Tens of thousands of travellers arriving at London Stansted by train who believed they could pay with contactless cards are being handed £100 penalty fares.
Travellers are able to tap in with contactless cards at Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale stations and board a train to Stansted Airport.
However, upon arrival at Stansted, passengers are not allowed to tap out with London Oyster cards or contactless bank cards.
London TravelWatch, who revealed in 2019 that 16,000 people were handed penalty fares at Stansted, said the practice by train operator Greater Anglia was ‘unfair’.
Michael Roberts, chief executive of the independent travel watchdog, said: ‘It’s plainly wrong that passengers continue to be unfairly penalised for not knowing that contactless payment isn’t accepted at London Stansted Airport.
Greater Anglia has handed thousands of people £100 ‘penalty fares’ for using contactless cards for travelling to Stansted from London
Almost 10 million people travelled to Stansted Airport by train last year
Passengers travelling from London Liverpool Street or Tottenham Hale are liable for the penalty fares
‘With ‘London’ in its name, people quite reasonably assume they’ll be able to tap out using a contactless card, especially when they were allowed to tap in using one at the start of their journey.’
Keith Prince, London Conservatives’ transport spokesman, accused Greater Anglia of profiting from the penalty fares.
The London Assembly member said: ‘The train operator is making millions by imposing penalty fares on passengers arriving at Stansted without a valid ticket.
‘While the train operator says it has signage warning passengers, clearly this signage isn’t working. It’s unfair.’
If handed a penalty fare, the individual must pay £100 plus the cost of an applicable ticket.
For example, an anytime fare from Liverpool Street to Stansted costs £21.40 which means passengers mistakenly using a contactless card would have to pay £121.40 in total.
Passengers can arrive at Stansted Airport using Greater Anglia or Stansted Express services
Kemi Badenoch has been urged to intervene in the Stansted Airport penalty fares matter
If paid within 21 days, penalty fares are normally discounted to £50 plus the ticket price.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is the MP for the Saffron Walden constituency covering Stansted, has been urged to step in.
Her spokesman told The Telegraph that Ms Badenoch will be ‘making enquiries directly to Greater Anglia and the Department for Transport regarding contactless card readers at Stansted Airport station.’
A spokesman for Greater Anglia said: ‘We’re keen to see the extension of contactless ticketing to Stansted Airport, as that would simplify the position and be more convenient for customers, but such a step is dependent on receipt of the necessary funding and approvals from the Department for Transport.’
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘It is the responsibility of Greater Anglia to inform its customers how to pay its fares, and we advise passengers to always check before they travel.’
Greater Anglia has urged the Department for Transport for funding to extend contactless ticketing to Stansted
Stansted Airport compared to Gatwick and Heathrow does not offer contactless payment options for customers
In comparison, train journeys to other airports in the London area, such as London Heathrow and London Gatwick, can be paid for using contactless cards.
It comes just weeks after Greater Anglia increased its Stansted Express service to four-trains-per-hour having previously been restricted to peak hours only.
Typically, journeys now take an average 48 minutes, with most off-peak services scheduled for 47 minutes.
Around 9.7 million people used London Stansted Airport train station last year, with the majority of passengers travelling from London.