The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority said that there has been a decline in the number of tram fare evaders in Sheffield but according to ticket inspectors and riders the problem hasn’t improved in the slightest.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said in a recent speech: “Fare evasion is about 1% of passengers and is costing the network about £1,700 a week, which is right down from what it was.”
Mr Coppard attributed this drop in fare evasion to newly introduced handheld ticket machines, to which a spokesperson said “speeds up the taking of payments and checking passes.”
A SYMCA spokesperson also said: “There are two types of non-payments, one where someone deliberately avoids paying and one where, on a short journey, the conductor may not have time to reach the passenger on a busy tram.”
However, the 1 percent figure is based solely on data from the new machines and only records passengers who deliberately refuse to pay.
Those whose tickets are not checked due to trams being too busy are not included in the statistics.
Shef News spoke to a ticket inspector, who asked to remain anonymous, who challenged that the problem has significantly improved: “I have heard that rumour too, it’s still the same as it has been, some areas are worse than others, you get a lot of junkies and no matter what you do none of them will ever pay.”
Shef News contacted SYMCA regarding these statements but the authority reiterated their original statement.
Regular tram user Sam Cupid said he still thinks the problem is the same as it was: “The problem is never going to be completely eradicated.
“Last week I saw someone get on and refuse to pay, I think if more conductors were employed during peak times it would almost cover the problem.”
The number of people evading fares was not measured before 2025, meaning there is no credible data available to be able to say that levels are down.
Design by brodie youngThis 1 percent fare evasion figure is drastically lower when compared to other UK tram lines, in Manchester the rate of tram evasion is 10 percent whilst having more funding and security than in Sheffield.