Around this time every year, Londoners face the terrifying prospect of tube fare hikes. In March 2023, we despaired at prices increasing by 5.6 percent – and this year there was talk of them going up even more, with it even being suggested that TfL was considering ‘dynamic pricing’.
The cost of getting around the city was expected to rise in line with national rail fares, which the government is increasing by 4.9 percent in March. But now we can all let out a collective sigh of relief, because Mayor Sadiq Khan has just announced that there will be a freeze on most of London’s bus and tube fares.
Pay-as-you-go fares, which make up around 80 percent of tube journeys and 74 percent of bus routes, will remain as they are until March 2025. Hallelujah!
That said, London Travelcards, which allow for unlimited tube and bus travel within certain zones, will go up between 4.6 and 5.1 percent depending on the areas that travellers wish to go between.
TfL and the London Assembly have also been in talks about introducing a ‘dynamic pricing’ system to London Underground, which would see costs rise and fall in tandem with passenger numbers and price surges on selected days of the week.
Thankfully that’s not happening any time soon, as Sadiq Khan said there will be ‘insufficient time’ for it to be implemented in line with the annual fares rise. But it doesn’t seem like it’s completely off the cards for next year's price review, so prepare for some big changes in 12 months’ time.
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