A serial Travelcard forger was given a 12 month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to pay £2,100 costs today by Harrow Crown Court in the biggest single case brought by London Buses.
Miss Humara Khan, aged 26, of Streatham was found guilty of 40 counts of making forged bus passes, Travelcards and Freedom Passes and one count of using a false instrument by Harrow Crown Court on 3rd December 2003.
Miss Khan was picked up by police officers and Revenue Protection Officials on Route 36 in Vauxhall on 27th January 2003 and was found to be in possession of a forged pass and computer discs containing images of various Travelcards. Further investigation uncovered over a hundred copies of Travelcards, Bus Passes, Freedom Passes and New Deal Photocards with a value of up to £75,000. These will be destroyed by London Buses.
London Buses Head of Bus Enforcement Jeff Tucker said:
“Fare evasion costs London millions each year and will not be tolerated. Working with the Metropolitan Police Service we will use all of our powers to pursue offenders and prosecute where necessary.
“We have increased the numbers of Revenue Protection Officers on the buses by 20 per cent and cases like this illustrate that there is no escape for offenders.”
Notes to editors
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Miss Khan pleaded guilty to the count of using a forged pass and one count of making a false instrument on 3rd December. She pleaded not guilty to the remaining 39 counts but was convicted by jury.
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London Buses prosecuted 190 people in 2003 for forging passes which resulted in fines totalling £7,295 with £10,615 costs awarded. Revenue Protection Officials issued 32,774 penalty fares (£5) on buses last year for invalid or lack of tickets.
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Travelling on bus services without a valid fare can result in prosecution and fines of up to £1000.
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London Buses manages bus services in London for the Mayor's Transport for London. It plans routes, specifies service levels and monitors service quality. It is also responsible for bus stations, bus stops, security initiatives and passenger information. The bus services are operated by private operators, which work under contract to London Buses.
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The London bus network is one of the largest and most comprehensive urban systems in the world. Each weekday 7,500 London buses carry 5.4 million passengers on more than 700 different routes.
For more information contact the TfL press office on 020 7941 4881 or 7941 4141 (and for out of hours).
