London Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed that he will freeze fares on the Tube and London buses until the end of 2020.
The Mayor said the fares freeze would save the average household £200 over the next four years.
The fares freeze was a significant promise made by Mr Khan during this year's mayoral election race, after he promised Londoners that they 'won't pay a penny more for their travel in 2020.'
Bus and tram tickets, Pay As You Go journeys on the Tube, DLR and TfL rail will all be frozen, as well as Boris bike hire charges under the new freeze.
However, it will not apply to travelcards, monthly Oyster cards or daily caps, with these expected to go up in line with inflation as normal.
Mr Khan said: 'After years of huge fare increases for London passengers, I'm delighted to be formally announcing our plans to freeze TfL fares across London's transport network.
'Before taking office I was determined to ensure we took significant action to make public transport more affordable…'
'..and we've already taken major steps through the introduction of the Hopper ticket that in just two months has saved Londoners money on over 10 million bus journeys.'
He also called on the government to follow his lead and freeze fares on rail routes into the capital.
The freeze will mean that TfL will have to make cuts of at least £591m by 2018, which is when it loses its government operational grant.
It will also mean further cuts to TfL's budget as it tries to make up the cost.
Mike Brown, chief of Transport for London, said: 'Freezing fares help make our network more affordable for Londoners.
'Our efficiency programme allows us to deliver this while still providing the transport services London needs and also continuing to invest for future demand and growth.'
0 comments: