please empty your brain below
Do revenue inspectors actually exist on tube? I've never actually seen one in 35 years of travelling on it. Closest thing I've seen is a poster advertising their presence on the northern section of the Bakerloo Line in the early 90s

Tom | 28.05.24 - 7:12 a.m. | #

Tom - They do exist but seem to gang up at various stations such as Whitechapel etc, where the culprit would usually turn away as there are so many of them

I seem to have a 6th sense of who is going to push though the barriers or try and tailgate me, in which case i usually stop, step to the side and pretend to fumble around

The irony of people pushing though is they seem to be wearing a £200 pair of trainers and a newish IPhone.

Is it potentially worth getting a criminal record for at max £3.40

Bruce Wayne | 28.05.24 - 7:21 a.m. | #

I must admit, i haven't seen a massive difference on a Friday in the city. I think if they did this more during a school holiday period for the week perhaps it would be more successful. It makes little difference cost wise.

Bruce Wayne | 28.05.24 - 7:23 a.m. | #

A delight today. Entertaining and educational as ever, thanks dg.

Michael T | 28.05.24 - 7:28 a.m. | #

I have seen more ticket inspectors on the overground. I wonder if there is a reason for that.

Dave Jones | 28.05.24 - 7:57 a.m. | #

My feelings are a curious mixture of amusement and anger at the same time from reading this post.

Dave | 28.05.24 - 8:00 a.m. | #

TWICE in … 30+ years of tube travelling have I seem the revenue inpsectors. Once, a team of them on the train ar Rayners Lane, the second time on the gateline at Edgware Road.

So they are out there, bult you’re more likely to get inspected on the Overground though where its happeend to me there many times,

Keoth | 28.05.24 - 8:32 a.m. | #

I don't know whether it's the case all over Germany, but when I visited Munich a few years ago, like the Docklands, there were no barriers, but you still needed to have a ticket and validate it before travel. However there were several occasions when groups of inspectors (together with Polizei) would board and check everyone with the potential of a hefty fine for those caught ticketless.

Whether it would work over here I'm not so sure, but the savings on the cost of installing and maintaining barriers could be used for employing more revenue staff.

Tim | 28.05.24 - 8:49 a.m. | #

My city has no ticket barriers on its substantial system. In fact, there are none in the whole country. The statistics say that on regular checks on trains, buses and trams, about 3% have not paid a fare and/or have no ticket.

But there again, we have a 29€ monthly ticket for the whole city and a 49€ monthly ticket which can be used nationwide on all public transport and non- premium mainline services.

Setting up and upkeep of ticketing systems must be enormous. Money that could be put back into running services. I know Mayor Kahn has been to my city and has seen how the system works. Mobility shouldn't only be for the rich.

Steve | Homepage | 28.05.24 - 8:54 a.m. | #

Maybe this should have a 'don't try this at home' line.

I am a relatively rare visitor to London, couple of times a month, yet have seen revenue protection people at West Ham twice, once on the bus, and once on Overground. They are hardly rare.

I was once pleaded to by a chap to let him through the Victoria barrier after me. Deliberately dawdled when the gate opened but he still managed to sneak through after me. Felt guilty about it afterwards.

davews | 28.05.24 - 8:54 a.m. | #

Having had the pleasure of a journey home on the the DLR last week where a group of teenagers openely vaped on the train the whole journey in front of the DLR member of staff operating the doors - who did absolutely nothing - I've become a lot less sympathetic to rail staff requests for a pay rise.

Alex | 28.05.24 - 9:08 a.m. | #

I saw someone push through the wide gate this morning at Dagenham Heathway, so did the revenue inspectors and the police officer. The person pushing though did not get on a train.

David @DTL | Homepage | 28.05.24 - 9:19 a.m. | #

Seen the revenue inspectors a few times - once in the middle of a tunnel, once on a train itself, but mostly at stations. When I first moved to London I lived in Ealing and they'd regularly descend en-masse at Ealing Broadway which didn't have gates at the time.

A couple of times I've spotted people trying to tailgate through the gates and challenged them. The first time was pre-Oyster and the guy angrily shouted he had a valid ticket whilst waving his ticket marked BUS PASS at me.

After that I took a different approach and one I highly recommend. I congratulated them on a "nice job of getting through the barriers". "Good work" I added. All very positive, and means they have absolutely no idea how to react. They are in no doubt someone's clocked them. But they can't be aggressive because they're being praised. Every time I've tried it, they've shuffled off quietly. Whether it's put them off, well who knows...

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 28.05.24 - 9:27 a.m. | #

Very good. "Push you luck" sounds exactly like a TfL slogan.

Only once has someone got through the barriers behind me, a young "athletic" looking bloke.

Mikey C | 28.05.24 - 9:34 a.m. | #

If people constantly see rules being broken with no consequences, more and more rules will be broken.

It's really sad that TfL (and any other authority in this country nowadays) shows little interest in tackling these issues. It makes life in a city less pleasant.

Exemplary citizen | 28.05.24 - 9:37 a.m. | #

Staff in all cases mentioned above are pretty certainly following the rules and guidelines laid down. So should have no effect on any pay issues.

Malcolm of Kent | 28.05.24 - 10:20 a.m. | #

Chuckling at the names and job titles.

Today's risk assessments before any task is undertaken would suggest that no employee should challenge fare evaders as they might have a knife (or worse).

Blue Witch | 28.05.24 - 10:20 a.m. | #

Andrew Bowden : "Seen the revenue inspectors a few times - once in the middle of a tunnel, once on a train itself,"
If they weren't on a train what were they doing in a tunnel?

Patrick | 28.05.24 - 10:24 a.m. | #

Patrick - a foot tunnel in a station. Might have been Oxford Circus - on the tunnels between Victoria and Central Lines - as that was a place I used to change almost daily.

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 28.05.24 - 10:28 a.m. | #

Two guys got om the 466 bus yesterday and didn’t tap in and ran upstairs. The driver got out of hsi cab, stood on the stairs and told them we werent moving anywhere. They slunked off the bus to a chorus of “well dome driver!” from other passengers.

Well done ( and thank you! ) driver.

Geoff | 28.05.24 - 10:30 a.m. | #

What can you do about the type of people who push through barriers?
You can't hold up the train at the station until they all get off and they are probably also the type of person who don't pay their fines either!

There has been a shocking increase over the last year or two though. Not even paying passengers register shock when they see it anymore.

Cornish Cockney | 28.05.24 - 10:40 a.m. | #

I haven't paid for a Tube journey in years, thanks to the expedient of having turned 60 and being in possession of a Freedom Pass. Fortunately I haven't needed to travel before 9.30 (before the pandemic I had 24 hour free access).

Ian Paton | 28.05.24 - 10:42 a.m. | #

From the attitude of some of those I've encountered, I do get the impression that a lot of fare evasion is done out of bravado rather than poverty. It can result in an air of lack of control and tend to make travelling feel just a little less safe. No sure what can be done about it, as despite (or because of?) umpteen years of rightish-wing government, respect for "authority" seems at an all-time low with revenue staff having few actual powers unless backed up by a police presence (and we saw how that can escalate in Croydon).

Andrew S | 28.05.24 - 11:33 a.m. | #

Berlin's transport networks used to be the most thoroughly ticket-inspected in Europe. This was because after reunification many of the former East Berlin border guards were redeployed in this role, for which their training and experience suited them well.

John Cartledge | Homepage | 28.05.24 - 12:45 p.m. | #

In many years of travel I've only once encountered a revenue check, while exiting the DLR to the Underground at Bank. It caused a large angry crush of passengers along the platform. I have been tailgated about 10x this frequency - often quite skilfully (bravo to the miscreants)

Frank F | 28.05.24 - 12:52 p.m. | #

Hi CHATGPT do you have to pay on the London Underground 😁😜

Clive | 28.05.24 - 1:11 p.m. | #

I work for TfL and a large proportion of the work done by my department is crunching the numbers for this (avoidance, pushing through, tailgating, bus fare evasion) and identifying hotspots to send the revenue folks out to.

It’s all reported, tube or bus, but there are very few people to deploy! Maybe 25% of what would be needed to be an active deterrent in my view.

Pincinator | 28.05.24 - 2:44 p.m. | #

Same folk who have worked out that if they nick stuff from shops, no-one will dare lift a finger to stop them and the police won't give a stuff. What a shithole this moral-free country is.

David B | 28.05.24 - 3:20 p.m. | #

John C.. If only that had been true.

East German border guards lost their jobs on reunification and many never worked again. Also, actual Berlin residents were never used as guards on the Berlin Wall as there was likely to have been conflicts of interest.They mostly came from Saxony.

Steve | Homepage | 28.05.24 - 3:43 p.m. | #

True or not, many years ago I spent two weeks in Berlin. Within five minutes of my first journey on the U-Bahn I encountered ticket inspectors. And their enthusiastic German Shepherd Dogs.

It is not an entirely new policy to not expect staff to intervene. I was a bus conductor in 1975 and after a few well-publicised attacks we were told back off if a request for fares met with an angry response.

Pedantic of Purley | 28.05.24 - 4:05 p.m. | #

On one of those documentaries about TfL they followed some revenue inspectors and said that the inspectors have no powers to stop people they suspect of fair dodging, only the Police can do that. I'm sure that encouraged a few more people to try their luck.

Jon Jones | 28.05.24 - 5:29 p.m. | #

Ian Paton-your over 60 card is valid on the tube from 0900..no need to wait until 0930! Also valid before 0900 on Fridays, but only until this Friday.

Jeremy | 28.05.24 - 5:46 p.m. | #

Jeremy - Out here in South London where TfL operates no rail-based services, the start time on National Rail for an Over 60 pass is, and always has been, 0930. (Although it is 0900 on the buses).

Timbo | 28.05.24 - 9:16 p.m. | #

In Japan, the barriers are open, but snap shut if you don't have enough credit or try to go through without tapping. And there's a big red alarm that lights off and buzzes. Their oyster card seems to work nationally apart from faster trains.

Running Correspondent | 29.05.24 - 12:51 a.m. | #

In Kyiv the gates are always open.
But if you go through without putting a token in the slot to pay, a bar/bolt shoots out with a dangerous force.
Very alarming and painful I imagine

sposedly | 29.05.24 - 9:26 a.m. | #

Perhaps Luxemburg chooses the best option. No Tickets - no ticket inspectors. Free travel for all.

MK | 29.05.24 - 9:35 a.m. | #

Lux is a tax haven and smaller than London.

Kim | 29.05.24 - 10:48 a.m. | #

In my LU days (office worker mostly) I occasionally went out with Revenue Inspectors. The most checked line was the Piccadilly (pre-Elizabeth / CrossRail) because of the fare dodoging and incorrect ticketing to and from Heathrow. Basic human body language tells you after a few minutes' learning who hasn't paid their fare - they're trying too hard to be 'normal' and 'unobtrusive' - which was how we distinguished the dodgers (fined and/or detained) from the incorrectly ticketed (helped to pay the right fare)...

Another Revenue Day favourite was the eastern end of the District Line, especially before gates were introduced. That route's fare dodging more than justified early and late inspections... As did the pre-gated Hainault Loop.

Public transport staff, not just TfL, are told to put their own safety first and not challenge fare dodgers because of the risk, especially these days. Look at it this way - if the bus driver is assaulted, that bus isn't going anywhere.

If I were them and wanted to go home after that shift in approximately the same anatomy I arrived for work, I too wouldn't risk it. Before anyone slags off staff, put yourself in their position first.

Joel | 29.05.24 - 1:42 p.m. | #











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