ticket are often issued with a £100 penalty fare plus the full price of a single ticket for their intended journey.
In other cases, a traveller’s details are taken and passed on to the railway’s economic crime or fraud team for further action.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which is the industry’s membership body, estimates that about £240 million is lost through fare evasion on Great Britain’s railways annually.
In 2023 in London alone, Transport for London (TFL) prosecuted 19,614 people for fare evasion, a 56% increase on the year before. TFL says fare evasion is estimated to cost it around £150m a year.
TFL has an Irregular Travel Analysis Platform (ITAP) to find patterns in ticketing and purchasing history data to identify, often, multiple offences.
Many train companies are also using dedicated ticket enforcement officers to proactively target fare dodgers onboard.
Some of the more serious cases that Ellis Jones have dealt with have included an investigation by South Western Railway into a university student’s ticketing history after they were caught by a member of TFL staff without a valid ticket for travel.
The investigation identified 184 suspicious journeys into Waterloo station over 19 months.
In another case, Ellis Jones represented a college student caught fare evading on Chiltern Railways and with a history of 29 fare evaded journeys plus a number of inaccurately requested refunds.
In each case, with Ellis Jones’ representations, the matters were settled out of court with payment of any unpaid fares or wrongly requested refunds, as well as the train company’s administrative costs – with no criminal prosecution.
Lovetta said: “People may not realise that there is now a much greater variety of railcards and discounts available.
“Travelling without a valid ticket or railcard is just not worth the risk, with all of the resources train companies are now investing in catching fare evaders and the potential consequences including a criminal conviction.”
ENDS
