Tram fare checks
Dear Transport for London,
Please provide the following:
1. The meaning of “journey” as defined by the Transport for London, including the start and the end point of a single journey.
2. Reference to relevant legislation and your internal guidelines that describe the circumstances and the manner your representatives can ask for a proof of fare
a) At a tram stop before or after a journey
Yours faithfully,
K Smith
Dear K Smith
TfL Ref: 0147-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 21 April 2022. Please accept my apologies for not getting back to you sooner.
We will aim to issue a response by 19 May 2022 in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.
We publish a substantial range of information on our website on subjects including operational performance, contracts, expenditure, journey data, governance and our financial performance. This includes data which is frequently asked for in FOI requests or other public queries. Please check http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transpar... to see if this helps you.
We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send a copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.
In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
Dear Mr Smith
TfL Ref: 0147-2223
Thank you for your request received by us on 21 April 2022 asking for
information about Tramlink fare checks.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can
confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked for:
1. The meaning of “journey” as defined by the Transport for
London, including the start and the end point of a single journey.
The information you asked for is available on our website using the
following link to the terms and conditions of each ticket type when
travelling, as stated in Transport for London’s Conditions of Carriage via
from page 27 onwards:
[1]https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-condition...
Our website also states ‘Always touch in on a yellow card reader at the
start of your journey and touch out at the end to pay the right fare. (On
a bus or tram you only need to touch in)’:
[2]https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-....
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply
you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible
to you elsewhere.
Additionally, byelaw 1(b) also states: “For the purposes of these byelaws
a person is travelling on a tram service at any time when he is on a tram
forming part of that service or is in a compulsory ticket area after
alighting from a tram.”
2. Reference to relevant legislation and your internal guidelines
that describe the circumstances and the manner your representatives can
ask for a proof of fare
a) At a tram stop before or after a journey
Please refer to the following:
Byelaw 19 (1) states “No person shall enter a compulsory ticket area
unless he has with him a valid ticket for his entire journey on the
Tramlink System.”
Byelaw 19 (2) states “A person shall hand over his ticket for inspection
when asked to do so by an authorised person.”
Byelaw 1 (a) gives the definition of “an authorised person” and this
includes “A person acting in the course of his duties, who is an employee
or agent of the Operator;”
We can advise that our Revenue Protection Inspectors (RPIs) are instructed
to ask passengers travelling on the system to produce their tickets for
inspection. This may be when they are on board a tram or when they have
alighted from a tram onto a tramstop platform, whether or not that
particular tramstop is their final intended destination. Our RPIs may also
request tickets from people who are waiting on a tramstop platform to
board a tram.
It should be noted that if a passenger fails to produce a valid ticket
while on board a tram or having alighted from a tram onto a tramstop
platform they then become liable to pay a penalty fare. However, if a
person waiting on a platform to board a tram fails to produce a ticket for
a proposed journey, an inspector can take no further action other than to
advise the passenger that if they intend to travel they should ensure that
they have a valid ticket before they board a tram. This is because a
tramstop platform is not considered to be a compulsory ticket area unless
a person arrives on a platform by alighting from a tram. A tram is always
a compulsory ticket area.
Our inspectors are always required to act professionally and be civil and
courteous when speaking with our passengers.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable
to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to
appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would
like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
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