Brazen fare dodgers were seen pushing through Tube barriers just inches from station staff in southeast London.
Fare dodging is flaring up tensions on the London Underground after footage emerged showing two men ignoring the ticket barrier at an Elizabeth line station.
The suspected fare dodgers were seen walking through the wide barrier designed for disabled people and those with children at Woolwich station.
Commuter Matt Stevens captured the pair calmly walking through the barrier with at least two members of staff just inches away.
He claimed staff were just watching and took ‘no action’ as the men marched through the barrier.
He told Metro: ‘The staff were stood watching this fare evasion happen just yards from them. They stand and watch and take no action. This happens 1000s of times a day.
‘The TfL gate system at Woolwich station has become an honesty box system, whereby people pay if they feel like it. This incident, and every other incident, is an insult to the majority of Londoners who spend their hard-earned cash on paying their fare correctly.’
Matt added that the situation is ‘a joke’ and that he spends £30 a week on the Tube.
The video sparked a debate on social media whether station staff should stop suspected fare dodgers in action, or whether this could be dangerous.
It is unclear whether the staff saw what was happening near them.
At least one of the two station staff standing by the barrier appeared to be assisting another customer when the men pushed their way through.
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Metro approached TfL for a comment.
The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, filmed himself confronting suspected fare dodgers at Stratford station in May. Jenrick ran up to people he suspected of fare evaision on the spot. One man told him to ‘f*** off.’
However, it later emerged that Jenrick may not have had permission to film on TfL property for his stunt, according to LBC.
Fare evasion costs Transport for London around £190 million, with the Elizabeth line seeing the brunt of it.
Tube fare dodging at six-year high
Fare evasion cost TfL around £188 million in 2024/25, and £190 million the previous financial year.
This has gone up from around £130 million in 2022/23.
A total of 15,930 penalty fares were issued to passengers travelling on the Elizabeth line in 2024/25.
On the Elizabeth line, 3,751 fare dodgers were taken to court in 2024/25,while 4,063 people on the Tube and 3,044 people on the Overground were prosecuted.
Fare dodging prosecutions are at its highest since 2018/19.
It comes after fare dodgers were filmed being caught red handed across the Tube network and clashing with enforcement teams.
One man tried to make a run for it when he was confronted about his declined payment at Kingston station, which is thought to be a hotspot for fare evasion.
He was filmed running directly into the arms of waiting police officers.
One prolific fare dodger had avoided paying for up to £1,650 on the Elizabeth line.
The commuter had avoided paying the full fare for his journey from Harold Wood and Romford to Stratford by buying a travelcard for Zones 2 to 3 only, a trick known as short-faring.
Another short-farer was caught after racking up a bill of £20,000 in unpaid tickets over three years.
The man had bought a ticket for only part of his journey to London Waterloo, and used a 16-17 Saver Railcard to get the half-price discount discount despite not being a teenager.
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