London transport: TfL fares frozen by Sadiq Khan until 2025

The mayor's office says freezing fares "will encourage people back onto our public transport network"

London's mayor has announced he is freezing Transport for London (TfL) fares until March 2025 as part of a £123m investment in the capital's transport services.

Sadiq Khan's office says people could save up to £90 a year under the plans.

It comes weeks after the government stepped in with £250m to plug a TfL funding gap.

City Hall Conservatives have accused the Labour mayor of trying to buy votes ahead of the mayoral election on 2 May.

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate, described the measure as "Sadiq Khan's last roll of the dice" and a "fake, magic money tree promise".

"After pleading poverty throughout his mayoralty, Sadiq Khan expects us to believe that he has miraculously conjured up this money, when the truth is we will be paying for it through increased council tax, his unfair Ulez expansion and a new tax that will charge you for every mile you drive," Ms Hall said.

Mr Khan told BBC London at Bond Street station earlier on Friday: "The money I've set aside from my prudent budgeting meant we could freeze fares over the course of the next year."

Funding shortfall

Responding to Ms Hall's comment on the money tree promise, as well as answering how he was able to reach a last-minute deal to end Tube strikes earlier this month, he said: "Prudent budgeting," adding: "I'm quite clear that at a time when Londoners' mortgages, rent and utilities are going up, I'll do what I can to support Londoners."

Mr Khan previously froze TfL fares between 2016 and 2021 and his office said freezing TfL fares again was "a key part of the mayor's programme to support Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis".

Mr Khan said: "Not only will this put money back in people's pockets, making transport more affordable for millions of Londoners, but will encourage people back on to our public transport network."

Under the proposals, single and return paper fares on TfL services will also be frozen this year.

It follows an announcement by the government of an additional one-off funding boost of £250m for 2024 to address a funding shortfall.

The Department for Transport (DfT) had said the spending package would be used by TfL for projects such as providing new Tube trains for the Piccadilly line.

It also comes in the same month the mayor offered to provide "additional funds" to increase TfL's 5% pay offer for staff - which had contributed to a cancellation of planned strikes by unions.

Analysis

Tom Edwards, BBC London transport correspondent

Fares are the one big policy lever a mayor can pull affecting most Londoners - and here we are in 2024 going back to the future.

In 2016, in his first mayoral campaign, Sadiq Khan's key policy was also to freeze fares, and it cost Transport for London (TfL) £640m over four years - money that could have been used elsewhere.

The government hated it, and his opposition said he wasn't being fiscally responsible, saying he should have fixed the roof when the sun was shining.

The latest fares shortfall of £123m will come from business rates.

Mr Khan's opponents says he is just buying off voters with an election bribe, but he is focusing on the money it will save the average family.

The aim may be to push the mayoral debate firmly towards the cost of living, like Mr Khan's other policies of free school meals and more money for Ulez scrappage.

Expect to hear a lot more about this in the coming months ahead of the mayoral election on 2 May.

City Hall Conservatives leader Neil Garratt said: "Let's be clear, Sadiq Khan is temporarily freezing TfL fares to try to buy the votes of Londoners."

Mr Garratt added: "As chairman of TfL, Sadiq Khan has run cap in hand to the government at every opportunity crying poor and demanding money to keep London's buses, trains and Tube moving."

Referring to bailout funding provided during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said: "The government has generously supported London with over £6bn to keep the transport system running."

Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon said: "Any fare freeze is obviously good news for those reliant on public transport in the midst of an inflationary crisis.

"However, major questions need to be answered on which pot of money the funding for this has been taken out of. With the inflationary crisis also hitting TfL, and staff calling for wage increases, we must ensure funding is sustainable."

Siân Berry, Green London Assembly member, said: "Every pence counts, and I am incredibly thankful to see that, at least from the look of the mayor's budget proposal, he will be freezing fares and giving Londoners a much needed break in their transport costs.

"But this really isn't the kind of transparency I expect from London's mayor, I mean he completely refused to answer anything about TfL fares when I asked him directly at City Hall yesterday.

"If we're serious about getting more Londoners out of their cars and onto our public transport, then cutting TfL fares is a great place to start. If this is the mayor's new policy, then I really don't see why he'd do everything in his power to avoid championing it."

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