What is fare evasion?

Fare evasion is a criminal offence.

It refers to the act of avoiding paying the required fare or fee for using public transportation or accessing certain facilities or services that require payment. It typically involves individuals intentionally trying to ride public transportation or gain access to services without purchasing a valid ticket, pass, or permit.

Common examples of fare evasion include:

• Riding Public Transportation Without a Ticket: This can involve boarding buses, trams, trains, subways, or other forms of public transport without a valid ticket or travel card.
• Not Paying Tolls: In some cases, fare evasion can apply to road tolls and bridges where drivers must pay a fee for access but attempt to bypass payment.
• Accessing Restricted Areas Without Permission: Fare evasion can also occur when individuals enter restricted or controlled areas of a facility (e.g., sports venues, airports, museums) without paying the required admission fee.
• Misusing Tickets or Cards: This may involve altering or sharing tickets or travel cards in a way that violates the terms and conditions set by the transportation authority.
• Exiting Prematurely: In some transportation systems, fare evasion can occur when passengers exit the system before reaching the destination to avoid paying the full fare.

Transport companies especially train companies are actively pursuing prosecutions across the United Kingdom.

If convicted, you will:

• Get a criminal record.
• Pay a fine of up to £1,000.
• Pay compensation for fares avoided.
• Pay a victim surcharge.
• Pay prosecution costs which could be in the thousands.

Who are we?

We are a leading criminal defence law firm specialising in the train and transport fare prosecution defence. Our lawyers have successfully defended evasion cases and helped clients avoid a criminal record.

How can we help?

Manak Solicitors are highly experienced in defending fare evasion prosecution cases. We have worked with all trains companies in the UK and have established good working relationships with most prosecutors which helps our client to reach an out of court settlement on less harsh terms.

Call us now on 07731868916 in the first instance. Leaving the matter for too late incurs more cost to the train companies which makes negotiations less approving from the offender’s perspective.

List of rail companies we deal with for prosecutions cases?

We deal with almost all transport companies in the UK. Here is a list which is not exhaustive.

• Arriva Trains Wales
• C2C Rail Ltd
• Chiltern Railways
• Cross Country Trains
• East Midlands Trains
• First Capital Connect
• Gatwick Express
• Govia Thameslink Railway
• Great Western Railway
• Greater Anglia
• Heathrow Connect
• Heathrow Express
• London Midland
• Merseyrail
• Northern Rail
• South Western Railway
• Southeastern
• Southern
• Transpennine
• Transport for London (Docklands Light Railway, Tube, London Overground)
• Transport for Wales Digital Fraud Team
• Transport Investigations Limited (acting as agents for Chiltern Railways, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales)
• Virgin Trains
• West Midlands Trains

How much does it cost?

Unlike many legal firms who would charge by the hourly rate; we on the other hand agree a fixed fee at the inception. Our initial consultation is just £25. During this call, we will be able to determine the estimated work involved and can agree a fixed fee. Should you decide to go ahead with us, your initial consultancy fee of £25 will be adjusted to the fixed fee.

To find out more you may refer to the following information.

Transport for London (TfL): TfL typically provides data and reports related to fare evasion statistics within the London transport network.

Office of Rail and Road (ORR): The ORR may have information and reports related to fare evasion on railways in the UK.

UK Government Transport Department: The UK government may release statistics and reports related to transportation, including fare evasion cases.

Local Transport Authorities: If you are interested in specific regions or cities within the UK, you can check with local transport authorities for relevant statistics.

News Outlets: Occasionally, news outlets may report on trends and statistics related to fare evasion cases.

Call us on 07731868916 or send us an enquiry now. Time is of the essence.