Londoners will pay extra £70m for travel next year despite fare freeze

Mayor says he’s powerless to halt average 2.8% rise in Travelcards
Sadiq Khan says he's powerless to halt average 2.8% rise in Travelcards
AFP via Getty Images
Ross Lydall @RossLydall20 November 2019

Passengers will pay an extra £70 million in fares next year despite London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s efforts to freeze prices, it can be revealed.

Mr Khan announced on Monday that single “pay-as-you-go” Oyster and contactless bank card fares would be frozen for a fourth successive year. But daily, weekly, monthly and annual Travelcards will rise by an average of 2.8 per cent from January 2, under the government system for funding the rail industry that is beyond City Hall control.

Transport for London calculates that an additional £51 million will end up in its coffers as a consequence of the above-inflation increase in Travelcard prices, and the linked increase in the fares cap for people making multiple pay-as-you-go journeys. TfL will receive a further £19 million from passengers encouraged to travel as a consequence of the Mayor’s partial fares freeze.

TfL says 2.4 million bus trips a day and 1.7 million pay-as-you-go daily journeys on TfL suburban rail services will cost no more than they did four years ago.

It predicts that its total fares revenue will rise by £51 million, or 1.1 per cent, in 2020 — £33.4 million for London Underground, £9.2 million for bus travel and £8.4 million for London Rail and TfL Rail. Freezing pay-as-you-go rates is expected to generate £19.4 million worth of new journeys — £10.4million on the Tube, £6.5 million on buses and £2.5million for London Rail and TfL Rail.

A zones 1-4 day Travelcard will increase 40p to £13.50. A zones 1-6 day Travelcard will increase 50p to £19.10.Weekly zones 1-2 Travelcards will rise £1 to £36.10, by £1.40 for zones 1-4 to £51.90, and by £1.80 for a zones 1-6 to £66. The daily cap on multiple pay-as-you-go journeys increases by 20p to £7.20 for zones 1-2 and by 40p to £13.20 for zones 1-6.

TfL is already enjoying a “Brexit fares dividend” of £63 million in the first six months of this financial year as a result of the delay to the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Khan said his 2016 manifesto pledge to freeze TfL fares for four years had made transport more affordable for “millions of Londoners”. He criticised train companies for raising fares by more than 10 per cent since 2016.

Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey said: “Mr Khan is still not being honest with Londoners. His so-called fares freeze is a fares fraud, costing 4.5 million commuters an extra 2.8 per cent to travel from January.”

Rail fares are expected to be confirmed on Friday. Annual travel from the Home Counties commuter belt will rise by more than £100 for many travellers.

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