HS2

02.02.18

‘Affordable’ Hopper fares to be extended on London Tube network

The mayor of London has this week confirmed the extension of Hopper fares on London rail services and the Underground.

Sadiq Khan’s policy means passengers will be able to pay a fee to travel for a one-hour period on most of London’s public transport services, including rail, the Underground, and buses.

Khan made the introduction of Hopper fares a key part of his campaign pledges and originally implemented it as a temporary measure in September 2016 – since then 140 million of the tickets have been purchased.

This week’s extension of the fare means around 130,000 passengers who use multiple services will benefit from more affordable tickets.

“I'm delighted that from today thousands more Londoners will be able to benefit from our landmark Hopper fare,” Khan said.

“The Hopper has been a huge success so far with over 140 million journeys, and from today Londoners will be able to change buses as many times as they want in an hour - whether commuting to work, or popping to the shops and back.”

A spokesperson from the mayor’s office said they hoped the Hopper fares would work alongside the TfL price freeze to improve people’s transport access.

Shashi Verma, chief technology officer at TfL commented: “The Hopper fare has already helped millions of people travel for less, and thanks to these latest improvements to our ticketing system, we can now offer even more affordable journeys to customers.

“This is one of the many ways that we are trying to make life in London easier and encourage people to leave their cars at home in favour of less polluting public transport.”

TfL’s price freeze means that every passenger buying tram tickets or making pay-as-you-go journeys on the Tube, DLR, Emirates Airline and rail services – where TfL fares apply – will pay the same price as in 2016.

It also includes all TfL travel concessions, ensuring that children, over-60s, veterans, apprentices and those on Job Seeker’s Allowance continue to be given free or discounted travel.

Top image: traveler1116

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Comments

Ronnie268   02/02/2018 at 12:06

Good old Sadiq, quietly bankrupting TfL whilst virtue signalling about how much he's helping Londoners. How long will this madness continue?

Jimbo   02/02/2018 at 12:37

This headline doesn't look correct - the extension of the Hopper fare applies to buses and trams, not the Tube. Hopper fares will apply to the bus/tram parts of multi-modal journeys, but you will still pay the current zone-based charges on multiple Tube journeys.

Jake   02/02/2018 at 13:31

He isn't bankrupting TfL, he's making transport more affordable for some of the poorest Londoners who struggle to make ends meet due to the spiralling cost of living in the city. 'Hopper' fares already exist in most European cities. It's simply bringing London in line with the norm. So what if Victoria line capacity improvements have been scrapped; being able to afford to travel in the first place is a much more important priority than ensuring those who already can afford to travel can do so in less-crowded in conditions, in my humble opinion.

LJF   02/02/2018 at 16:02

It isn't Sadiq bankrupting TfL - his hands are pretty well tied by recent changes to the funding structure. These savings for consumers (and not insignificant savings either, I can attest to that) have all been made while delivering the same service levels without a single penny of government funding - an achievement in itself. Madness that London is now the only major city in the world to not receive a penny of central government subsidy. Testament to the success and strength of the network overall that it is deemed unnecessary I guess. No doubting more cash would help however.

LJF   02/02/2018 at 16:04

It isn't Sadiq bankrupting TfL - his hands are pretty well tied by recent changes to the funding structure. These savings for consumers (and not insignificant savings either, I can attest to that) have all been made while delivering the same service levels without a single penny of government funding - an achievement in itself. Madness that London is now the only major city in the world to not receive a penny of central government subsidy. Testament to the success and strength of the network overall that it is deemed unnecessary I guess. No doubting more cash would help however.

Paul   02/02/2018 at 17:54

Without investment income from somewhere, no matter what Khan's ambitions are they will not happen! In my view he is so busy trying to project his Saviour image he risks undoing all the progress of recent years that has made Public Transport in London so attractive and popular. Of course the Capital City should be entitled to sufficient financial support but one could argue that the Crossrail, Thameslink, Tube Upgrades and more have been that. Bus services are now being cut, frequencies reduced and routes slashed, at a time when bus usage has never been more popular. There is a grave danger that we are reversing recent years and heading for the cutbacks circle so familiar in history. Political point scoring does not serve Londoners!

Mr Captain Obvious   05/02/2018 at 04:18

That includes London Overground as you have missed out RTM.

Bewarethegwilt   05/02/2018 at 18:06

Not quite Andrew, ".....buying tram tickets or making pay-as-you-go journeys on the Tube, DLR, Emirates Airline and rail services – where TfL fares apply....." seems to cover it!!!

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