Transport fares will go up from Tuesday 1 March, rising by an average of 4.8%.
The increase will see a Zone 1 single pay as you go (PAYG) on the Underground rise from £2.40 to £2.50. Other PAYG tube fares will go up between 10p and 30p.
Bus and tram 'hopper' fares will see an increase of almost 6.5%; from March they'll now cost £1.65 (instead of £1.55), with the daily cap increased by 30p to £4.95.
The fare rises average out to match the UK's current rate of inflation, but the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is reluctant to make the changes at all. Since becoming mayor in 2016, Khan had frozen PAYG prices on the TfL network until 2021. He blames having to now raise them, in part, on ongoing beef with the government. Says Khan:
Since TfL's finances were decimated by the pandemic, the government has set strict conditions as part of the emergency funding deals to keep essential transport services running in London. We have been forced into this position by the government and the way it continues to refuse to properly fund TfL, but I have done everything in my power to keep fares as affordable as possible.
All revenue raised from March's increase, says the mayor's office, will go towards ensuring TfL continues to operate, although there is still talk of a 'managed decline' (in November, Khan suggested the Bakerloo line might have to close if the government didn't stump up more cash for the financially-struggling TfL).
TfL recently announced a new fleet of all-electric buses, although it says they'll be the last ones Londoners get to enjoy, until the government grants it more sustained funding.
