Inside the campaign to make London public transport free

Imagine a world where instead of spending £7 a day just to get to work, it didn’t cost you a penny. Finding it hard to picture? With the astronomical cost of just walking out the door in London, us too. But some people are campaigning for just that. 

Transport for London (TfL) has been told that in order to fight inequality and reduce pollution from cars, the organisation needs to introduce free public transport. 

London’s transport system is one of the most expensive in the world for a global city, and fares are expected to rise above inflation every year until 2030. TfL is mainly funded by passenger fares, compared to capital cities in other countries which have their transport systems highly subsidised by the government. 

A campaign group called Fare Free London is concerned that London’s extortionate travel fares are putting regular Londoners off using public transport and potentially increasing the number of vehicles on the road. They are asking TfL to ‘completely rethink’ the system in order to encourage more people to use TfL, and combat inequality. 

Currently a single tube journey in London costs from £2.50 to £3.80 using Oyster or contactless, depending on the travel zone and time of day. Tube fares are capped at £8.90 a day for zone 1 and £16.30 a day for zones 1 to 6. TfL made £5.24 billion from passenger fares in 2023-24, and is expected to make £5.7 billion this year. With above inflation increases, the daily cap for travelling between zones 1 to 3 could cost more than £11.80 by 2029.

Simon Pirani, an organiser for Fare Free London, said free public transport in London would reduce social isolation and lower car use while stimulating the economy and reducing inequality.

He said: ‘In London, the high level of fares is hitting people across all age groups in terms of being able to travel to find work, travelling to and from work and in terms of social isolation.

‘We need a complete rethink about how the transport system is paid for. London has a much better transport system compared to other UK cities, but it's very expensive.’

You’re probably thinking, fat chance. But earlier this month the House of Commons Transport Committee proposed that everyone aged under 22 in England should be given a free bus pass to travel to work or education. It remains to be seen whether that will be put into action. Under 18s in London already travel by bus for free with Zip Oyster photocards

A TfL spokesperson said: ‘The Mayor will set out what happens with fares but the government has been clear that the funding in the settlement is provided against an assumed scenario that overall TfL fares will rise by the value of RPI+1 percent for each year of the settlement.’

ICYMI: The historic east London market being pedestrianised and expanded. 

Uber has revealed plans to run trains to Europe from Stratford in east London by 2029.