Post-covid World changes to TfL & London Transport fares
Request ID: FOI-0158-2324 Date published: 26 April 2023
You asked
Hey TfL,
I had recently been hearing rumours that since the Covid-19 era of lockdowns ended after 2021, there have been some changes to the fares by TfL. Of course the increase in journey prices is obvious but I wanted ask about the subtle details within it.
1) Ever since our Mayor of London Sadiq Khan introduced the fares freeze in 2018 (allowing us to make unlimited bus & tram journeys for just £1.50 within an hour of the first touching-in), there was an unadvertised 10-minute grace period increasing the freeze time to 70 mins in reality - something much appreciated by Londoners who realised this from my own experience, so has this system been altered as TfL tries to recover money after 2 years of disruption?
...and if so, from when exactly did this come into effect, & has TfL got any plans to get it back?
2) Secondly, there is also a similar grace time for 2-5 mins regarding the start and end of the morning & evening Peak/ Rush hour fares on weekdays, so can you let me know if that has changed as well, and regardless can you just list the actual times for the start & end of the peak/ rush hours please?
3) Has there been any more such unadvertised changes to the customers' payment of fares by TfL?
Thank you.
We answered
TfL Ref: 0158-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 14 April 2023 asking for information about changes to TfL fares
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked about the following:
I had recently been hearing rumours that since the Covid-19 era of lockdowns ended after 2021, there have been some changes to the fares by TfL. Of course the increase in journey prices is obvious but I wanted ask about the subtle details within it.
1) Ever since our Mayor of London Sadiq Khan introduced the fares freeze in 2018 (allowing us to make unlimited bus & tram journeys for just £1.50 within an hour of the first touching-in), there was an unadvertised 10-minute grace period increasing the freeze time to 70 mins in reality - something much appreciated by Londoners who realised this from my own experience, so has this system been altered as TfL tries to recover money after 2 years of disruption? ...and if so, from when exactly did this come into effect, & has TfL got any plans to get it back?
2) Secondly, there is also a similar grace time for 2-5 mins regarding the start and end of the morning & evening Peak/ Rush hour fares on weekdays, so can you let me know if that has changed as well, and regardless can you just list the actual times for the start & end of the peak/ rush hours please?
3) Has there been any more such unadvertised changes to the customers' payment of fares by TfL?
The information you asked for is available on both ours and the Mayor’s websites using the following links:
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
. Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
