Robert Jenrick has had a good summer. Back in June, the shadow justice secretary caused a social media stir when he clipped a video of himself confronting Tube passengers walking through barriers. The minute-long piece – in which one fare dodger threatens the Tory MP with a knife – received millions of views and helped raise Jenrick’s public profile outside of the Westminster bubble. And now Mr S can reveal it appears to have had some real-life consequences. It transpires that after the publication of Jenrick’s video, the Transport for London (TfL) started cracking down on fare dodgers too.
A Freedom of Information response to Steerpike’s questions on fare dodgers has revealed that penalty fares issued this year have surged on those dished out in 2024. Compared to May to June last year, the number of irregularity reports (made when suspected fare evasion is detected) in the same period this year have more than doubled, while penalty fares have increased by more than a third. Last summer, just 352 irregularity reports were made in this time, with this increasing to 711 this year, while penalty fares rose from 1054 to 1461 in the same period. A similar pattern can be observed in June-July, with this year’s figures showing that irregularity reports made are up by 50 per cent while penalty fares rose by more than 10 per cent compared to the same period last year.
TfL added:
We take fare evasion extremely seriously. It takes away from vital revenue from us that should be invested in a safe, reliable transport network to keep London moving. We have a multi-pronged strategy in place to reduce the risk of fare evasion and have set a target to half the level of fare evasion by 2030. Our team of over 500 revenue inspectors operate across our entire transport network day and night, checking tickets, penalising fare evaders and using new technology and intelligence to identify anyone travelling without the correct ticket or payment for the journey they are making.
Well, they’ve the shadow justice secretary to thank for raising awareness of the ongoing issue!
Jenrick has been effective in using social media channels to raise awareness of Tory policies on crime and justice – coming to the issue before Nigel Farage began his ‘lawless Britain’ campaign over the summer recess period. At a time when the Conservatives are trailing both Labour and Reform in the polls, it’s these types of methods that many would hope to see in a party leader…
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