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The Telegraph
The Telegraph
National
Jack Simpson

Sadiq Khan to scrap free morning peak travel for pensioners

Sadiq Khan - Johnny Armstead/Alamy
Sadiq Khan - Johnny Armstead/Alamy

Sadiq Khan has announced plans to permanently end free morning peak travel for pensioners as part of a number of cost-cutting measures to bolster Transport for London’s beleaguered finances.

As part of his draft budget on Wednesday, the London Mayor revealed that he would permanently end free travel before 9am for those who hold a 60+ Freedom Pass as part of a bid to save TfL around £40 million a year.

No change will apply to holders of the Disabled Person’s Freedom Pass.

The Freedom Pass restrictions were first brought in on a short-term basis in June 2020 as money-saving step during the Covid pandemic following the Government’s finance agreement for the capital’s transport provider.

However, the Mayor’s office said that, after consultation and an equality impact assessment, the decision had to be taken to make them permanent.

As part of the Mayor’s plans to mitigate the impact on those over 60, Seb Dance, his deputy mayor for transport, has written to GP surgeries and NHS trusts to recommend that medical appointments for those over 60 are scheduled for after 9am.

Mr Khan had considered a policy that would incrementally increase the age at which travellers could obtain a Freedom Pass on a six-month basis, but this was scrapped.

TfL fares going up by average of 5.9 per cent

It comes with TfL’s finances under increased pressure as it looks to plug a £740 million funding gap. Last year, it secured a £1.2 billion funding agreement from the Government but Mr Khan warned that it was “far from ideal” and that fare increases were likely.

Alongside the Freedom Pass changes, Mr Khan also announced that he would be mirroring the Government and increasing TfL fares by an average of 5.9 per cent from March.

In December Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, revealed that rail fares would rise by a maximum of 5.9 per cent from April. This was the first time the Government had abandoned increasing fares by the current retail price index measure, which stood at 12.3 per cent at the time.

Mr Khan’s increases will be higher for travellers in central London, with those travelling with pay as you go tickets in zone one seeing their fares rise to £2.80, up 12 per cent from the current price of £2.50. 

Meanwhile, TfL will look to make the increases less steep for those living in outer London and travelling into the centre for work. Under the plans, a pay as you go peak fare into London from zone four outwards will increase by no more than 10p, an increase of no more than 2.3 per cent.

Daily and weekly travel cards for zones one, two and three will increase by 6.7 per cent. This will drop to 6.4 per cent for zones one to four, 6.1 per cent when zone five is added, and 5.7 per cent for those travelling in from zone six.

On becoming mayor in 2016, Mr Khan froze transport fares for four years, which some have argued added to TfL’s financial problems.

He said: “I froze TfL fares for five years from 2016 to make transport more affordable for millions of Londoners.

“But my hands have been tied since the pandemic by the strict conditions set by the Government in the recent emergency funding agreement for TfL, which means fares have to be increase in London by the same amount as national rail fares – 5.9 per cent.

“This is a challenging time for our city, with a Government that is not fully funding our public services, but I’m determined to step up so that we can continue building a greener, safer and fairer London for everyone.”    

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