Some 50 people were caught at North Greenwich station on Monday as Transport for London showed off its new intelligence-led crackdown on fare-dodging.
The Jubilee Line stop, one of the busiest in the capital, has been identified as a hotspot for passengers failing to pay, with many just bumping their way through the wide gates.
Operation Vector, a joint venture between TfL and the British Transport Police (BTP), uses data and reports from frontline staff to deploy plain-clothed enforcement officers at fare-dodging hubs such as North Greenwich.
Instead of being positioned on the ticket gate line, the officers are deployed strategically throughout stations to catch those attempting to travel without paying.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service witnessed this first-hand on Monday, seeing a string of interceptions at North Greenwich.
Across an hour of observing the barriers in the mid-morning, we saw passengers being intercepted after attempting their usual route through the wide gate.
Police stopped about 50 people during the operation on Monday. Across the capital, officers have arrested 24 individuals in relation to Operation Vector since last month. In some instances, drugs and knives have been seized, suggesting fare evaders are more likely to have also committed other crimes.
Since Operation Vector began on October 5, some 467 people have been stopped, with 156 penalty fares being issued and 175 reports for possible prosecution.
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of security, policing and enforcement, boasted of “huge successes” in the initial weeks of the operation.
“What makes this distinct is that it’s a plain-clothed operation,” she said. “We have officers targeting individuals who push through our gates or tailgate behind paying passengers.
“We receive a massive amount of feedback from frontline staff witnessing double-gating and gate-pushing, which directly informs where the operations take place, at what times, and who to look out for. We have seen huge successes in just the few weeks it has been running.”
Fare evasion is estimated to cost TfL up to £210 million a year – far more than the amount raised from recent fare rises.
The rate of evasion on TfL’s network as a whole is 3.5 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent last year, with officials aiming for 1.5 per cent by 2030. Fare dodging on the London Underground is far higher, however, at about 5 per cent.
Hayward said that the presence of barrier bumpers felt “invasive” and unfair to “law-abiding” Londoners, and adding that the cost of evasion “robs Londoners of vital investment into a safe, secure, and reliable transport network”.
Chief Inspector Daniel Rushall said: “We know there are several reasons why people choose to fare evade and one of those is due to their links to more serious criminality.
“In its first month, this operation has already provided us with valuable opportunities to identify and apprehend criminals and high harm offenders using London’s transport network, including the seizure of weapons and drugs.
“This is just one of many operations and strategies we have in place across the rail network to disrupt criminality. You may not realise we are there because of the nature in which we conduct some of these operations, but we are determined to hunt out criminals blighting our network, which in turn is making it a safer place, both for staff and the public.”
On the surface, the operation looked extremely effective, with multiple passengers apprehended and potentially made to pay the £100 penalty fine levied by TfL on fare evaders. However, it required about a dozen officers stationed around the gate line.
Asked if such resources could be spared for all Tube stations, Hayward said: “We have significant support at smaller stations as well, including overnight deployments. Our intelligence dictates how we deploy enforcement teams and British Transport Police.
“Whether it is a small station or a major interchange, whether it is midday or midnight, if you evade fares, you risk being caught. Our capability is deployed intelligently across the entire network based on data and risk profiles.”
Part of the strategy, she said, was to create uncertainty around where enforcement teams will be at any one time, acting as a deterrent for offenders.
Kumail Jaffer is the Local Democracy Reporter covering London’s mayor and assembly. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media.
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