The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced bus and tram fares in the capital will be frozen for another four months until 1 November – and his new Weekend Hopper will allow Londoners to pay just £1.75 for a whole day of travel this summer, writes Gabriel Stewart…
The Mayor’s extension to the freeze is the seventh freeze of bus and tram fares in the last ten years, with single fares staying at £1.75 since March 2023.
The freeze is aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis after Tube, DLR, Elizabeth Line and Overground fares were increased earlier this year because of an agreement with the government
London’s buses are the most used form of public transport in the city, with more than five million bus journeys made on a typical day.
The freeze coincides with the Mayor’s Weekend Hopper offer which will cap weekend fares at just £1.75 for a whole day’s travel, from 25 July to 31 August. .
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: ‘I’m pleased to extend the freeze on bus and tram fares for another four months, and will continue doing everything in my power to keep TfL services as affordable as possible, as I know the cost-of-living crisis is still hitting many Londoners hard.
“My Hopper fare has enabled millions of people to save money on bus and tram travel over the past decade, and now the exciting new Weekend Hopper will make it even cheaper and easier for Londoners and visitors to enjoy all that our great city has to offer this summer.
“I know that buses and trams are a real lifeline for many Londoners, and I’m determined to keep them the most accessible and affordable modes of transport in the capital as we continue building a greener, fairer, better London for everyone.’
But single bus and tram fares are expected to rise by 10p to £1.85, or 5p for eligible concession card holders, from November 1st. The price of the daily bus and tram cup would increase 30p to £5.55.
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TFL have said that had bus fares increased in line with inflation since the Mayor came into power in 2016 they would be £2.35 today.
Khan may need to keep the prices down to keep attracting users as recent data on the London Data Store showed a 20 per cent fall in bus passenger numbers last year when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In the year to October 2019, there were 2,195 billion bus journeys in London, according to City Hall data. Whilst there were 1,794m bus journeys in the 12 months to last October, equating to 401m fewer journeys.
This also comes after the recent reduction in frequency of the 484 bus route between Denmark Hill and Lewisham from every 10-12 minutes to every 15 minutes. A decision widely criticised by local politicians.
