The Croydon tram network has a fare evasion rate almost double the rest of the capital’s transport system
Croydon’s trams are the worst part of the Transport for London system for fare dodgers, according to official figures from City Hall.
Fares fair: almost 1 in 12 tram passengers are taking us all for a ride
Fare evasion across the capital is twice as bad as previously thought, as TfL and Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan pledge to crackdown on fare evasion.
Fare dodging was estimated to cost TfL £190million last year, up from £130million in 2022-2023, money that might otherwise be reinvested in the transport network.
Croydon’s tram network – which operates an “open” system, with no barriers at tram stops on the network from Beckenham Junction to Wimbledon – had a fares evasion rate of 7.2% in 2024-2025 (down from 8% the previous year). That’s almost one passenger in every 12 riding on a tram, and comes despite regular sweeps along the tram route by teams of four to six ticket inspectors.
TfL recently said fare evasion across its services – the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR, Croydon tram and the bus network – had fallen year on year from 3.8% of journeys in 2023-2024 to 3.5% in 2024-2025.
That suggests that fare evasion on the trams is more than twice as bad as the TfL average.
In a report being presented at a City Hall meeting this week, TfL officials have provided a more detailed breakdown, showing how fare dodging on the Tube was happening at about twice the rate on buses.
Tube fare evasion averaged 4.8% over the course of the year.
Fare evasion on the Docklands Light Railway was higher, at 5.4% during the final quarter of the 2024-2025 financial year.
The DLR, like the trams, has an “open” system, where passengers tap in to pay their fares, without the use of barriers.
Open system: tram passengers are trusted to tap-in before their journeys
TfL described fare-dodging as a “selfish” activity carried out by a “criminal minority”. It admitted that other passengers had to pay higher fares to account for those who failed to pay for their travel.
Fares on the TfL systems are expected to rise by an average of 5.8% next year, in line with the government formula of inflation plus 1%. That is expected to include the first bus and tram fare rises since 2023.
TfL says that since April, it has increased the amount of on-train checking of contactless cards to catch “opportunistic offenders” seeking to avoid tapping for their journeys. More than 1.8million contactless cards had been checked, leading to the recovery of more than £1.6million in unpaid fares.
The TfL report says: “Fare evasion takes away vital revenue from us and denies Londoners investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport service.
“We are taking a bold, target-driven approach to tackling fare evasion and aim to reduce fare evasion to a rate of under 1.5% by 2030.
“Most of our customers – over 96% – pay the correct fare for the journeys that they make. It is not fair for our customers that a selfish, criminal minority refuse to pay.
“Fare evasion is the trigger in over half of all incidents of work-related violence and aggression. Fare evasion undermines the confidence and safety of our frontline teams and fare-paying customers.”
There were almost 3.6billion journeys on TfL services in 2024-2025, generating almost £5.3billion in income from passengers.
Grim reading: the TfL fare dodgers’ league table
A TfL spokesperson said: “Fare evasion is a criminal offence and robs Londoners of investment in safe, clean and reliable public transport.
“That’s why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators and using the latest technology to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network.”
Read more: Inflation spike sets Transport for London fares to rise by 5.8%
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