The Mayor of London has announced that Transport for London (TfL) fares will rise by 5.9% from 5th March 2023 – which is in line with the Government’s increase to national rail fares.
The fares rise was required to at least match the national fares increase as part of the government funding agreement, otherwise, TfL would need to find the gap from its own resources. However, the fares rise is below the rate of inflation, so while beneficial for customers, will put added pressure on TfL to cut costs.
The full breakdown of which fares will change is still to be released by the Mayor’s office, but in a statement, said that pay-as-you-go tube journeys within Zone 1 will rise by 30p — from £2.50 to £2.80 — which equates to a rise of around 12% for those fares. The Mayor said that as journeys solely within Zone 1 are more likely to be made for tourism or leisure, that allows for a lower fares rise outside Zone 1.
Proposed Bus and tram fares
| Current | March 2023 | Increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAYG – single | £1.65 | £1.75 | 6.1% |
| PAYG – daily cap | £4.95 | £5.25 | 6.1% |
| 7 Day Bus & Tram Pass | £23.30 | £24.70 | 6.0% |
Zonal – Proposed Daily and weekly caps
| Current | 2023 | Increase | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zones | Daily | Weekly | Daily | Weekly | Daily | Weekly |
| 1 & 2 | £7.70 | £38.50 | £8.10 | £40.50 | 5.2% | 5.2% |
| 1-3 | £9.00 | £45.00 | £9.60 | £48.00 | 6.7% | 6.7% |
| 1-4 | £11.00 | £55.00 | £11.70 | £58.50 | 6.4% | 6.4% |
| 1-5 | £13.10 | £65.50 | £13.90 | £69.50 | 6.1% | 6.1% |
| 1-6 | £14.10 | £70.50 | £14.90 | £74.50 | 5.7% | 5.7% |
The temporary restriction on 60+ and Older Person’s Freedom Pass concessions to after 9am on weekdays, in line with the rest of the country, which was imposed at the start of the pandemic — originally to reduce rush hour crowding, and later to save money — is to be made permanent. This is expected to save TfL around £40 million a year.
However, a plan to progressively raise the age at which the 60+ concession comes into effect to lift it to 65 over the next decade has been cancelled, and the costs will be covered by the Mayor’s office from its council tax precept.
Disabled Person’s Freedom Pass holders won’t see any change.
The Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, has also written to London NHS Trust and GP bodies to request that medical appointments for those aged 60 and over are, where possible and appropriate, scheduled to occur after 9am to help ensure that free travel can be used to and from their appointments.
In addition, the bus Hopper fare will rise by 10p to £1.75. Since it was introduced in September 2016, almost 800 million Hopper fare journeys have been made.
TfL also continues to consider a separate proposal to generate additional income by withdrawing from the Travelcard Agreement. This would require the support of the Government and the Train Operating Companies due to the impact on Travelcard usage in London, especially for customers travelling from outside London where PAYG is not available.
The fares rise was announced as part of the Mayor’s annual budget statement, which will see the Mayor seeking £1.3 billion. To raise that, the Mayor is proposing to increase his share of council tax bills from £395.59 a year to £434.14 (Band D household) for residents of the 32 boroughs – an overall increase of £38.55.
Leave a Reply