Fare dodging cyclist brazenly forces his way through wide-aisle gate at Tube station as TfL reveals surge in passengers handed £100 fines
This is the moment a cyclist forced his way through a wide-aisle gate at a London Underground station in the latest example of brazen Tube fare dodging.The passenger, whose face was partially covered by a balaclava, approached the gate at Hanger Lane station in West London and pulled one side of it open by hand.He then gradually pulled his bicycle through while keeping the gate open with his back and right leg before making his way towards the Central line platform.The gate could be heard bleeping as he pushed through, but the man successfully got into the station for free as other passengers paid to enter on different gates.Wide-aisle gates, which were first installed at Tube stations in 2008, are normally used by wheelchair users, the elderly, parents with children and people with luggage.But fare dodgers are increasingly taking advantage of them by either pushing through the gap in the middle or quickly following someone in front who correctly touches in.It comes as Transport for London (TfL) revealed that the number of passengers handed £100 penalty fares across the network has surged over the past year.Penalty fares are £100, reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days. Some 69,001 of them were issued in the year to March, up 9 per cent from the previous 12 months. The cyclist approaches the gate at Hanger Lane station and pulls one side of it open by hand He gradually pulls his bicycle through while keeping the gate open with his back and right leg The man gets into the station for free as other passengers pay to enter on different gatesTfL claimed its ongoing crackdown on fare dodging had also seen a further 21,533 cases result in reports for possible prosecution, up 19 per cent year-on-year.The transport body, chaired by Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, said 6.9million contactless payment cards were checked over the year, which represents a 51 per cent increase.Read More Six brazen fare dodgers push through barriers at Elizabeth line railway station in just two minutes TfL said it secured 14,406 convictions for fare evasion in 2025/26, which was 955 more than a year earlier.In one recent case, a person was convicted after being found using a bank card banned by TfL because of previous breaches of its conditions of use.They admitted 181 offences and were ordered to pay £2,131.Around 400,000 journeys on a normal weekday are evaded across the network – which costs TfL an estimated £200million a year in income.Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security, policing and enforcement, said: 'The overwhelming majority of customers pay the correct fare, and it's unfair that a minority avoid paying.'That's why we are strengthening our capability to detect and deter fare evasion, as shown by the significant increases in enforcement activity across our network – from more customer ticket checks to more officers on the ground and higher levels of revenue recovered. Transport for London fare evasion data from April 2025 to March 2026 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 End of Year London Underground 5.3% 5.0% 4.8% 4.8% 5.0% Buses 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 2.4% 2.6% London Overground 3.5% 3.2% 3.2% 3.1% 3.3% DLR 4.2% 4.0% 4.1% 3.8% 4.0% Elizabeth Line 3.6% 3.4% 3.3% 3.1% 3.3% Trams 6.8% 7.5% 7.0% 7.7% 7.3% TfL Total 3.7% 3.6% 3.5% 3.4% 3.5% 'Fare evasion is not a victimless crime. It robs Londoners of vital investment in a safe, frequent and reliable transport network.'We are committed to ensuring that those who evade fares face the consequences of their actions, and that the cost of fare evasion is paid by the evaders, not our fare-paying customers.'TfL said 3.5 per cent of passengers across its network evade fares, which is 'significantly lower than many cities globally'. It cited a report saying the figure is 8 per cent in the Île-de-France region.TfL is aiming to slash the figure in London to 1.5 per cent by 2030/31.The proportion was 3.9 per cent in 2022/23, then fell to 3.8 per cent in 2023/24. It dropped to 3.5 per cent in 2024/25 – at which it remained in the most recent year.Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, said: 'The vast majority of those using TfL services pay their fares correctly. 'The small minority of those that evade paying the correct fares are committing a criminal offence which deprives TfL of essential revenue that should be reinvested into our world-leading transport network.'For those people we have a clear message: fare evasion will not be tolerated, and that they will be held to account.'As part of our crackdown, we've expanded our team of professional investigators across the entire network and invested in cutting-edge technology to target the most persistent offenders, and these new figures show that our approach is working.'The Mayor and I will continue to support TfL in protecting these vital funds so they can be reinvested in improving transport services for Londoners, as we work to build a better London for everyone.'It comes after Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging at another London station in May 2025, when he was shadow justice secretary.The former Conservative leadership contender posted a video on social media in which he confronted people who forced their way through the barriers at Stratford.He asked one person 'do you think it's alright not to pay' and challenged another to 'go back through the barrier and pay'. At the top of an escalator he said to one person 'do you want to go back and pay like everybody else'?But the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association union accused Mr Jenrick, who has since defected to Reform UK, of 'trying to score points' with the clip.
