The price of Tube travel will be frozen for passengers using the Oyster smartcard and under-11s will travel for free on the buses under the new four-year fare package from January, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone announced today.
The new fares begin on Sunday 4 January 2004 and are designed to cut queues at Tube stations and speed up buses by encouraging passengers to use pre-paid tickets. By this time the ‘pre-pay’ facility on the new Oyster smartcard will be operational, allowing passengers to charge their Oystercards with money before travelling.
There are also other substantial benefits for families with child-fares frozen and free child travel at weekends with the Family Travelcard.
The new fare package will stand for the next four years with any further annual increases pegged to no more than the rate of inflation.
From next year Tube passengers using the Oyster smartcard will pay 2003 prices for their journeys and reduced fares at the weekend. However, for those who choose to pay by cash, the cost of a Zone 1 Tube fare will rise to £2 and others by up to 20p.
On the buses passengers will pay only 70p per journey anywhere in London if they use the Oyster smartcard or if they buy Bus Saver tickets in advance.
The £1 cash fare for central London bus journeys is also frozen but the cost of bus trips outside central London will increase from 70p to £1 for those paying cash. This is part of the policy to take cash off of the buses by 2005/06 making journeys quicker and drivers safer.
Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: ‘The new four-year fare package will encourage people to switch to pre-paid tickets like the Oyster smartcard and Bus Saver tickets.
‘Use of pre-paid tickets helps speed up our bus service, reduce queues at Tube stations and make bus drivers safer by taking cash off the bus. The new package is also designed to encourage off-peak use of public transport when we have the most capacity.
‘London’s transport network continues to improve, the most obvious example being the massive improvement of our bus network, but this comes at a cost that has to be met so we can keep the improvements coming. London’s millions of passengers and taxpayers are playing their part in funding the transport network. I will be urging the Government to play its part and reward our success in delivering better public transport by providing more money in the next spending review.’
Using the Oyster smartcard:
Underground fares frozen at 2003 levels for all journeys across all zones
Flat discount rates at weekends – £1.80 for journeys including Zone 1 or just £1 excluding Zone 1
Bus trips for just 70p, including central London
Family friendly tickets:
Child fares remain frozen on Tube and bus
Under 11s travel free on buses (2003 fare was 40p)
Free child travel at weekends on Tube, bus, DLR and Tramlink Croydon with a Family Travelcard – first introduced as part of the Mayor’s Totally London Campaign (four children per adult)
Child-rate season tickets for 16-17 year olds
Peter Hendy, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: ‘There are nearly 1.4m more journeys each day on the buses than when the Mayor took office. This is good news but places a tremendous burden on the cost of running the bus network. To continue improving services, cash fares are going up for the first time in four years but they remain good value. By paying before boarding, most passengers will either pay less or the same as they were four years ago.’
