London train costs to rise without day travelcard, charity warns

Daily paper travelcards will be withdrawn from sale next year

Families travelling to London by train will have to pay 16% more on average after the day travelcard is scrapped, a charity has warned.

The multi-modal paper tickets will be withdrawn next year, under Transport for London (TfL) plans to save money

Campaign for Better Transport said that would make it more difficult to access discounted fares.

TfL said the decision has been taken "reluctantly" to save money and meet the terms of its government bailout.

The operator was given £3.6bn of taxpayers' money in August last year to keep services running until March 2024, after it fell into financial difficulties during the pandemic.

However, TfL had to commit to certain cost-saving conditions to secure the deal.

The day travelcards allow people to travel on the Tube, bus, rail, tram, DLR and London Overground for a singular fee.

When added to a national rail ticket to London, people can use the one ticket to reach and travel around the city.

Last year, 14 million day travelcards were sold - up from 12 million the year before.

Campaign for Better Transport warned that fares will rise significantly once these tickets are withdrawn.

The charity's analysis also found that there would be big differences in the increase in cost, depending on where people were travelling from.

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Norman Baker, from Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Withdrawing the day travelcard will not only remove access to integrated, seamless ticketing for millions of people, but also make it much more expensive to visit the capital.

"This move is going in entirely the wrong direction. Public transport works best when you can use one ticket for your whole journey, so we need more, not less, integrated ticketing."

The charity called on the mayor of London, Department for Transport and train operating companies to find a way to keep the Travelcard.

There is formal opposition from 12 local authorities outside London to TfL's plan to scrap the day travelcard.

TfL said the decision "remains reversible" and that it wanted to explore options to continue providing the day ticket.

It added that the existing daily pay as you go caps on contactless or Oyster would not be affected.

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