The fine for dodging rail fares in England is set to rise from £20 to £100 in January, the government has said.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was being increased over concerns the current fine was not seen as dissuasive enough.
The penalty is issued as a surcharge on the price of a ticket for the passenger’s journey.
However, it will be reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days.
The DfT suggests the raid will help modernize the railway system and ultimately reduce costs for taxpayers “who currently foot the bill of passengers traveling without a ticket”.
Currently the penalty fares for people boarding the train without a valid ticket are £20 or double the ticket price for the next station where the train stops.
But under legislation passed by Parliament on Wednesday, those penalties will rise in England for the first time since 2005.
- What about the rail strikes?
- Great British Railways haulage invoice deferred
The Government hopes the change will bring the national penalty in line with fines imposed by Transport for London and Manchester Metrolink, which are £80 and £100 respectively.
A DfT spokesman said: “We need penalty fares to act as an adequate deterrent and we are introducing a modern system that will help create a more sustainable railway.”
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents rail operators, estimates that fare evasion costs the industry around £240m every year.
Rail bosses are currently wrestling with ongoing strike action and how to boost post-Covid revenue. Passenger travel has plummeted since working from home has become more popular.
The industry has launched a rewards program to entice commuters to return and introduced a flexible time card to accommodate changing work habits.
A total of 332 million rail journeys were made in the UK in the three months to the end of June, around three quarters of pre-pandemic levels.
Add Comment