London Underground is a major business, with 3 million passenger journeys a day, some 484 trains, 251 stations owned (274 served), around 16 000 staff and vast engineering assets. The provision of passenger services is managed by the Director of Train Services, Paul Godier and the Director of Station Services, Charles Horton. Other departments are structured to provide the necessary back-up to ensure the safe and efficient provision of passenger services.
The Board
The Chief Executive of London Transport, Denis Tunnicliffe, chairs meetings of the London Underground Board.
Other LUL Board members are Derek Smith, Managing Director of London Underground Ltd.; Hugh Sumner (MD Sub-Surface Lines); David Crawley MD InfraCo BCV; Andie Harper MD InfraCo JNP; Patrick Butcher (LUL Finance); John Hughes (LT Financial planning & control); Keith Beattie, Engineering; Paul Godier, Train Services; Adam Goulcher, Marketing & Planning; Charles Horton, Station Services; Jon Smith, Head of Contracts; Mike Strzelecki, Safety Quality & Environment; Ann Burfutt (Human Resources), Martin Callaghan, Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project Director. Non-executive members of LT Board are also appointed from time to time as non-executive members of the Board of London Underground Limited.
Running the Lines
London Underground is currently in the process of working towards the establishment of a PPP designed to increase investment in the system. This follows the Government's announcement in March 1998 of its intention to divide London Underground into a publicly-owned operating company and three privately-owned infrastructure companies (InfraCos) which will be contracted to maintain and enhance the infrastructure.
In order to facilitate the transition to the new PPP structure when the contractual arrangements are in place, the operational side of the Underground has been reorganised, with a structure based on individual lines or groups of lines replaced by one reflecting the proposed InfraCo groupings.
From September 1999, the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City and Victoria Lines (BCV), have been grouped together. Bob Bayman, Train Service Manager (BCV), and Andy Byford, Station Services Manager (BCV). The Train Service and Station Services Managers are jointly responsible for delivering train and station services which meet customers' requirements.
The Jubilee Line has been grouped with the Northern and Piccadilly Lines (JNP), with Mike Brown, Train Service Manager (JNP), and Howard Collins, Station Services Manager (JNP).
The Circle Line has been grouped with the District, East London. Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines to form the Sub-Surface Lines (S-SL). Kevin Hafter is Train Service Manager (S-SL) and Rob Mason, Station Services Manager (S-SL ).
Support Services
In addition to the local line management, London Underground has its own engineering and development directorates. Expert support in areas such as finance, marketing and human resources is provided by London Transport. The Underground has its own Division of the British Transport Police force.
[revised February 2000]
History
Until the mid-1980s, the issue and collection of single-journey
or return tickets on the London Underground had changed very little since
the early days of the system. These tickets were either purchased from
booking clerks at ticket offices or, at the busier stations, from various
types of free-standing automatic machines many of which had been in use
since the 1930s. The tickets were then handed in to a collector at the
end of the journey.
The move towards a more simplified fares structure, and the subsequent introduction in 1983 of the popular Travelcard based on zonal charging, coincided with the need to replace much of the existing equipment. The opportunity was taken to modernise fare collection methods on the Underground, and the ticketing system now features:
- modern, self-service ticket machines which issue a wide range of daily tickets and give change;
- automated ticket checking of all tickets, including multi-journey period Travelcard season tickets, on entry and exit at busy central London and also at an increasing number of suburban stations;
- secure working conditions for Underground staff responsible for issuing tickets and for servicing ticket issuing machines; and
- a data capture and communication network covering all stations to provide centralised accounting reports and up-to-date management information.
Ticketless and Irregular Travel
London Underground through regular ticket surveys and
mathematical models estimates that each year a total of about £25
million pounds is lost through all types of ticketless travel and fare
evasion. The most common type of irregularity is travelling on the system
without a ticket or with an invalid ticket. The initial introduction of
automatic ticket gates had a deterrent effect on ticketless travel, but
the system was still open to abuse by a determined minority.
Penalty Fares
The London Regional Transport (Penalty Fares) Act 1992
enabled £10 Penalty Fares to be introduced across London Underground.
Passengers are liable for a Penalty Fare if found to be travelling on the
system without a valid ticket, unless they were genuinely unable to obtain
a ticket at the start of the journey.
The intention of Penalty Fares is to encourage all customers to have in their possession a ticket valid for the full journey they are making. Penalty fares imply no judgement on intent to avoid payment, in which circumstances prosecution would be considered (see below).
Anyone who is issued with a Penalty Fare is requested to pay £10 on the spot. Payment in cash or by credit card or cheque is accepted by staff who are authorised to do so. Where passengers do not pay in full or do not pay in cash, the Penalty Fares Act empowers the authorised offical to obtain the passenger's name and address. In many cases these details will be checked on the spot. Refusing to give a name and address, or giving a false one, makes the passenger legally liable for criminal prosecution.
If the passenger feels that he or she has been unfairly treated, there is an appeal period of 21 days, starting the day following the issue of the Penalty Fare. After this time, anyone who has not paid the full amount may be taken to Court to recover the outstanding payment. (An unpaid Penalty Fare is a civil debt.)
The Penalty Fares process was comprehensively reviewed
during 1998 in conjunction with the London Regional Passengers Committee
and Government Office for London to ensure that a fair balance was maintained
between revenue protection and customer relations objectives.
Station and Train checks 11
Each Underground line has its own Manager responsible,
with a team of Revenue Control Inspectors, for maximising the line's revenue.
The most common way of doing this is through their presence both at stations
and on trains checking tickets. Revenue Control Inspectors often carry
" swipe machines" which read a ticket's magnetic display and provide details
of where and when it was bought and the last time it was used. They also
organise special checks and exercises, often working in plain clothes.
Fraud
London Underground continues to resort to other legal
means, such as its Byelaws and the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, when
there is evidence of intent to travel fraudulently.
London Underground has the power to report deliberate fare evaders to the British Transport Police for possible prosecution in the courts. Courts are able to impose sentences of up to a £1 000 fine or three months in prison. Last year, there were a total of 24 817 reported cases of suspected fare evasion. There were 5 216 prosecutions for fare evasion, with another 19 601 cases dealt with by other means.
Future Plans
Ticket gates were first installed at Regent's Park station
in 1987 and all Central London (Zone 1) stations were completed by 1990.
Between 1995 and 1996, 25 key stations outside Zone 1 were fitted with
ticket gates in a programme to reduce ticketless travel.
As part of the LT PRESTIGE project, ticket gates are now being fitted throughout the rest of the London Underground network. The installation programme started in November 1998 and will be completed by November 1999. Stations being ‘ gated' as part of the LT PRESTIGE project are shown - (P) in the list below. The total number of stations outside Zone 1 with ticket gates is currently 76. Surveys and preliminary site work at the remaining 103 stations is under way.
Ticket Gates
All ticket gates, including the existing ones in Zone 1, will be modified in 2002 to accept contactless smartcards being introduced from August 2002. The following joint Train Operating Company/LUL interchanges have ticket gates on part or all of the station :- Balham, Barking, Euston (Suburban platforms), Fenchurch Street, Liverpool Street (Great Eastern platforms), Marylebone, Richmond and Wimbledon. Work to install gates at Upminster (London Tilbury & Southend) is progressing. A separate LT Fact Sheet "21st Century Ticketing - the LT PRESTIGE Project" provides more information.