FREE UNDER-16 BUS TRAVEL WELCOME, BUT MAYOR MUST COMBAT FARE DODGING

11.34.03am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 14th Jun 2005

The London Assembly Liberal Democrats today welcomed proposals by Mayor Ken Livingstone for under 16s to travel free on London buses, but voiced concern that there could be a sharp increase in fare dodging.

According to the Mayor at his press conference, half of all fare dodgers use child tickets. The Lib Dems today warned that with up to 450,000 extra child tickets in circulation, adults wanting to dodge fares by using child tickets could take advantage of the new scheme.

The press conference also revealed that the recruiting of 50 extra ticket checkers will be delayed by four months. In February 2005, the Mayor announced that the extra Revenue Protection Inspectors would be implemented by July 2005. The deadline has now moved to September.

London Assembly Liberal Democrats Transport Spokesperson, Geoff Pope, said:-

"While the introduction of free bus travel for under 16 year olds is a welcome step, the Mayor and Transport for London must raise their game when it comes to catching adults who use child tickets on the public transport network.

"With just one in six hundred people caught fare dodging and the increasing number of child Oystercards becoming available, there may still be people who think that it will be even easier to dodge fares.

"Millions of pounds are lost each year to people who are breaking the law. The failure to tackle fare-dodging hits the pockets of law-abiding commuters who pay extra fare increases to make up for those who get something for nothing. Cracking down on fare evasion could crack down on fare rises."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Introduction of additional ticket inspectors 2005/06

[Main question]

Question number 0255/2005

Meeting date 23/02/2005

What is the timetable for the introduction of additional ticket inspectors in 2005-06?

Answer by Ken Livingstone (2nd Term)

TfL expect to implement the budgeted headcount increase for 2005/06 by July 2005. TfL aim to increase headcount from 251 to 301, including all support and managerial staff and the Investigations & Prosecutions section.

· Fare dodging on buses is estimated to be running at 2.2%. With almost 7billion bus journeys having been taken between April 2000 and September 2004, up to 152million could have been evaded. In that same period, Revenue Protection Inspectors have caught just 246,000 people who had not paid the appropriate fare.

· Tube fare dodging is estimated to be running at 3.6%. With around 4.3billion tube journeys having been taken between April 2000 and November 2004, up to 157million could have been evaded. With around 144million seconds in the last four and a half years, this means around 1.08 Tube fares are dodged every second of every day.