Paper day travelcards could be permanently withdrawn from sale at London stations under plans from the Mayor to save money.
The paper tickets give unlimited travel on TfL services, including bus, Tube, Tram, Docklands Light Railway, London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line, as well as National Rail services in London.
But under plans the paper tickets would no longer be accepted at stations and tourists from outside the city would be expected to use contactless or Oyster cards on arrival.
Under the proposals, instead of purchasing child day travelcards, would be expected to apply in advance for a Zip card or get the Young Visitor discount set on an Oyster card.
The mayor claims the move will allow TfL to keep providing weekly and longer-term travelcards.
A TfL spokesperson said: “As required by conditions of the government’s funding settlements, we are considering proposals to generate additional income.
“One of these proposals is withdrawal from elements of the Travelcard Agreement, such as TfL’s acceptance of day travelcards, but we are not proposing to make any changes to the daily pay-as-you-go caps on contactless or Oyster.”
The purchase of weekly, monthly and annual season tickets has fallen from a total of about 1.2m to around 220,000, per four week period, in under a decade.
The trend has accelerated since the launch of Contactless and pay-as-you-go ticketing in 2014 and has continued as a result in the growth of working from home due to the pandemic.
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