TfL announce fare rise but only at rate of inflation

Fares on the Transport for London network will only rise, on average, at the RPI rate (3.1%) when the new fare structure is introduced from 2nd January. This is being lauded as good news as TfL claim that this means fares will remain at the same level “in real terms” (providing of course that people actually get a pay rise at the same level).

Transport for London can rise their fares by RPI+1% but have decided to keep the increases as low as they can in recognition that transport costs are one of the biggest pressures on working Londoners and household budgets. Keeping the increase to just RPI has been made possible by a combination of measures including TfL’s savings and efficiencies programme and commercial revenue targets.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, commented: “’I have always said I was determined to bear down on fares, while ensuring that we can still invest properly in a transport system that is critical to our city’s success.  This package, which has been made possible by the continuing delivery of efficiencies across TfL, ensures that fares remain affordable and that we have the level of funding we need to continue to improve the network and deliver even better, more frequent services for everyone.  I know that families and working Londoners who have helped the drive the economic recovery still face real pressure over the cost of living and so I’ve decided to keep fares in line with RPI and therefore freeze them in real terms for next year.”

So what does this actually mean for travellers on the Docklands Light Railway and London Tramlink? Well on Tramlink the Pay as you Go (i.e. Oyster) will rise from £1.40 to £1.45 with a seven day pass up to £20.40 from £19.60 whilst on the Docklands Light Railway a zone 1 off peak PAYG ticket will now be £2.20 (was £2.10), zone 1-2 off peak is £2.20 (£2.10), cash zones 1, 1-2 and 1-3 is £4.70 (was £4.50) and a cash all zones ticket will now be £5.70 (was £5.50). On Tramlink the good news is that cash single fares will remain at £2.40.

This entry was posted in Docklands Light Railway, London Trams. Bookmark the permalink.