Freebie benefits for pensioners are costing the taxpayer substantially more than the money lose to public transport fare dodgers, new research has found.
Free travel schemes for Londoners aged over 60 are now costing taxpayers approximately £500million annually, surpassing the £400million lost to fare evasion by £100million.
The stark comparison has emerged as Transport for London and local boroughs face mounting pressure over the sustainability of concessionary travel programmes.
More than 1.5 million people currently benefit from free travel on buses, Tubes, trains and trams through two schemes: the 60+ Oyster Card for those aged 60 to 65, and the Freedom Pass for those 66 and over.
Over-60s free travel is costing the taxpayer £100million more than the cost of fare dodging
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Conservative MP Robert Jenrick has recently sparked debated over fare dodging becoming increasingly "normalised" across the transport network.
Transport for London is predicted to spend £135million on the 60+ Oyster Card alone this year, up from £60million in 2016, with projections reaching £185million by 2027.
The Freedom Pass costs London's boroughs another £350million annually and could reach nearly £500 million by the end of the decade.
According to TfL, 60 per cent of those using the 60+ Oyster Card are still in work, with 20 per cent using it to commute.
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Robert Jenrick has taken aim at
ROBERT JENRICKThe body managing the Freedom Pass on behalf of the boroughs has warned the scheme will soon become "unsustainable".
Critics argue the schemes represent "intergenerational unfairness" as younger workers subsidise travel for wealthier older colleagues.
Reem Ibrahim, the community manager at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: "It is difficult to justify a system where the wealthiest age group in the country is having their travel funded by taxpayers. We urgently need a targeted approach."
Londoners aged 60 to 64 earn about £42,000 annually on average, nearly double the income of workers in their early twenties.
Liz Emerson, the chief executive of the research charity International Foundation, called it a "perfect example of intergenerational unfairness," with younger workers essentially footing the bill for their older colleagues' commutes.
The 60+ Oyster Card was introduced by then-Mayor Boris Johnson in 2012, and is funded through council tax and the congestion charge.
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Sadiq Khan was knighted yesterday PADuring the pandemic, Mayor Sadiq Khan paused the use of these passes before 9am to save money, generating an extra £15 million in fares.
He rejected a proposal to gradually raise the age limit for the 60+ card in line with the state pension age.
A TfL spokesperson told the Telegraph: "Both the Mayor and TfL are committed to making public transport in London as accessible, convenient, and affordable as possible.
"We regularly review our range of concessions to ensure that they continue to benefit Londoners, while also remaining affordable for TfL to operate."
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