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Passengers will pay an additional £211m to travel across the capital as a result of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s 2025 fares hikes, according to Transport for London’s own calculations.
Tube, Elizabeth line and London Overground fares will increase by an average of 4.6 per cent from March 2 but bus and tram fares will be frozen at £1.75.
Taken together, fares will rise by an overall average of 3.6 per cent when the bus fare freeze is included in the calculations.
However some Tube fares in outer London will rise by as much as 15 per cent.
Mr Khan said that bus fares were being frozen for the sixth time in eight years and remained the cheapest in the country.
Weekly Travelcards will increase by up to 4.7 per cent.
The current rate of interest is 2.3 per cent.
The “cap” or limit on how much pay-as-you-go passengers are charged for multiple journeys will also increase by up to five per cent.
He denied he had been forced by the Department for Transport to mirror the 4.6 per cent in commuter rail fares on the national railways, which will also apply from next March.
He said there was the “prospect of a long-term multi-year capital deal” from the Government for TfL, in return for falling in line with ministerial wishes for the Tube fare increase to match the increase in national rail fares.
Mr Khan told The Standard: “This will mean that TfL is on a sustainable long-term footing, which is really important for our city.”
He said that had he not chosen to increase Tube fares by the same amount, TfL would have had to plug the gap in revenue.
“It was not a threat or an order,” he said. “It’s the reality of, if we don’t have money coming in from fares, the gap, in terms of capital, becomes bigger.
“The prize for us is a long-term capital deal to renew and maintain public transport in London.”
He said this could include the “prospect of the DLR being extended to Thamesmead, the Bakerloo line extension being unlocked, and the West London Orbital” railway.
Asked if there was any “wriggle room” in deciding the size of the fares hike, Mr Khan said: “I think the compromise would have been that if you freeze Tube fares, it means less money coming in for us to invest in capital [major projects].
“We can now invest in Superloop 2, in the Bakerloop, in more buses in outer London.”
Asked about the 14 per cent increase in cable car adult fares, from £6 to £7, Mr Khan said: “The cable car is used by tourists, by visitors. I think it’s right they pay a bit extra.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “Transport in London is devolved and decisions on TfL fares are ultimately for the Mayor to decide on.
“We know the success of the London transport network is critical for both the capital and the UK’s economy, which is why during the Budget the Chancellor announced TfL would receive nearly £500 million in additional funding.”
