Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) incentives, and (2) conditions, they place in contracts with train operators to ensure they check tickets of all passengers in order to maximise revenue.

Rail contracts place obligations and performance payment incentives on train operating companies (TOCs) to monitor and deter ticketless travel.

TOC ticketless travel performance has been evaluated to date as part of the Financial Performance scorecard evaluation. The new National Rail Contracts enable ticketless travel targets to be agreed with TOCs and their performance against these will determine the performance-based fee they earn for revenue protection activity.

TOCs are expected to rigorously undertake ticket checks at gate lines and on train including issuing Penalty Fares and prosecuting fare evaders where appropriate. TOCs are required to undertake ticketless travel surveys to help identify areas where they need to take action. TOCs are also required through their annual Business Plan process to take forward initiatives to tackle ticketless travel.