TfL staff pay tens of thousands in fines after breaking parking rules

It includes £16k for parking charges paid to borough councils and £9k for fines paid to their own employer, report Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter, and Luke Donnelly

Transport for London (TfL) staff have racked up over £30,000 in parking fines and road charges in the last year alone.

This includes more than £16,000 for 143 parking fines directly paid to 20 different local authorities across the capital, and £9,460 for penalty charge notices (PCNs) to TfL itself.

In addition, £6,631 was collected by private firms such as PayMyParking and Euro Car Parks, with all transactions either listed under TfL’s chief operating officer or chief customer and strategy officer’s department.

The information was disclosed after a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request to the network asking for all transactions under £250 made by staff using company cards between 1st April 2025 and 31st March 2026.

As a local government body operating under the Greater London Authority (GLA), TfL routinely publishes details for all external payments and individual corporate expenditure transactions over £250 but lower level spending is not routinely made public.

TfL officials said that the fines often originate from staffers having to park to the “closest access point” to attend an incident and then paying the fine using a TfL credit card. They said staff members will reimburse TfL for the fine “when appropriate”.

The figures emerged just months after the network hiked tube fares by an average of 5.8%. In November, bus and tram fares will also increase by 10p to £1.85 for a single journey.

The revelations have prompted scathing remarks from senior Conservative politicians, who accused TfL of “squandering” taxpayer cash.

Shadow minister for London Gareth Bacon, who is also a former London Assembly member, told the LDRS: “As has been the case so often in the past, under Sadiq Khan’s atrocious leadership TfL has wasted no opportunity to fleece Londoners – especially drivers – whilst pleading poverty.

“But yet again, evidence is uncovered of TfL squandering Londoners’ money.

“This is simply not good enough. I would say the mayor should get a grip, but on the basis that this has been going on for the whole of his decade in office it’s obvious I would be wasting my breath.”

Tory London Assembly member Neil Garratt said that TfL “has some serious explaining to do” and added: “£30,000 on parking fines, all paid for with one man’s credit card, is an appalling statistic for TfL – representing a wasteful spend of nearly £600 a week. Whilst commuters suffer inflation-busting fare rises, making London the most expensive urban transport network in the world, the news of this spending is appalling.

“The public will rightly be asking why an organisation this is so tight for cash feels it can flex the company card in this way.”

Jonathan Eida, public affairs manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “TfL cannot lecture passengers about paying their way while its own spending records raise serious questions about basic financial discipline.

“Transport bosses must explain every odd transaction, recover any inappropriate costs and prove they are treating farepayer and taxpayer money with respect.”

A TfL spokesperson told the LDRS: “For urgent operational reasons, vehicles sometimes have to be parked at the closest access point to the incident location. In order to ensure any fines are paid quickly, when the fine relates to an operational issue, staff will sometimes pay using a TfL credit card.

“Where appropriate, the fine will then be reimbursed by the staff member to TfL. In addition, sometimes credit cards are used to allow testing of TfL’s payment platforms before updates (such as Oyster top ups, road user charges, Travelcard purchases).

“This process is regularly reviewed to make sure the use of TfL credit cards is fully in line with our wider policies and procedures. This includes checking that any payments made for operational reasons, such as parking fines, are properly authorised, recorded and reimbursed.”

It is understood that there are 80 credit cards currently assigned to staff members, but only 60 have been active in recent months.

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

ACT NOW!

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.