The Conservatives have taken aim at Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan over fare evasion in the capital, which they say is costing Londoners a whopping £190 million in lost revenue.
In a strongly worded letter to Mr Khan, Julia Lopez expressed “serious concern” that 3.5 per cent of all journeys taken on TfL are now made without passengers paying their fare.
The Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology accused the London Mayor and TfL of “burying their heads in the sand” and refusing to take any “meaningful, concrete action to tackle the problem”.
The letter, also signed by Thomas Turrell, Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, accused Mr Khan of a “cover-up”, criticising the Mayor for “refusing to publish data” and taking a “dismissive approach” to the legitimate concerns of Londoners.
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Mayoral questions have been submitted by the Conservatives seeking more information on fare evasion rates by London borough, the worst stations for fare evasion and the stations with the best fare enforcement. They say their requests have gone unanswered, arguing that this is “not good enough”.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Ms Lopez said: “Fare evasion is not a minor crime. Those people we all see vaulting the barriers are often the same ones on their way to our high streets to steal and make life miserable for law-abiding Londoners.”
“Why should decent people always pick up the cost of these criminals? Once again, there is zero leadership from Sadiq Khan on transport issues.”
Ms Lopez fumed: “From his knighthood to his peerage, he (Khan) is just seeing out his time as Mayor while collecting the baubles. What about the people he is elected to represent?”
Fare evasion currently accounts for more than 100 million dodged fares out of around three billion annual passenger journeys.
TfL’s current target is to reduce fare evasion from 3.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent by 2030.
Mr Turrell, City Hall Conservatives transport spokesman, whose 2025 fare evasion report, Stolen Millions, first highlighted the need to publish this data, said: “Yet again Sadiq Khan hides behind excuses instead of showing leadership to tackle the issue.”
“If TfL is not collecting station-level data, then it is no wonder efforts to stop fare evasion are failing.”
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Mr Turrell told the People’s Channel: “Sadiq Khan claims to be the most transparent Mayor, yet he consistently blocks and cherry-picks information to gaslight Londoners. But passengers can see the scale of fare evasion; it is time Sadiq Khan woke up to it.”
Opposition parties have proposed plans to crack down on fare dodging across London’s transport network, including installing barriers at all entrance points to the Underground and other parts of the network, such as the DLR. Taller barriers could also be introduced to make it harder for people to jump over, crawl under or push through them.
They have also called for dedicated TfL staff to tackle fare evasion, with officers based in ticket halls and given the training and support needed to challenge people attempting to travel without paying.
The proposals include creating an Evasion Taskforce to oversee the issue, with TfL expected to report transparently on the scale of fare evasion and consider best practice across the transport sector to help reduce the problem in the long term.
William Yarwood, Campaigns Director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Londoners will be furious that fare dodgers are helping themselves to free journeys while honest passengers face ever-higher fares.”
“TfL cannot keep demanding more money from taxpayers and commuters while losing £190 million a year to people simply refusing to pay.”
Mr Yarwood fumed: “Sadiq Khan and transport bosses must get a grip on fare evasion, enforce the rules properly, and stop making law-abiding Londoners pick up the bill.”
Mayor Khan’s office has been approached for comment by GB News.
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