South Essex rail operator, Trenitalia c2c, has collected £596,493 in lost revenue this year after clamping down on fare evasion through a variety of operational and data-led tactics.
By expanding the Revenue Protection team, c2c has ramped up deployment and coverage across the network, with the significant sum representing an 88 per cent increase on 2023’s total of £317,000.
The result highlights the increasing use of data to identify fare evasion activity, as well as the focus and commitment of c2c’s revenue protection and security teams on reducing and eliminating fare evasion across the network.
From January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, c2c handed out more than 8,863 penalty fares to passengers who did not have a valid ticket for travel.
This is a substantial increase from the 3,542 penalty fares issued in 2023, with the total sum collected from penalty fares being £337,068.
Across the course of 2024, the team had great success with investigating fare evaders, with thousands owed by some for historic unpaid tickets.
Some cases included £3,181.50 from an individual who was stopped at West Ham with the wrong ticket, £2,369.00 from an individual travelling from Basildon with the wrong ticket, and £2,483.50 recouped after a passenger travelling from Leigh to West Ham was caught short ticketing.
£15,000 is being repaid by another customer found to be short ticketing; upon further investigation after their initial apprehension, the fraudulent activity was traced back to March 2020, resulting in a final amount of more than £15,000 due in unpaid fares.
Iain Palmer, c2c’s head of revenue protection and security, said: “I am delighted that c2c has recouped such a significant sum across 2024, as ticketless travel is an issue that blights the entire rail network in the UK.
“Our revenue protection and security teams work incredibly hard under sometimes difficult circumstances to ensure that all our passengers have a valid ticket to use the c2c line.
“So, to achieve this record-breaking year is a testament to their hard work and determination to ensure that all passengers use the network fairly.”
In November 2024, c2c launched its “Don’t Take the Gamble” campaign, which highlights the repercussions of travelling without a valid ticket, to ensure that passengers understand the risk they are taking if they choose to evade their fare.