It turns out that the temperature isn’t the only thing that’s rising in London this week. Fares across London’s transport network are also set to increase on Sunday, and here’s everything you need to know about it.
Despite the delightful news that was delivered to us last year in the form of the first nationwide rail fare freeze in 30 years; the Mayor of London announced back in December that the only place that the fair freeze in question wouldn’t apply to is London. This is due to a rather hefty £2.2 billion funding deal that Transport for London secured from the government. And a condition of that deal is that TfL fares would increase by the RPI rate of inflation plus 1% every year until the end of the decade.
How much are fares rising by?
As of March 1 (this Sunday), fares across the London Underground, the London Overground, the Elizabeth Line, and the DLR will rise by an average of 5.8%. A peak-time single journey within Zone 1, for example, will jump from £2.90 to £3.10, a journey between Zone 1 and Zone 2 will rise from £3.50 to £3.60, and a trip between Zone 1 and Zone 6 will increase from £5.80 to £5.90.
Fares are only increased in 5p or 10p increments, so the exact amount could end up being slightly more or less than the 5.8% average. But it’s been confirmed that no single pay-as-you-go fare will increase by more than 20p.
It’s not all bad though, folks. London Travelcards prices are being frozen until 2027, and the weekly and daily caps will not be changing (they’ll just be hit sooner). London buses also won’t affected by the fare increase, and the cost of a single bus journey will remain at just £1.75.