It’s the end of the line for one of London’s iconic public transport fares - the one-day Travelcard.
The special tickets offering unlimited journeys on Tubes and buses are being withdrawn after 40 years by Mayor Sadiq Khan from January in a bid to raise Transport for London an extra £40 million annually.
Passengers heading into London typically add a day Travelcard onto their rail ticket – with the total cost normally cheaper than if they were to pay separately for all journeys.
Some 65,000 daily Travelcards are bought on most days, and these will all be cut in a push for passengers to instead use contactless or Oyster.
But weekly and monthly Travelcards are being retained.
The Campaign for Better Transport warns axing one-day Travelcards will make it about 16 per cent more expensive for family rail trips to London and even launched a protest called ‘Don’t Cut The Card’.
The Leader podcast is joined by Evening Standard transport editor Ross Lydall and Dr James Fowler, a University of Essex Business School lecturer and author of Strategy and Managed Decline: London Transport 1948-87.
We discuss the Travelcard’s history, the cut’s wider financial impact on London’s economy and the European cities offering best value public transport.
Listen above, and find us on your Spotify Daily Drive or wherever you stream your podcasts.
