ScotRail Unveils £10 Minimum Fare to Tackle £11m Ticket Evasion Loss

ScotRail is to introduce a £10 minimum fare as part of efforts to tackle deliberate ticketless travel across Scotland’s Railway. The measure is designed to deter passengers who board without first purchasing a valid ticket, with fare evasion currently estimated to cost more than £11 million annually.

Under the new policy, anyone found to have intentionally travelled without a ticket will pay at least £10. In many instances this will exceed the normal cost of the journey, particularly on shorter routes. For example, a return ticket between Bishopbriggs and Glasgow Queen Street costs £3, meaning a passenger who deliberately failed to buy before boarding would instead face the £10 minimum charge.

Where a journey already costs more than £10, no additional surcharge will be applied. However, customers must still buy before boarding to qualify for discounted rail travel. The decision follows independent analysis which found that, in cases of ticketless travel, 74 per cent of passengers had access to an open ticket office at the time of departure and 90 per cent had a working ticket vending machine available, but chose not to use them.

ScotRail believes the change could also help curb anti-social behaviour, which it says is often linked to a minority travelling without tickets.

There are exclusions to the policy:

• For customers who hold a national entitlement card.
• If a ticket office in a station is closed.
• If a station doesn’t have a ticket office or ticket vending machine (TVM).
• If a customer has a registered disability that prevents them from using TVMs.
• Staff will have the discretion to issue the minimum fare depending on the customer’s circumstances.
• Customers who can only pay with cash would obtain a ‘promise to pay’ ticket from a TVM and then purchase a ticket from on train staff.

An education period will run from 1 April 2026 until July 2026, after which the £10 minimum fare will formally take effect. Revenue Protection teams will focus particularly on passengers claiming short journeys, embedding the new charge across the network.

Since returning to public ownership in 2022, ScotRail has expanded its revenue protection activity, introducing dedicated Revenue Protection Officers, targeting known routes and repeat offenders, and equipping frontline staff with improved reporting tools. The team currently generates around £2 million each year that would otherwise be lost to fare evasion.

The operator reports that ticketless travel has fallen from 8.8 per cent in April 2022 to 3.7 per cent. Measures introduced since 2022 include:

• A dedicated channel for staff to report ticketless travel and fraud.
• Briefing sessions and increased engagement with frontline teams.
• Renewed on-train mobile equipment for staff, improving reliability and speed.

ScotRail says staff are trained to distinguish between genuine mistakes and deliberate avoidance, taking formal action only where evasion is suspected.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said:

“The introduction of a minimum fare will target the small number of customers who don’t buy a ticket before they travel, ensuring fairness for honest, fare-paying ScotRail passengers. Every pound lost through fraudulent travel is money that would have been reinvested into the railway, and we will take robust action to deal with those purposely avoiding payment. With more staff in place across the network, increased checks at stations, and the use of enhanced data analysis, we are reducing instances of ticket fraud year-on-year. Everyone across Scotland’s Railway will continue to work hard to ensure that everyone who uses our services pays their fair share.”

Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, said:

“The recent fares freeze has been implemented to help people with the cost of living while ensuring ScotRail services are sustainable in the longer term and has been supported by Scottish Government funding. While around 95 per cent of passengers already travel with a valid ticket, it is only right that ScotRail can take action against those who seek to avoid doing so. With a number of measures already in place, this minimum fare policy will act as a further deterrent to those who try to purposely evade paying for a ticket. This approach seeks to protect the significant investment being made in Scotland’s Railways, while also allowing for a period of customer education regards the new policy."

Image: ScotRail