13 May Are Buckhurst Hill train station barriers supposed to be barriers or high jump?…
It is no secret that travel in London is expensive, particularly for our 16+ youth who have made it known in Buckhurst Hill that they believe “it’s mad expensive, lemme just jump it”.
Whether it be off peak or peak time, the TFL have always done a consistent job when it comes to increasing ticket and oyster prices annually. But London is the third most expensive city for public transport according to Statista.
The TFL have ‘let go’ of over 1000 members of staff since 2015, evidently it is clearly difficult to maintain eyes on every inch of the station. However this has resulted in huge losses. The TFL has estimated, “TfL estimates suggest it loses £61.47 million each year as a result of fare evasion on the Tube, the equivalent of 2.54 per cent of its takings”. Evading travel fare has been statistically calculated on the amount of barriers ‘left open’, however the youth of Buckhurst Hill have their own methods, barrier jumping.
Barrier jumping is the term used for individuals who do not have any intention to pay for travel, resulting in jumping the train barriers at the station. This takes place all over London and in particular Buckhurst Hill, just outside of London. Based on the central line, it allows easy access into London whether the barriers are in place or not. The youth of Buckhurst Hill have taken it upon themselves to disregard the law and TFL staff as travel seems to be a consistent issue when travelling to school and weekend travels.
TFL have clearly stated both inside the station and online that there are fines for fare evasion that can total up to £1000. TFL stated that 15% of annual travellers of 2017 did not pay for travel. It is evident that TFL have given a fair bit of warning about the repercussions when it comes to evading paying for travel.
What do the TFL staff at Buckhurst Hill have to say?
TFL staff at Buckhurst Hill train station seem to be very aware of this pestering and unlawful issue. They claimed it is very hard to tackle as the incident happens so quickly. The station staff said “we can’t do anything”. However in an event that the youth is caught, a log will be made and then a manager will “deal with the rest”. On average 20+ logs are made on a monthly basis by 16+ youths. They said it was rare that anything actually be done after this protocol as the youths are local and must use some sort of transport on a daily basis to attend school. Repeat offenders are a constant problem at Buckhurst Hill station, ultimately according to the staff only so much can be done and this issue will never truly be solved.
The local high school in the area was also aware of the issue surrounding travel and students jumping barriers of the local stations. They claim that they provide applications and stamps for all of their students to travel with discounted oyster fares for students. As well as a school bus that follows a route in the local area to take students to and from school at £1.75 one way, which is actually more expensive than a child’s Oyster card which is 75p one way and a 16+ youth oyster fare of £1.30 one way. The school also provides a shuttle bus for students who live in more distant and rural areas for no cost at all. In addition the high school also encourages lawfulness and to talk to staff about financial issues to support their students in order to aid them so that they can focus on their education without the worry of finance. They are also partial to students walking from home to school, stating on an average for local students to walk would take around 20 minutes.
Students said that they jump barriers for ease and that when it comes to ‘going out places’ it ‘gets expensive’. Others claimed that the system is just too easy to obstruct, ‘I’ve never seen no man catch me’. Clearly the youth do not at all feel threatened by the TFL’s logs, consistent warnings or potential fines. Students were very familiar with getting logs and being spoken to by TFL staff but seemed completely unbothered and far from changing their ways anytime soon.
It is difficult to assess whether the initial fault lies with the staff or the students. However one thing that is adding more offenders list is the annual increase of TFL travel prices. Travel was expensive last year and this year, like every other year before that they have gone up again by 10-50p depending on the type of ticket and the zones being travelled to. This is clearly an issue for the youth and with losses being at an estimated £61.47 million each year, increasing prices has not seemed to have done the trick. Though the TFL have introduced multiple bus journeys within 1 hour costing only a single fare journey, it just does not seem like a good enough trick to stop the youth and others from committing this crime.
Following both the schools and the staffs response, the staff said that there were new station entrances that were being constructed. Both new entrances on opposite sides of the main entrance without any staff monitoring the gates. No ticket barriers are in place and no more than 2-5 staff are present at Buckhurst Hill station on a daily basis, at times no staff at all. The new entrances at Buckhurst Hill seem to be the perfect assist for the current youth who will no longer have to jump barriers but simply walk onto the platform with no staff present. Entrances without barriers are one of the main reasons TFL are making losses, along with the lack of station staff.
The New Entrance for Buckhurst Hill station, fully equipped with no barriers but a free standing oyster machine.
The new walk way entrance at Buckhurst Hill station
Easy access for everyone, wheelchair and bicycle friendly.
Ultimately it is up to the youth to decide whether or not they wish to be law abiding citizens and make things easier for themselves and the staff at TFL by simply paying the fare. And for other youths this is just not a reality, due to financial constraints. But the TFL are not widely addressing this issue in particular or cutting any real deals for the youth, which will mean that they will continue to evade paying fares due to the constant annual price increases. Therefore it is up to the TFL to hire more staff to monitor this activity and eventually eradicate or reduce this particular issue, it seems highly unlikely. It is also unlikely that they will offer a static rate to students and others. Therefore this issue will never really be solved, it will only grow as finances will always remain uncertain, unlike TFL prices which will always certainly increase.
Mahria Ayub
