Latest news with #fareevasion
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
'Rattled' Sadiq Khan challenged over his 'Trumpian' attack on Robert Jenrick after London mayor brands top Tory 'Mr Ozempic' in Tube fare-dodging row
A 'rattled' Sir Sadiq Khan was challenged over his 'Trumpian' attack on top Tory Robert Jenrick today amid a deepening feud between the two politicians. The London mayor faced questions over his decision to take a personal swipe at Mr Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, by branding him 'Mr Ozempic'. His outburst came after Mr Jenrick - who once used the weight-loss drug - last week used social media to highlight the issue of fare-dodging on the London Underground. Footage shared by the ex-Cabinet minister showed him confronting those who forced their way through ticket barriers at Stratford station in the east of the capital. Responding to Mr Jenrick's video, Sir Sadiq took a dig at Mr Jenrick's past battle with his weight by claiming it was 'an example of the chutzpah of Mr Ozempic'. This saw the London mayor, a fierce critic of Donald Trump, accused of aping the US President by resorting to name-calling when being quizzed about his record. An ally of Mr Jenrick said the outburst showed how Sir Sadiq had been 'so rattled' by Mr Jenrick's campaign, adding: 'Anti-Trump Sadiq has gone full Trumpian.' In 2019, during Mr Trump's first spell in the White House, the London mayor compared the US President's name-calling to the actions of 'an 11-year-old' and said it was 'beneath me'. Speaking to Times Radio at the SXSW festival in London on Monday, Sir Sadiq admitted that fare evasion 'is an issue' on the Tube. 'It's an issue for London, has been for some time,' added the London mayor, who oversees Transport for London. 'That's one of the reasons why we've invested hugely in terms of not just enforcement officers, not just in terms of body-worn videos, not just in terms of CCTV, but invested in the police as well. 'What I find ironic, and it's an example of the chutzpah of Mr Ozempic, is that he was in government when the government cut more than a billion pounds from their police budget. 'He was in government when the government removed Transport for London's operating grant, and now he's criticising the consequences of the cuts in policing and TfL made by his government. 'Where was he in 2010, 2024 when those cuts were being made in our policing? Where was he in 2015 when the government cut their operating grant to TfL?' Asked whether he was copying Mr Trump by resorting to name-calling, Sir Sadiq replied: 'Look, you asked me a question, I gave you an answer.' Last summer, during his unsuccessful bid to be Tory leader, Mr Jenrick revealed how he took Ozempic 'for a short period of time' in a bid to shed the pounds. He spoke of how he lost four stone in 12 months after realising he was 'overweight'. Mr Jenrick said Ozempic had been 'helpful' but he 'didn't particularly enjoy it' and he had since 'lost weight in the normal way by eating less... doing some exercise'. In April, the Tory politician ran the London Marathon in aid of a Armed Forces charity. In June 2019, as Mr Trump began a state visit to the UK, Sir Sadiq responded to the US President branding him a 'stone-cold loser' on social media. 'This is the sort of behaviour I would expect from an 11-year-old,' the London mayor told CNN. 'But it's for him to decide how he behaves. It's not for me to respond in a like manner. I think it's beneath me to do childish tweets and name-calling.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Inside the crackdown on London's brazen Tube fare dodgers
In a desperate attempt to avoid the uniformed police guarding the exit to the tube station, a young man without a ticket sprints back down the platform steps. But before he can jump back onto the train, officers circle him and have him restrained against a wall within minutes. A search of his bag reveals he is carrying a lockable knife, and he is swiftly arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and put in handcuffs. The weapon is placed in an evidence bag, and he is marched through the station and into a waiting police car to be charged and remanded to appear at court the next day. The knife looks small, but officers insist it could do serious damage, and they stress they do not know the man's intentions for travelling with the weapon. It is just one example of more than 480 instances where people carrying a bladed article, such as a knife, have been stopped by British Transport Police (BTP) in the past year. The Independent witnessed several fare-dodging incidents while out on an operation with BTP from Stratford station in east London to Ilford on the Elizabeth line, as part of their crackdown on offenders. The latest figures show almost one in 20 Tube passengers are dodging fares – at a cost of £130m – amid a surge in violence against the staff who try to stop them. Ilford is one of many stations in the capital that has witnessed violence towards staff, with workers telling how they have been hit, spat at and subjected to racial abuse - all in the line of work. This particular station was chosen for the operation because in December 2024, a railway worker died after sustaining a serious head injury after being assaulted. Attacks on Transport for London (TfL) staff are not uncommon. More than 10,490 reports of work-related violence and aggression were made by TfL workers in 2023/24 - a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. About half of these incidents came after they approached fare evaders. 'Frontline staff deal with members of the public on a regular basis, and we know that they do face a disproportionate level on occasions of verbal abuse, and at its worst, that can escalate to physical violence,' Superintendent John Loveless from BTP tells The Independent. 'There's always a sense of fear or concern that you just don't know who you're dealing with, what they've got on their persons, whether that be a knife or something else, or just how they're going to behave and react to you,' he adds. The busy transport hub of Stratford - the fifth busiest station in the UK in 2023/24 - has a huge footfall and before officers even start their operation, they rush off to deal with drunk and disorderly passengers and several instances of anti-social behaviour. As we interview a worker, a group of teenagers are causing disruption by running around and vaping on the platform. When they refuse to cooperate with police, one is physically restrained, pinned to concrete floor of the platform and can be heard yelling as police speak to them. As we move onto the platform, a man guzzling a beer as he carries bag full of more alcohol is stopped for carrying an open container of alcohol - but he escapes a fine. Fare dodging is described as a 'gateway level offence' by officers on the operation, who say that while not all fare evaders are criminals, most criminals will avoid paying. Within 20 minutes of getting off the Elizabeth line train to Ilford, police stop the young man with a knife. Soon after another man approaching the barrier sees police and confesses he does not have his Oyster card with him. He is taken to one side, questioned and handed a £100 fine - the standard rate under TfL rules, which can be reduced if paid within 21 days. Another man who tries to exit the barrier is fined on the spot for using a child's travel card. A group of five women travelling with children in buggies attempt to circle back down the steps onto the platform when they realise police are lining the exit. Their suspicious behaviour is clocked by plain-clothed police officers who stop them for questions. The women, who spoke Romanian, could not speak English fluently, and a member of the station staff steps in to translate. It is soon revealed that they do not have any way to pay for their tickets and they are fined. During the operation, officers issue 47 penalty fares of £100 and conduct seven stop and searches – finding the lock knife and two people in possession of cannabis. Superintendent Loveless says: 'London does have its challenges in terms of weapon-enabled crime, but whilst there might still be that sense of fear and concern do be reassured that it's a really still safe way to travel.' 'We like to use the phrase that 'whilst you may not always see us, it doesn't mean that police are not always there. 'Talking to the knife carriers out there, the risk of you becoming a victim yourself if you are choosing to carry a knife is high. You put yourself and others at significant risk, and ultimately it can result in a life-changing injury or death.' More than 55,000 knife crime offences were recorded in England and Wales in the year to September 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Fare evasion costs Transport for London £130m a year
Around one in 29 public transport users in London do not pay the correct fare, figures show. Transport for London (TfL) said 3.5% of passengers across its network evade fares, costing it £130 million annually. The figure has fallen from 3.8% in the 2023/24 financial year. In April, TfL announced new measures aimed at slashing the figure to 1.5% by the end of the decade. These include targeting the most prolific fare evaders and using advanced technology. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick posted a video on social media on Thursday in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford station in east London. He asked one person 'do you think it's all right not to pay' and challenged another to 'go back through the barrier and pay'. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live on Thursday, Mr Jenrick said staff 'weren't doing anything' to tackle evasion when he was at Stratford to film the video. 'They weren't either trained or didn't have the self-confidence to take action, and I think that's the issue sometimes,' he said. London Underground and Overground services operate from Stratford, as well as mainline rail services, the Elizabeth line and the DLR. Interventions with fare dodgers are involved in around half of reported incidents of violence and aggression towards frontline staff, according to TfL. Trade union the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) appeared to accuse Mr Jenrick of 'trying to score points' with the clip. It said in a statement: 'This incident was not only inappropriate but also potentially dangerous for passengers, staff and the individual involved. 'Fare evasion is a serious issue, but it must be tackled with professional, trained enforcement, not MPs trying to score points or social media clout on their daily commute.' Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said the 'overwhelming majority' of passengers pay the correct fare, but there is 'a minority who do attempt to travel without a valid ticket, which is a criminal offence'. She went on: 'Fare evasion is unacceptable. That is why we are strengthening our capability to deter and detect fare evaders, including expanding our team of professional investigators to target the most prolific fare evaders across the network. 'This builds on the work of our team of more than 500 uniformed officers already deployed across the network to deal with fare evasion and other anti-social behaviour, keeping staff and customers safe. 'Fare evasion is not a victimless crime. It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network and we are committed to reducing the current rate of fare evasion to 1.5% by 2030.'
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
We rode a SEPTA bus with its fare evasion task force in Philadelphia. Here's how it went.
Dawn Cooper says she's been driving SEPTA buses for more than 25 years now. Having spent that much time shuttling people across the city, she's seen a lot. "Just when you think that's it, you see some more," Cooper said. One thing she sees all the time: people not paying for their ride. "Every day," Cooper said. "Over half, over half of the ridership does not pay." Fare evasion has become a costly problem for SEPTA. The authority has long focused on the rails, where people frequently hop turnstiles to skip the fee. Last year, SEPTA installed full-length fare gates at the 69th Street Station to cut down on fare evasion on the Market-Frankford Line. But, SEPTA officials tell CBS News Philadelphia, while they have more riders on the rails, they see a higher rate of fare evasion on buses. And when people don't pay while getting on a bus, it puts them face to face with drivers. "I don't even feel safe approaching or having any kind of negative confrontation with anyone," Cooper said. "So I just let them ride." Dawn Cooper says she's been driving SEPTA buses for more than 25 years now. Having spent that much time shuttling people across the city, she's seen a lot. CBS News Philadelphia Now, SEPTA is sending in reinforcements. This week, the authority launched a new task force with officers dedicated to riding routes with the highest fare evasion to make sure people are paying up. On Wednesday, SEPTA invited CBS News Philadelphia to ride along with two officers on the Route 18 bus, from the Olney Transportation Center to Fox Chase and back. It's a route where officials say they've seen some of the highest fare evasion. The officers were stationed at the front of the bus. One would get off to greet people who were getting on, while the other stood close to the fare box. "The farebox is here and they'd have to get past both of us. So fare evasion drops to basically zero when we're on the bus," Officer Brendan Dougherty said. "Most people are just here to ride a bus, they pay, and they're not a problem." From what CBS Philadelphia saw, Dougherty's assessment was pretty true. Most people who rode the Route 18 with us on Wednesday morning got on the bus ready to pay their $2.50. The officers did have to give a few reminders to some passengers, and one woman who was initially stopped just needed a second to put her bags down. "It's not like 'Stop! Don't get on.' Sometimes they have to sit down and get their belongings, and we have to understand that's how the flow of it works sometimes," Officer Nicholas Epps said. Still, there were plenty of people we saw turned away at the doors. "Gotta pay your fare," Epps said to one young man, who simply turned around and walked off. Dougherty talked with another man in the doorway during one stop. "I just said, make sure you have your fare ready. And he said he didn't have it. He didn't argue, just said, all right, never mind," Dougherty said. Officers Brendan Dougherty and Nicholas Epps riding a SEPTA bus as a part of the agency's fare evasion task force program. CBS News Philadelphia The officers say they also try to be nimble, hopping from bus to bus as they work their shifts. Epps says if everything looks good on the bus they're riding, they may get off at a stop and catch another bus going a different way. Epps says they try to send a message that they could be anywhere at any time. "It's like an omnipresence where like, I might not be on this bus, but you do know we ride the bus. And when you get at the bus stop, you don't know if we're going to be on the bus or not," Epps said. "So why would you not come to the bus with your fare?" We saw it firsthand during our ride-along as we hopped buses with the officers and headed back toward Olney. In all, CBS Philadelphia saw around 10 people stop from getting on the bus without paying, far from the majority who rode the route with us. But that's still about 10 people in one hour on one route. Spread that across SEPTA's vast network of buses, trains and trolleys, leaders say the losses mount fast. "It is a large sum of money," SEPTA Police Chief Chuck Lawson said. "In the millions. In the multiple millions. Could be as high as $30 million." The crackdown comes as SEPTA faces a $213 million budget shortfall. The agency has already released plans for massive service cuts and fare hikes if more money doesn't come from the state government, a topic that's sparked controversy for the last two years in Harrisburg. While stopping fare evasion won't fully fund that budget gap, every dollar counts for the transit authority right now, and Lawson says they'll be focused on making sure people pay. "At some station you attend, you're going to see cops there," Lawson said. "We're going to be enforcing the fare pretty heavily." Lawson said the task force will use data and focus on the routes that are seeing the highest levels of fare evasion. The chief also doesn't believe the task force will impact SEPTA's ability to keep an eye on the rest of its services. He says their officer recruitment and retainment has remained good, and force levels are at their highest in around 12 years. On the bus, the officers say enforcement is only one part of what they do. It's also about changing a culture in which some people think paying is optional. "We try to put that in people's heads that if it's anytime to start paying, it's today," Epps said. "We gotta get in the custom that this is not a free service, people have to pay their fare." For drivers like Cooper, having the officers on board also brings a sense of safety to their daily rides. "It definitely would make not only me feel better, but the ridership feel better also," Cooper said. "There's a lot going on on these buses, especially where we are right now, Broad and Olney. There's a lot going on. So seeing a police presence will definitely make a difference." Lawson says there is no timetable for how long the task force will run and that SEPTA could move officers around the system to where they are most needed.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Robert Jenrick wants fare-dodgers video to 'shame people into action'
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick has said he hopes his video of himself confronting fare evaders on the London Underground will "shame people into action".Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley, Jenrick said activities such as fare dodging along with graffiti and playing music on public transport were "chipping away at society".Asked if his party's policy of austerity was a contributing factor, Jenrick said he believed in being "honest about the mistakes of the last Conservative government".Responding to Jenrick's video, Transport for London (TfL) said fare evasion was "unacceptable" and that it was expanding its team of investigators to "target the most prolific fare evaders". In the video, which has had more than 3.5 million views on the social media platform X, Jenrick is seen challenging a number of people squeezing through barriers in an apparent effort to avoid paying the fare. Along with the video, he posted a message reading: "Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground. Lawbreaking is out of control. He's not acting. So, I did." Explaining his reasons for making the video, Jenrick said he was "sick to death of people fare dodging" and felt he needed to "highlight the issue". "It's about the authorities - in this instance Tfl or the police - not stepping up and not enforcing the rules," he said."It makes most people feel silly, feel foolish. Why are they paying for their fares on the Tube when others aren't doing so."Asked if he had sought permission from TfL to make a video on their premises, he replied "I didn't know that was their rule", adding: "They should be going after people breaking the law, not the rules." TfL said it aimed to reduce the rate of evasion, which costs the organisation more than £100m a year, to 1.5% by 2030. Last month, it reported that the evasion rate for 2024/25 was averaging 3.4%, down from 3.8% in the previous year. TfL also pointed to statistics suggesting levels of fare evasion in New York stood at 13%. Announcing a new fare evasion strategy earlier this month, TfL said it was using data and CCTV to analyse travel patterns to focus on "those who evade fares repeatedly". In the press release, TfL said it continued to "tackle blatant fare evasion such as gate-pushing" which it said created "an intimidating atmosphere for staff and customers".It added: "TfL is increasing the number of accredited enforcement officers on its network who can refuse entry and remove people from stations, and deploying them to locations with high prevalence of people pushing through gates." In recent months Jenrick has made similar videos on litter-dropping and theft of trade tools, leading to suggestions he is running an ongoing campaign to be Conservative Party stood in the last leadership contest but came second to Kemi if he still wanted to be Tory leader, he replied: "No, absolutely not... I'm just trying to do my job."He said Badenoch would lead his party into the next election, adding that the Tory Party had "been in tough spots before but has always bounced back". Jenrick was recently seen having lunch with Rupert Lowe, an independent MP who was expelled from Reform UK earlier this year. Asked if he would like Lowe to join the Conservatives, Jenrick said: "I want the Tory Party to be the natural home for any small-c conservatives in this country..."Rupert is somebody who has taken strong lines on things like border control, like crime, on how we build a more integrated country."However, Jenrick said he had not asked Lowe to join the party and Lowe "hasn't asked to". "Ultimately it's for him to decide what his future is and for Kemi, as leader of the party, to decide if he or anybody else is suitable to join us," he added.
