Londoners reminded of 2017 fares

29 December 2016
All fares set by TfL frozen until 2020
"Freezing fares helps make our network more affordable for Londoners"
Shashi Verma
Chief Technology Officer and Director of Customer Experience, TfL
  • Recent introduction of the Hopper fare, as well as the Mayor's pay as you go fares freeze on TfL services, mean Londoners will benefit even more in the coming years
  • Fares not in TfL's control, including Travelcards, daily and weekly caps, and pay as you go fares on suburban rail services, to increase from 2 January 2017
  • TfL urging customers to check they are using the right travel product to ensure they don't spend more than necessary to get around the city

Transport for London (TfL) is urging all customers to check they are using the right travel product to ensure they do not spend more than necessary to get around the city, ahead of the annual fares revision on 2 January 2017.

As confirmed earlier this year, the Mayor of London has frozen all fares set by TfL until 2020. This means that everyone travelling solely by bus or tram in London will not pay a penny more than they did in 2016, while pay as you go journeys on the Tube, DLR, Emirates Airline and rail services where TfL fares apply will all be frozen. Hire and access fees on Santander Cycles will also be frozen to encourage more people to try cycling to get around London.

However, the Mayor only has the power to set fares on TfL services. Travelcards, and the associated daily and weekly caps, are set to increase in line with RPI inflation as they are set by the Government in agreement with the private train operating companies (TOCs). As confirmed earlier this year, these will rise across the country by an average of 2.3 per cent from 2 January 2017.

TfL is now reminding all Londoners that they should check they are still buying the right ticket and paying the correct fare for their travel. The launch earlier this year of the Mayor's two-for-one Hopper fare for buses and trams, and daily capping, means people could be better off using pay as you go to travel around London. In addition, customers are reminded that if they are travelling across London and do not travel through zone 1, they can avoid paying a higher fare by touching on a pink reader at specific stations when interchanging.

Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Customer Experience at TfL, said:

'Freezing fares helps make our network more affordable for Londoners. Customers are advised to check they are not unnecessarily spending money on a paper ticket when they could be saving significantly. Using pay as you go with Oyster and Contactless means that you should never have to pay more for your travel than necessary. We want to make the system as simple and easy to use as possible and will be making a range of further improvements in the coming years.'

London is a world-leader in transport ticketing, having been the first city in the world to have a successful integrated ticketing system in Contactless and Oyster. Contactless payments were launched by TfL in September 2014 and, since then, more than 600 million contactless journeys have been made, using cards from more than 90 countries to travel across TfL and National Rail services in London.

Contactless payments are convenient as they offer anyone travel at the cost of a single adult pay as you go fare, and is cheaper than buying a paper Day Travelcard or single tickets. Fares are also capped so that when you reach the daily and Monday to Sunday weekly capping limit, you can carry on travelling around London without paying a penny more.

To check the latest fares, or to register your Oyster or Contactless payment card, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/fares

 

Notes to Editors:

  • Contactless payments have been accepted on London Buses since December 2012, with the technology expanded to cover Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, and most National Rail services on 16 September 2014.
  • Travelcards, and the associated daily and weekly caps, are set by the Government in agreement with the private train operating companies (TOCs), which are permitted to increase their regulated fares in line with RPI inflation. The cost of these can be found here: https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/adult-fares-2017.pdf