MORE THAN ONE TUBE FARE DODGED EVERY SECOND SINCE LIVINGSTONE TOOK OFFICE

12.01.00am GMT Tue 21st Dec 2004

The London Assembly Liberal Democrats will later today reveal shocking new research that shows that around 65 Tube fares are dodged every minute of every day since Ken Livingstone became Mayor.

New figures obtained from Ken Livingstone at Mayor's Question Time, revealed that Tube fare dodging is estimated to be running at 3.6%. With around 4.3billion tube journeys having been taken between April 2000 and November 2004, up to 157million could have been evaded. With around 144million seconds in the last four and a half years, this means around 1.08 Tube fares are dodged every second of every day.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Mayor to double the penalty fine for getting caught without a valid ticket on both the Tube and buses to £20 to reduce the incentive for fare dodging, with the penalty doubling in the same way parking ticket and Congestion Charge fines are increased. Transport for London estimates that they lose around £44million a year in revenue.

Lynne Featherstone said:-

"With barriers at almost all Tube stations, it is astounding that so many people are able to dodge fares. It is vital that the Mayor and Transport for London target persistent offenders and, when they are caught, stop them getting away with giving a false name and address.

"Fare dodgers are no better than shoplifters and it is time that the Mayor and Transport for London came down hard on people who try to avoid paying for a ticket.

"Millions of pounds is lost each year to people who are breaking the law. The failure to tackle fare-dodging hits the pockets of law-abiding commuters who pay extra fare increases to make up for those who get something for nothing. Cracking down on fare evasion could crack down on fare rises.

"The Mayor must look at dramatically increasing the penalty charge to deter fare dodgers getting away scot-free from paying for a ticket. It is time that fare dodgers received punishment that fitted the crime."

ENDS

Notes to editor

The figures have been taken from Mayoral Answers and Transport for London Statistics. Links and reference are shown below. Following the figures given in Mayor's Question Time on the 17th November, the fare evasion rate has been taken at a constant of 3.6% over the last 4 ½ years. Transport for London have said that fare evasion has been declining since the mid 1990's, so these figures may under-represent the number of Tube fares evaded.

Estimated number of Tube fare evasions since April 2000

Financial Year Number of tube journeys (million) Fare evasion rate (%age) Number fares evaded total Number of days Number of hours Number of minutes Number of seconds Number of fares evaded per second

2000/01 970 3.6 34,920,000 365 8,760 525,600 31,536,000 1.11

2001/02 953 3.6 34,300,000 365 8,760 525,600 31,536,000 1.09

2002/03 942 3.6 33,900,000 365 8,760 525,600 31,536,000 1.07

2003/04 948 3.6 34,120,000 366 8,784 527,040 31,622,400 1.08

04/2004 - 11/2004 564 3.6 20,310,000 213 5,112 306,720 18,403,200 1.10

Total 4,377 3.6 157,550,000 1,674 40,176 2,410,560 144,633,600 1.09

The number of Tube journeys made for financial years 2000-2003 can be found at:-

http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk/tfl/ltr2003/overview-transport-trends.shtml

The number of Tube journeys made for the financial year 2003/04 can be found at:-

http://www.transportforlondon.gov.uk/tfl/about/report-library/annual-reports/2004/london_buses.shtml

The number of Tube journeys since April 2004 to November 2004, has been taken using the 2003/04 figure and information provided in the TfL Board Papers from the 1st December 2004 that show 'patronage of London Underground was 4% higher than the equivalent period of 2003/04'.

In response to Lynne Featherstone, at Mayor Question Time on 17th November, Ken Livingstone said:-

"The fare evasion rate for last year on the Underground is estimated at 3.6%. London Underground prosecutes anyone caught deliberately evading his or her fare."

(Taken from transcript of question 1646/2004)