This week, Rachel Reeves, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, posed in front of number 10 with a red suitcase and announced the government’s latest budget. It had loads of implications for London’s transport network, including £485 million promised to TfL for major projects. But one condition for all that funding? Tube fares will have to go up.
Following the budget announcement, transport secretary Louise Haigh told Sadiq Khan that he should ensure that ‘TfL rail fares rise in line with national rail fares this year’. That means that prices across the tube, London Overground and Elizabeth line services are expected to rise by at least 4.6 percent.
London transport fares managed to avoid being hiked up in line with national rail fares earlier this year, with the mayor enforcing a price freeze until March 2025. National rail fares will go up on March 2, so it’s likely that the freeze will end and tube price will increase on the same day.
What does 4.6 percent look like, in monetary terms? It could see zone 1-6 anytime pay-as-you-go daily caps increase from £15.60 to £16.30. Anytime zone 1-6 one-day travelcards could increase from £22.60 to £23.64.
When it comes to buses, at £1.95 London fares are currently the cheapest in the country. Sadiq Khan wants to keep them as low as possible, but an increase hasn’t been ruled out. The new cap for single bus journeys across the UK is £3.
The 2024 Autumn Budget on Time Out
Looking for explainers about how the Budget will impact London? We’ve got you covered here at Time Out. Read about how the Budget could lead to new trains on the Piccadilly, Elizabeth and Bakerloo lines here. Plus, did you see that the price of draft pints across the UK could go down?
ICYMI: How to get around London during this week’s tube strikes.
Plus: TfL is spending £15 million on building more free public toilets – with first six stations announced.
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