A commuter train firm has announced a massive increase in revenue from penalty fines handed to fare dodgers after targeting persistent offenders.
c2c, which operates between Fenchurch Street station in London and Grays, Southend Central and Shoeburyness in Essex, has issued more than 8,000 fines – each with a face value of £100 - and recovered more than £470,000 this year.
Some repeat offenders, including long-term evaders, have been told to repay almost £10,000.
Overall, the amount generated by the revenue protection team has increased by 2,100 per cent over the past four years, c2c said. More people are being caught than in the pre-pandemic years.
The firm attributes the success to a 30 per cent increase in the number of revenue protection officers, the use of technology and a network of more than 2,000 CCTV cameras across its 26 stations.
Analysis of passenger ticketing data, via online purchases and clicks at ticket barriers, has highlighted patterns of evasion and enabled the “real time” tracking of passengers.
C2c trains call at West Ham, Barking and Upminster in east London. Between April and June this year, C2C carried a total of 8.8m passengers.
It said West Ham was a hotspot for fare dodging due to the lack of barriers for passengers switching between its services and the London Underground.
All revenue protection officers have access to a body-worn video cameras, which gather extra evidence and help to reduce anti-social behaviour.
Officers also look out for “short faring” – when passengers travel further than the ticket they’ve bought.
Iain Palmer, c2c’s head of revenue protection and security, said: “It’s a criminal offence to travel on a train without the right ticket.
“Our revenue protection officers are everywhere, uniformed and undercover. We use intelligence to ensure we have enough evidence to take long-term fare evaders to court and we’ve been very successful at finding those that fare evade.
“If we don’t get you today, we’ll get you tomorrow or the day after, it’s really not worth the risk.”
He told The Standard: “There is a match-up between us having additional revenue protection officers and getting better at using the data.”
Asked whether there were reasons for the increase in fare dodging, he said: “I genuinely believe there is a link between cost of living and people’s ability to pay for things.
“Travel can be seen as a luxury, but when you are travelling to work it’s not - it’s a requirement for you to pay for your ticket before you travel.”
A number of c2c stations had been due to receive Contactless ticketing this year but this has been delayed - to a future date still unknown - due to the cyber attack on Transport for London.
Penalty fare notices across the national rail network cost £100, plus the fare for the intended journey. The £100 charge is reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days.
Long-term fare evaders are taken to court and are made to pay back unpaid fares. Fare dodging can result in a criminal record.
Ortis Deley, who presents the TV documentary series Police Interceptors, about the work of UK traffic police, helped c2c to front its “Don’t gamble on fare evasion” campaign.
He said: “Some people still think they can get away with ticketless travel and to combat this, c2c has invested in lots of clever ways to catch habitual fare evaders, so it’s really not worth the gamble.
“Fare dodgers cost UK train companies hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
“As part of its contract with the Department for Transport, c2c is committed to being a financially responsible operator. Catching fare evaders ensures honest fare-paying travellers and the taxpayer do not pick up the burden of lost investment in rail.”
Mr Deley said many fare-paying passengers were left angry when others failed to pay their way. Asked why he had decided to back the campaign, he told The Standard: “I have seen people jump barriers, force their way through barriers, walking behind me after I have tapped in or out. It’s unfair.
“Individuals have their own reason for doing these acts, but ultimately I just wanted to let people know that something is being done.
“We have had [passengers] feeling that their cries aren’t being answered, or it’s something that just goes on and nobody cares. c2c are trying to show that they have heard, and they’re trying to do something.”
TV presenter @OrtisDeley explains why he is backing @c2c_Rail campaign to tackle fare evasion pic.twitter.com/3qB2kFiaBi
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) November 12, 2024
Transport for London loses an estimated £130m a year due to fare-dodging - with about one in 25 journeys going unpaid. It has introduced new ticket barriers that are meant to be harder to force open, and trialled the use of AI technology in a bid to identify persistent offenders.
Perpetrators of ticket fraud are prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006. Other types of fare evasion are prosecuted under the provisions of the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 and the Railway Byelaws made pursuant to the Transport Act 2000.
