Plain-clothes police target repeat fare dodgers

3 hours ago

Alpa Patel,North Greenwich stationand

Adriana Elgueta

Twenty-four people were arrested in the first month of TfL's joint operation with the British Transport Police

BBC Officers are standing in a line in front of the ticket barriers at a Tube station — Twenty-four people were arrested in the first month of TfL's joint operation with the British Transport Police

Plain-clothes police officers are being deployed on London's transport network to catch people who repeatedly push through ticket barriers without paying.

Transport for London (TfL) said 467 people were stopped and 24 arrested in the first month of Operation Vector, a joint operation with British Transport Police (BTP).

Officers also issued 156 penalty fares and reported 175 people for possible prosecution.

TfL's fare evasion rate remains at 3.5%, the same level seen in 2024-25, against a target of 1.5% by 2030-31. TfL said it would "not tolerate" fare evasion, which the transport body estimates costs it about £190m a year.

Under the pilot, TfL's revenue and enforcement teams deal with fare evasion, while BTP officers check people's records and look for wider offences, including drugs, weapons and sexual offences.

Officers are placed at different points around each station, including beyond the barriers, so people who force their way through can be tracked and stopped.

Plain-clothed officers occupy a variety of different points around the stations

Several people, some with faces blurred, stand and talk inside a London rail or Underground station concourse. Electronic departure boards and station signage are visible in the background. — Plain-clothed officers occupy a variety of different points around the stations

BTP Ch Insp Daniel Rushall said some people who evaded fares were linked to more serious crime, and the first month had led to weapons and drugs being seized.

TfL has not said how many of the arrests related to fare evasion.

Seb Dance, the deputy mayor for transport, said: "We have a clear message for the small but persistent group of people that aren't paying the correct fare: we will not tolerate it, and you will be held to account."

Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said gate pushing created "an intimidating atmosphere for our staff and customers".

TfL has previously said fare evasion and payment disputes were behind about half of incidents of violence and aggression towards its staff.

Since April this year, its enforcement teams have issued more than 33,000 penalty fares and reported more than 11,000 people for possible prosecution, including more than 2,400 for barrier misuse.

The pilot is part of a fare evasion strategy launched in April 2025, which includes an expanded team of investigators targeting repeat offenders.

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