• Transport for London (TfL) to provide automatic refunds to those who incur a higher fare than the former off-peak daily cap in outer London (Zones 4-6) twice or more in a week
• Refunds, including for the period from 2 January, will commence in April and then be paid monthly
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today acted to ensure that all part-time workers benefit from fares reductions introduced in 2015.
A new automated refund will be provided to any customers who incur a higher fare than TfL’s former pay as you go daily off-peak caps in Zones 4-6 twice or more in one week, or eight or more times in a four-week period.
In his fares package for 2015, Mayor Boris Johnson introduced a new part-time worker fare deal as part of his real terms fares freeze for 2015 (an average increase of 2.5 per cent). This gave flexible and part-time workers, including those with unpredictable hours, access to fairer, dramatically lower fares through a new, lower all-day pay as you go cap (daily caps became one fifth of the cost of a 7 day Travelcard to Zone 1).
It is estimated that this change means over 600,000 customers are now paying lower fares over the course of a typical week and is a key part of the Mayor’s commitment to keep the cost of transport low for Londoners. It also reflects modern-day travel patterns – 22 per cent of Londoners now work part time while many others have flexible working patterns.
The 2015 fares package also included the removal of pay as you go daily off-peak caps. For Zones 1-3, the new all day caps are actually lower than the withdrawn off-peak caps. In Zones 4-6 the new caps are higher than the off-peak caps, affecting about 25,000 people every day (see Notes to Editors).
At the request of the Mayor, TfL have immediately looked into this issue and the Mayor has now agreed to revisions that mean part-time workers in outer London who travel off-peak will not be disadvantaged.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I’ve delivered on my commitment to address the needs of flexible and part-time workers, with significant fare cuts for hundreds of thousands of hardworking Londoners. This reduction was funded through revisions made to the fare package elsewhere and having assessed the full impact of these changes, I have asked Transport for London to make changes to the daily off peak caps which mean that all Londoners benefit. “A relatively small group of passengers in outer London who were disproportionally affected will be automatically refunded. I believe this decision is in the interests of fairness and one which recognises the need to support all part-time workers, a vital part of our great city’s economy.”
Refunds, including for the period from 2 January, will commence in April and then be paid monthly. It is expected to cost TfL around £2m per year.
Notes to editors
• The Mayor’s new part-time workers fare deal means significant saving for many Londoners;
• Maximum savings as a result of this change range from £200 to over £600 per year – for example, over 45 weeks in zones 1-2 equal to £270 a year – for zones 1-3 equal to £418 – and for zones 1-5 £661;
• However, TfL’s analysis shows that around 25,000 people were adversely affected by the removal of daily off-peak caps in Zones 4-6. Of these, 85% (c21,000) ended up paying an average of £1.40 more around once a week; 10% (c2000) paid an average of £1.40 more around twice a week; and the remainder (1,000) three times a week or more. While this means only around 3,000 passenger are paying more than about £2 extra a week for their travel as a result of the withdrawal of off-peak caps, outer Londoners are a vital part of the London economy and should not face these increased fares;
• From April, TfL will refund any customer who incurs a higher fare than the former daily off-peak caps twice or more in one week or eight or more times in a four week period;
• The off peak daily caps will be £8.00 for zones 1-4 and £8.80 for zones 1-5 and 1-6. Refunds will be made on a monthly basis and will be delivered automatically by TfL, meaning customers are not required to take any action;
• There are over 10m journeys made each day on the TfL public transport network, including around 3.5m by Tube and around 6.5m by bus.