Londoners will face the biggest rise to their travel fares around the city in a decade, it has been confirmed. In a fortnight, tube and bus fares will go up by an average of nearly 5%.
The jump in prices reflects the inflation rises, and will mean passengers are expected to pay £151m more to travel this year.
When using Oyster or contactless tickets, fares will jump by 10p in zone one, while journeys across the rest of the network will jump between 10p to 30p. Bus fares will face a larger proportionate rise, with fares hitting £1.65, another jump of 10p per journey.
The total increases across the TfL services, including previously announced moves such as the ban on free travel for over-60s before 9am, hits an average of 4.8%. It marks the biggest rises since 2012, when then-Mayor Boris Johnson hiked up fares by nearly 6%.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Since TfL’s finances were decimated by the pandemic, the Government has set strict conditions as part of the emergency funding deals to keep essential transport services running in London.
“We have been forced into this position by the Government and the way it continues to refuse to properly fund TfL, but I have done everything in my power to keep fares as affordable as possible.”
TfL reportedly must generate £500m more a year to reach the Government target of breaking even on a day-to-day basis by April 2023. Currently, the rate of use across the network is around 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
What price changes are being made across TfL services?
- Contactless and Oyster zone one pay-as-you-go fares rise by 10p to £2.50.
- “Hopper” bus routes that allow multiple journeys within one hour to rise by 10p to £1.65.
- Daily cap on pay-as-you-go routes on the Tube rises to rise by 3.8%.
- Cap on bus journeys to rise by 30p to £4.95.
- Free travel for children under 11 to remain.
- Emirates cable car to rise by 25% to £5.
- Minimum cash fare on the Tube to rise by 80p to £6.30.