Instances of fare dodging have increased by almost 30 per cent since 2016, leading to £116m of lost revenue for Transport for London (TfL) in a single year.

TfL statistics, released by City Hall, show the number of warnings, penalty notices and prosecutions for fare dodging rose from 87, 948 in 2016-17 to 112,266 in 2018-19 – a 27.7 per cent increase.

Read more: Bakerloo Tube strike this weekend means FIVE London Underground lines will be out of action

The mayor of London’s office estimates that the lost revenue from fare dodging hit £116m in 2018-19.

A spokesperson for the mayor said the dramatic spike in recorded fare dodging was because of enhanced measures to catch offenders under Sadiq Khan.

“Since becoming mayor, Sadiq has rolled out new technology to identify anyone travelling without a ticket, and 450 revenue inspectors now operate across the whole transport network day and night,” they said.

However, Tory London Assembly member Keith Prince AM was quick to blame the state of TfL finances for the rising numbers of recorded fare dodgers.

TfL ran a budget deficit of £422m in 2018-19 and ran a £111m deficit in the first half of 2019-20.

The transport body’s total debt has now swelled to £11.2bn.

Many have been quick to blame Khan’s freeze on single journey fares since 2016 on TfL’s financial losses. However, the mayor blames a £700m yearly reduction in government funding and mounting losses on bus journeys.

Prince said TfL’s financial squeeze meant areas of its operation were being neglected.

“It’s of course the case that these new figures only illustrate the number of people who have been caught fare dodging, meaning that there is likely to be many more who are not paying their fares and getting off scot free,” he said.

“Perhaps if the mayor hadn’t destroyed TfL’s finances, he could beef up the British Transport Police and take robust measures to stop people from even considering not paying their fare in the first place.”

Richard Freeston-Clough, operations manager at independent travel watchdog TravelWatch, said there were better ways to clamp down on fare evasion than hiring more police.

Read more: TfL deficit shrinks thanks to Ulez and increased Tube numbers

“Fare evasion affects everyone in London and honest passengers should not have to shoulder the burden for those who do not pay,” he said.

“We would like to see more investment in things like ticket line gates on the rail network as well as a confidential line to report the abuse of concessionary tickets’.”