Travel costs go up again: time to flatten fares
Today I’m pledging to flatten fares and move towards a single fare zone for all Londoners.
Fare rises are back, and again costing people in outer boroughs much more in travel costs, so I am committing to eliminating this inequality between inner and outer London.
Our map and table show the unfair extra costs being charged to people living in outer London for their travel with each increase.
Using the weekly travelcard, which costs the same as the cap on pay-as-you-go fares, the total annual cost of travel into central London from Zone 6 is now £3,114, compared with £1.702 from Zone 2 – a cost of living penalty of £1,412 a year.
These inequalities have worsened over time. Zone 1-6 travel has increased in cost by £395.60 a year since 2016, compared with a rise of £211.60 for Zone 1-2.
The current Mayor’s four year ‘fare freeze’ only applied to single journeys – not the travelcards and weekly contactless caps that working people depend upon.
My policy as Mayor would be to flatten the fare structure over time, bringing down outer London fares. When we get down to one zone, all tube and rail fares will cost the same, regardless of which zones you travel between. This has been the case on London buses since 2004.
If elected in May, I will put my plan for flat fares into action, beginning by merging Zones 4, 5 and 6 by 2024, and moving towards a flat fare system within two Mayoral terms.
More and more people are being pushed to the edges of London because of housing costs, only to be punished by higher transport costs when they move.
This isn’t fair. Two workers in the same central London hospital should pay the same fare to get to work no matter where they live.
See the extra costs here:
| Cost of weekly travel card/cap | 2019 | 2020 | NEW FARES 2021 | Annual cost 2021 (46 weeks) | Vs Zone 1-2 |
| Zone 1-2 | £35.10 | £36.10 | £37.00 | £1,702.00 | n/a |
| Zone 1-3 | £41.20 | £42.40 | £43.50 | £2,001.00 | +£299.00 |
| Zone 1-4 | £50.50 | £51.90 | £53.20 | £2,447.20 | +£745.20 |
| Zone 1-5 | £60.00 | £61.70 | £63.30 | £2,911.80 | +£1,209.80 |
| Zone 1-6 | £64.20 | £66.00 | £67.70 | £3,114.20 | +£1,412.20 |