Listen here on your chosen podcast platform.
Tube fares will rise by double the rate of inflation next year – but London bus fares will be frozen at £1.75.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said the cost of travelling on the London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line would increase by an average of 4.6 per cent from March 2025.
But he has decided to keep bus fares - including Superloop fares - unchanged for a second successive year at £1.75, meaning they remain the cheapest in the country.
The changes are expected to mean that passengers pay an additional £211m in fares to Transport for London over the next year.
Mr Khan is also retaining the Hopper fare, which allows passengers to switch between buses or Croydon tram services within a 60-minute period for no extra charge.
He hopes that keeping bus fares as low as possible will boost passenger numbers, which have barely increased year-on-year, largely due to the delays to many bus journeys as a result of growing traffic congestion on the roads.
The London bus fare last rose in early 2023, when it increased 10p from £1.65 to £1.75.
The UK’s rate of inflation was 2.3 per cent in October.
The average overall increase in fares will be 3.6 per cent once the freezing of the bus fares and the higher Tube and rail fares are taken into account.
Full details of the different fares and Travelcard prices can be found here.
The biggest increase will be on the cable car that links the Royal Docks with North Greenwich. A single adult fare will increase 14.3 per cent, from £6 to £7. The child fare on the cable car will remain at 50 per cent of the adult fare.
Mr Khan had effectively been under orders from the Government to increase Tube and train fares by the same amount as commuter rail fares on the national railways.
These will increase by 4.6 per cent from March 2, 2025. TfL fares will increase on the same day.
Mr Khan was warned that if he failed to implement a 4.6 per cent increase then he risked jeopardising future government funding for Transport for London.
Daily and weekly “caps” on the amount pay-as-you-go passengers are charged for multiple journeys will also increase by 4.6 per cent, equating to increases of 40p to 70p a day.
This means the daily cap for travelling in zones 1-2 will be £8.90, and £10.50 for zones 1-3.
A single pay-as-you-go Tube journey in zone 1 will increase by 10p.
Travelcards will also increase by an average of 4.6 per cent.
The one-day bus and tram cap will remain at £5.25. The Bus & Tram Pass will remain frozen at £24.70 for a seven-day ticket.
The proposed bus and tram fare freeze means these fares remain only 25p higher than 2016.
TfL's passenger levels have been recovering and are currently around 93 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Pay-as-you-go is used for around 75 per cent of journeys made on Tube and TfL rail services. Fewer than one per cent of Tube journeys are now made with cash fares.
Mr Khan said: “Londoners know from my record that wherever possible I've made TfL fares more affordable and fairer for Londoners.
“I’m really pleased to announce that I’ll be freezing bus and tram fares yet again next year, making it the sixth time since 2016. More Londoners use the bus than any other form of public transport, and it will particularly benefit those on the lowest incomes.
“Vital Government funding will allow us to progress exciting future projects, such as Superloop 2 and more upgrades to the Tube network, as we continue building a fairer, safer and greener London.”
Mr Khan had already warned that his current partial fares freeze was unlikely to continue beyond next March.
Earlier this year, the mayor – in what critics described as a pre-election giveaway - decided against increasing the cost of pay-as-you-go TfL fares for 2024, contrary to expectations that they would rise in line with national rail fares.
TfL’s finances are currently far worse than predicted, in part due to the cyber attack on the organisation at the start of September.
Latest figures show that TfL is £5m in deficit – despite having planned to have amassed a £150m “profit” since April.
As a result, its annual “operating surplus” may only be £23m by next April, far short of the £138m achieved in 2023/24.
Mr Khan’s previous partial fares freeze, between 2016-20, was estimated to have cost TfL £640m in lost income.
Alex Williams, chief customer and strategy officer at TfL, said: “This fares package aims to keep fares as affordable as possible while supporting London’s continued economic growth.
“Through daily and weekly capping, as well as the Hopper fare and our wide range of concessions, people using our services can continue to get the best value fare by using pay as you go with contactless and Oyster.”
Peak fares apply on weekdays between 6.30am and 9.30am and from 4pm to 7pm.
All Tube and Elizabeth journeys to and from Heathrow Airport are charged at peak rates if they start, end or go through zone 1.
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.”
