TfL Staff Rack Up More Than £30,000 in Parking Fines

TfL Staff Rack Up More Than £30,000 in Parking Fines

TfL Staff Rack Up More Than £30,000 in Parking Fines and Road Charges Transport for London (TfL) staff accumulated more than £30,000 in parking fines and road charges during the year to March 2026, according to information released following a Freedom of Information request. The spending included more than £16,000 on 143 parking fines paid to 20 different London borough councils, while a further £9,460 was spent on penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by TfL itself. A further £6,631 was collected by private parking firms including PayMyParking and Euro Car Parks. The transactions were recorded under the departments of TfL's chief operating officer or chief customer and strategy officer. Why were TfL staff paying parking fines? The information came from an FOI request covering transactions of less than £250 made using TfL company cards between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. TfL officials said some of the fines were connected to staff needing to park at the "closest access point" when attending incidents. In such cases, employees could use a TfL credit card to pay the fine, with staff reimbursing the organisation "when appropriate". The figures have attracted criticism because they emerged after TfL increased Tube fares by an average of 5.8%. Bus and tram fares are also due to rise by 10p to £1.85 for a single journey in November. Politicians criticise the spending The spending prompted criticism from senior Conservative politicians, who accused TfL of wasting taxpayer money. Shadow London minister Gareth Bacon said the figures showed TfL was "squandering" Londoners' money, while London Assembly member Neil Garratt said the organisation had "some serious explaining to do". Garratt described the £30,000-plus total as a wasteful spend of nearly £600 a week, while questioning why TfL was using company cards to cover parking penalties as commuters face higher fares. The TaxPayers' Alliance also called on TfL to explain individual transactions, recover inappropriate costs and demonstrate that farepayer and taxpayer money was being handled responsibly. TfL says payments are reviewed TfL defended the use of company cards, explaining that vehicles sometimes need to be parked at the closest possible location because of urgent operational requirements. The organisation said credit cards may also be used for testing its payment platforms before updates, including Oyster top-ups, road user charges and Travelcard purchases. TfL said the process is regularly reviewed to ensure credit card use complies with its policies and procedures. This includes checking that operational payments such as parking fines are authorised, recorded and reimbursed where appropriate. There are currently 80 credit cards assigned to TfL staff, although the organisation said only 60 have been active in recent months. The figures nevertheless raise questions about how parking fines incurred during TfL operations are managed and recovered. TfL maintains that the payments are subject to internal checks, while critics are calling for greater accountability over the use of public money.