Sadiq Khan has said that he plans to keep London Underground, Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and bus fares frozen as they are for ‘as long as possible’. Since March, the price of a single pay-as-you-go fare have remained the same as the year before.
The Mayor of London has allocated £123 million in the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) budget to make this possible. Mr Khan’s office has also hinted to MyLondon in January that this may not be the last time, as ‘the funds identified for this year’s fare freeze have also been allocated in the budget for future years’.
But, frequent travellers who tend to make multiple journeys and travel further on the network may nevertheless have to fork out more cash to get around the capital. This is due to the fact that TfL’s caps are set according to National Rail travelcards.
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Now, Conservative London Assembly Member Neil Garratt has enquired as to whether this policy could be sustained in the long term. He asked Mr Khan: “In your manifesto you committed to continue freezing TfL fares for as long as economic conditions allow. Can you specify what these conditions are and the parameters at which freezing fares would no longer be viable?”
The mayor responded: “Keeping fares affordable has always been one of my top priorities. That is why I froze all Transport for London (TfL) fares from 2016-2021 as well as in 2024. I will continue to freeze fares under my control for as long as possible, while at the same time ensuring that TfL receives sufficient funding to continue to provide a world class service.”
Inflation and economic growth to be considered
He added: “When determining fare changes a range of economic conditions will need to be considered, including the rate of inflation and economic growth.” Mr Khan and the new Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, have promised to work together to bring the latter to London and the country as a whole.
At the time of the freeze, spokespeople for Mr Khan and TfL confirmed to MyLondon that daily and weekly limits for contactless pay as you go journeys on TfL’s network will rise in line with fares nationwide. These increased by 4.9 per cent on March 3.
But, as TfL’s prices are frozen, it would take more journeys to pay more. TfL’s caps are split into peak and off peak. A daily cap is calculated over 24 hours for pay as you go journeys that start at 4.30am and end on 4.29am the next day.
A weekly cap limits how much you pay for all your journeys in a fixed Monday to Sunday period. It goes by using adult rate pay as you go on contactless or Oyster cards – which have remained the same in 2024.
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