Off-peak Fridays in London

Honestly, I tried this out yesterday and it was not cheap at all.  I had no way of checking ahead of time what I would be charged (I take both TfL and train).  All I knew was it was supposed to be cheaper and the paper ticket travelcard was not included for the off-peak pricing.  I was charged over £24 for my Friday journey using contactless (a paper off-peak travelcard from my station, including train, is £19.70 and a peak ticket is £35.50).  Transport is ridiculously expensive and forcing people to use contactless without making clear what you'll be charged is disgusting.  I never know what I'll be charged when using contactless and it always varies depending what station I go to (Victoria or London Bridge) or which lines I use (Elizabeth line charges more with contactless).  I prefer pre-paying for my journey so I know what I'm going to be charged.    You need to make pricing consistent, clear and affordable.  This off-peak Friday just seems like a scam and the pricing is clear as mud.

Even with this change I still will struggle to afford travel costs for work the rest of the week, I will often skip lunch or decline social situations, as having travel fares prevent me from losing the job I have that barely covers the oyster top up costs…and that has to be a priority 

It is ridiculous just to do this on a Friday.  I have written to the Mayor before.  Please give us back our hours before 9am for the Freedom Pass.  It is called that so we are free to travel when we like, not be dictated to by yourself.  We have paid in all our lives and deserve something back.  Many people are still working like I was, am now retired.  I resented very much having to pay to go to work before 9am whilst some people are let on buses free, young people lying that they have lost their pass and others.  Elderly need to attend hospital appointments too sometimes having to leave early to get there because of traffic congestion.  If you have to save money do not do it on the backs of the 65 and over people!  You could do away with the 60 plus Oyster as it is not well advertised and people are not that old at 60 and still working.  I never knew about it until a friend told me.  Maybe you can save some monies on that instead of the Freedom Pass. 

We could discuss changing the names of all overground transportation lines, we could also discuss why TfL didn't ask the public before making that decision. We could also discuss whether this money could not have been invested in other priority needs for London society, such as livable and comfortable homes for Londoners, clean the air, improve the quality of the environment. We could also ask people living in social housing if they are happy, or if their basic rights requests are being met. We have so many things to discuss... We might also want to listen to what society's real needs are.

"Last August, Transport for London (TfL) announced it wanted to give the routes distinct identities to make it easier for passengers to navigate the network. The services will become known as the Lioness line, the Mildmay line, the Windrush line, the Weaver line, the Suffragette line and the Liberty line."

I sometimes travel into the office on Friday as it’s nice and quiet - if lower fares made it busy, I’d be less likely to go in on Friday 

I personally think this has been an election campaign strategy by sadiq khan. If he really cared about public  transport, he would’ve make it cheaper and  efficient. We are using the most expensive public transport for what? Strikes, constant delays and “maintenance” on the weekends when people actually want to enjoy their free time. 

My favourite climbing gym is in Harrow, but despite having a membership to the entire chain, if I wanted to go on a weeknight I’d have to pay £5+ in tube fares alone. It’s really nice that I can get there much more cheaply now on Friday evenings.

I had to work from the office another day, and specifically chose Friday because of the off-peak fares.  It makes me feel like I can go out after work on a Friday too which is neat.

Hi all,

This is a good initiative. Unfortunately there is no good train/ tube connection to the venues that I need to visit on Fridays at present. I have to take the bus. 

Since tfl envolved all the travelling services it could be great that all means of transport are accommodated.

Regards 

If we are ever going to get people to drive less and take public transport it needs to be cheaper the TfL is thee most expensive public transport system globally. 

“The Tube has the most expensive fares of any metro in the world,” - Evening Standard. 

London’s air quality is awful but people are less willing to travel when it costs this much. They would rather drive which ruins the quality of air for everyone. 

This is one of many issues the uk is facing with corruption and not funding public services. 

Making travel cheaper on a Friday isn’t going to dent this wider issue. 

The whole network needs to come down in price dramatically to get people on board (literally). 

This is great! I think it makes me more likely to go and do more things in the afternoon like an exhibition or meeting up with a friend (I have summer hours at my workplace which means I can finish at 1pm on Fridays throughout the summer). It will definitely incentivise me to get into central London more.

This halved my fare for coming into work by Elizabeth Line on a Friday from Twyford to Tottenham Ct Road. 

I can't really see how this will have much impact really overall - most Londoners that are not currently coming into town regularly on Fridays are probably hybrid workers. The very small discount for PAYG Oyster users isn't enough incentive really when you factor in additional very pricey costs of being in town (buying coffee, lunch etc). So if a small minority change their office days to a Friday,  they'll simply not come in on another day earlier in the week. So overall they'll still be commuting the same number of days. It might slightly (very slightly) spread the Tube's passenger volume but I doubt it would be enough to make much difference to either crowds or TfL fare revenue.

I chose my ‘on site’ working day to be Friday to take advantage of this offer. Disappointingly, the difference between off peak and peak fares is minimal. I think if this Offer is extended then I will continue to choose to come into the office on Fridays, and in turn, this does impact on my social plans as I am more likely to go out for dinner / drinks on an office day. However, because of the very slight difference in fare (I travel zone 1-4), this wouldn’t be the deciding factor in choosing to travel to work. 

It would be great if Mondays and Fridays could permanently benefit from cheaper fares. I would definitely systematically go to work on these days in central London if so. 

I like the off peak Friday's because I can now use my 60+ oyster before 9am.  This saves me money on my journey to work which I am very grateful for

It sounds like TFL really need to generate more revenue. There are two other ways this can be achieved. 

• Fines from unlawful driving
• Removing those that shouldn't be on the road - hence, using public transport

To explain this in more detail. If a driver that causes antisocial behaivour with hooting and revving, There should be investment to more CCTV on the streets rather than reduce fairs on a Friday by charging an off-peak price. With increased CCTV it needs to be programmed to obtain the car registration of anyone causing distress and severe annoyances on the road like hooting (which is extremely loud and bad for public health). Therefore, a fine from TFL should be issued and operated across all London boroughs, not just a few selective ones.

The next point related to the first one mentioned. If the drivers causing antisocial behaivour on the road, continue with the non-stop distress they are burdening on businesses and communities, then it's a simple scenario where they need immediate removal from a public road. By having less of these problems on the road, they can spend money to use public transport instead whether that is a train or bus from wherever they have to travel. 

Overall, these are really effective solutions to increase TFL's revenues for the financial year going forward.