I've been reading the draft TfL Business Plan 2023 (for the Wednesday 7th December 2022 Board meeting) and they are still considering withdrawing from the Travelcard Agreement as part of meeting the conditions of the funding agreement with the Government.
2022/23 to 2025/26
Travel concessions
To help meet the conditions of our funding agreement, the Mayor announced in December 2021 that he had to consider some modifications to fares structures and ticketing to raise £60-80m per year. This will involve some hard decisions, but we must balance being fair with what is financially prudent.
In September 2022, we implemented two of the options. These were all-day peak Heathrow fares for journeys that start or end at Heathrow Airport or go through Zone 1 and increasing the charge for a new Oyster card from £5 to £7.
Other options still being considered are increasing the age eligibility for the 60+ photocard where the age of eligibility would increase bi-monthly, restricting the 60+ and Older Persons Freedom pass for use after 9am, and withdrawing from the Travelcard agreement with the Train Operating Companies.
The Mayor managed to save free or discounted travel for under 18-year-olds and those with a 60+ Oyster or Freedom Pass on London’s Tubes, buses and trains.
The proposal is subject to Equality Impact Assessment, consultation, and agreement with the Government.
I’ve checked the recent TfL long-term funding settlement letter dated 30th August 2022; there’s no mention requiring TfL to withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement. Although, it was last mentioned in the previous settlement letter dated 25th February 2022, and had passed the 27th May 2022 deadline.
How is the withdrawal of the Travelcard Agreement going to affect workers?
Some companies offer their workers discounted interest-free loans, or reimbursed annual Travelcard and season tickets as part of their perks.
Here’s one example I’ve found:
Job Title: Senior Policy and Project Manager
Working For: Asthma + Lung UK
As well as a competitive salary, you’ll enjoy a range of benefits including 30 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), membership of a health cash plan, employee assistance programme, cycle-to-work scheme, interest-free annual season Travelcard loan and pension scheme.
How will it affect the Mayor of London, Assembly Members and staff working for the Greater London Authority? Here’s the extract from the document below:
Greater London Authority
Expenses and Benefits Framework
Part F. Member and staff benefits
1. Annual travelcards for the Mayor and Assembly Members
1.1 Members can on request be provided with an annual, up to zone six, fixed fee travelcard.
1.2 The process that applies is:
• the designated travelcard application form is completed in full and submitted to Financial Services
• the GLA makes a payment equal to the cost of the travelcard to the Member’s bank account using CHAPS transfer
• Members buy a travelcard from TfL in the usual way; for example, using a personal bank card
• Members then provide proof of purchase to Financial Services (either a receipt or a bank statement or similar showing the transaction).
Tax rules
1.4 Travelcards are a taxable benefit, which is reported on Members’ P11D form. HMRC has advised that, as the card is likely to be used primarily for travel to and from home, Members will be taxed on the full value of the card. It is then up to each Member to demonstrate the extent of any business use to their tax office at year-end.
1.5 If a Member has already purchased a travelcard and is seeking reimbursement (i.e. the process at 1.2 has not been followed):
• this is deemed a cash benefit by HMRC
• the GLA will inform payroll and the necessary tax deductions will be made in the same month as the reimbursement
• the Member can claim the business use element (to be agreed between the Member and the tax inspector) as allowable expenditure on their annual tax return.
So if you apply for a zone six travelcard and you are paying tax at 40 per cent, then the tax and National Insurance contribution due will be approximately £1,137.
Since the Mayor of London and Deputy Mayor for Transport are members of the TfL board, they are eligible for a TfL staff pass, which only gives them limited travel on selected National Rail routes.
Request ID: FOI-2453-2122
Date published: 21 February 2022
Do the London Mayor, Deputy Mayors, Assembly Members, GLA staff, London MPs, Councillors etc get free travel on TfL services?
The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for Transport - who are members of the TfL Board - are eligible for a TfL staff travel pass. No other Deputy Mayors receive free travel and none of the other people you list receive the pass, nor do we provide or fund any discounted travel for these groups (albeit their employers may subsidise their travel - but that would be a question to put to those bodies).
Staff working for various London Borough councils, do receive interest-free loans for Annual Travelcards; some of the information pasted below might be out of date.
Revised 27 March 2014
Green Travel Plan for Islington Council
Draft Outline
HR green travel policies including interest free season ticket loans, free zone 1 and 2 Travelcards for staff in identified hard-to-recruit to posts, and a congestion charge reimbursement policy
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Part 3 - Responsibility for Functions – Scheme of Delegation
3. Director of Corporate Services
3.1 The Director of Corporate Services shall be responsible for the following
functions:
(i) To operate the Staff Travelcard Allowance Scheme.
It’s worth pointing out that the ‘TfL staff’ that are working for Arriva Rail London (London Overground) and MTR Elizabeth line are not eligible for a TfL staff pass because they are employed by the private companies.
Request ID: FOI-0711-2223
Date published: 05 July 2022
Public transport staff benefits
TfL employees (including those on a fixed term contracts) are eligible for an Oyster card for themselves and a nominated person who lives permanently at their address. This gives free travel on all TfL services. This does not apply to agency staff nor to staff working for private companies running TfL services under a concession agreement / under contract (for example, London Overground which is operated by Arriva Rail London, or staff working for the private Bus Operators that run bus services in London).
Working for Arriva Rail London is rewarded with a range of great employee benefits, including:
• Free Oyster card for yourself and a nominee
• Great discounts on national and international rail travel for yourself, partner and children
• Railway pension scheme
• 75% discount on season tickets
• Comprehensive on-the-job training
• Full uniform for customer facing roles
• Childcare vouchers
• Cycle to Work
Employees also receive access to a benefits portal, a one-stop online shop for rewards and benefits. Here employees can access a range of discounts and savings, such as cash back or discounts on everyday purchases, holidays, mobile phone contracts and utility suppliers.
First Tram Operations - Careers
Oyster card
For you and someone else. So, you can both enjoy free tram, bus and tube travel around London and the surrounding areas using TfL services.
Network Inspector
Benefits
As part of the Transport for London family, we offer our staff a range of competitive benefits including:
• Free travel for you and a nominated partner/family member, living at the same address, across the TfL network
• A 75% discount on National Rail Season Ticket and interest-free loan
• 30 days annual leave plus public holidays
Working at MTR Elizabeth line provides access to an outstanding range of rewards and benefits including:
Travel
You’ll receive an Oyster card for yourself and a nominee living at the same address providing free travel on all TfL services across the entire network. You can also take advantage of reduced ticket fares with other Train Operating Companies for both yourself and your family.
What do they mean “free Oyster card”?
After further research, I found more details on the jobs sub-website of the MTR Elizabeth line website.
Junior Data Intelligence Engineer (0644)
Benefits and Rewards
Travel Benefits (discretionary):
• Free zones 1-6 Oyster travel card, for you and another person who lives at the same address
• 75% discount on all UK rail travel, and some international services
It will be interesting to see how it will impact ‘TfL staff’ who are directly employed by the company contracted by TfL to operate Docklands Light Railway, Elizabeth line, London Overground and London Trams.
London Bus drivers do get free travel on TfL services, but they won’t be able to get limited National Rail travel on their ‘Bus Operators Pass’.
Request ID: FOI-2097-1819
Date published: 19 November 2018
TfL staff pass for bus drivers
The majority of Bus Drivers who work for private bus companies on Transport for London (TfL) routes will hold a Bus Operator pass; these passes have serial numbers beginning with 003. Such passes can be used on TfL services including London Underground, London Overground, TfL Rail, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Buses with the TfL Roundel visible. They are not valid on National Rail services.
There are some bus drivers who transferred from London Transport who hold TfL Staff Passes, these passes have serial numbers beginning with 001. The passes can be used on TfL services including London Underground, London Overground, TfL Rail, DLR and London Buses featuring the TfL Roundel. They can also be used on a number of inter-available National Rail routes between the following stations only:
Amersham - Marylebone
Finsbury Park - Moorgate (Via Drayton Park Only)
Fenchurch Street - Upminster
Stratford - Liverpool Street
Kentish Town - Elephant & Castle or London Bridge
Euston - Watford Junction
So, withdrawing from the Travelcard Agreement could cause a huge change for workers on how they travel within the TfL system.
Could the proposed withdrawal of the Travelcard Agreement impact families visiting London?
Children aged 10 and under can travel free on TfL services as long as they are accompanied by a fare-paying adult. They are eligible for an aged 5-10 Zip Oyster card which costs £10 administration fee.
Children and teenagers aged 11 to 15 can purchase a child-rate One Day Travelcard to travel on TfL and National Rail services in London. But they can get discounted travel with an 11-15 Zip Oyster card which costs £15 administration fee.
Withdrawing from the Travelcard Agreement could make travel in London expensive for families and other visitors. Alternatively, they can purchase a Visitor Oyster card. More information is on the TfL website.
As I’ve said, the withdrawal of the Travelcard Agreement is subject to equality impact assessment.
Disadvantages with the Oyster and Contactless Pay As You Go system
One of the disadvantages the with Oyster and Contactless Pay As You Go (PAYG) system is the maximum journey times which gives the commuters a maximum fare (price of a zone 1-9 single) for staying over the journey times within the zones.
Maximum fares can be refundable to get the journey corrected, but only three times within the calendar month.
A Freedom of Information request shows ticketing information on Bond Street Elizabeth line station, which first opened on 24th October 2022.
Request ID: FOI-1817-2223
Date published: 22 November 2022
Oyster & Contactless maximum fares during openings of Bond Street Elizabeth line Station.
I've read on Twitter that a YouTuber got hit with multiple maximum fares because he was filming the opening of Bond Street Elizabeth line station. Several people replied they have also been charged a maximum fare for visiting Bond Street Elizabeth line station: https://twitter.com/geofftech/status/1584999411159306240
Can you publish the number of maximum fares that were issued on the following days involving these stations:
24 October 2022 - Opening of Bond Street Elizabeth line station.
We retain data about the individual journeys made using your Oyster card (including Freedom Passes) for eight weeks after the card is used. After eight weeks, the journey data in the ticketing system is disassociated from the card (ie pseudonymised). This eight-week period is considered reasonable to enable customers to verify or make enquiries concerning their journeys (for example, for refund purposes), therefore we do not hold the fares data you have requested in questions 1 and 3 for the opening of the Northern Line Extension to Battersea Power Station, the Elizabeth line Central Section, and the London Overground Extension to Barking Riverside.
The type of transactions that could lead to a maximum fare involving Bond Street on October 24th 2022 were as follows:
There were 452 unstarted journeys that finished at Bond Street
There were 440 unfinished journeys that started at Bond Street
NB. Bond Street Station includes Elizabeth Line platforms and London Underground platforms and is a single complex in terms of ticketing.
NB. Please note that in many instances we are able to complete pay as you go journeys based on a customer’s previous travel patterns.
Can you publish the number of maximum fares that were refunded or corrected for the dates listed above, this also includes the refusal of refunds:
Please see the data in the table below for the maximum fares refunded/corrected for those days across our entire network on those dates requested.
Date - Number of PAYG maximum fares refunded/ corrected
20th Sep 2021 - 25,460 (Opening of Northern Line Extension to Battersea Power Station)
24th May 2022 - 42,004 (Opening of the Elizabeth line Central Section)
18th Jul 2022 - 36,513 (London Overground Extension to Barking Riverside station)
24th Oct 2022 - 45,471 (Opening of Bond Street Elizabeth line station)
Can you provide the number of customers that purchased a paper One Day Travelcard and platform ticket for these stations and dates listed above:
Bond Street - October 24th 2022 - 25 Platform Tickets
Bond Street - October 24th 2022 - 56 One Day Travel Cards
The tweet mentioned on the Freedom of Information request has been deleted. But thankfully I’ve found the archive of the tweet and Geoff Marshall made a point on how the Oyster PAYG system messes up the journey giving him multiple maximum fares, they even charged him for entering and leaving the same station.
The concept of the Oyster PAYG system is dedicated to regular commuters that travel around Greater London. So if you’re an enthusiast and you don’t wish to pay for an off-peak zone-1-6 paper One Day Travelcard, my advice is to organise how you travel on the TfL and National Rail system by reading the maximum journey times on the TfL website, then using the timer on the smartphone so you know when you need to touch out to avoid the maximum fare. If you’re staying at the station to take photographs and video of trains, you might be better off purchasing a platform ticket.
The cost of a One Day Travelcard tends to be higher than the PAYG daily cap on Oyster and Contactless cards.
My ideas on reforming the Travelcard Agreement
The proposal for TfL to withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement is a controversial step. I suggest it should be reformed, making the Travelcard scheme more innovative by offering commuters different ticketing options on the preference for paying their travel. The weekly and monthly smart Travelcard could be on a subscription basis, similar to paying a mobile phone bill.
As TfL is upgrading their Oyster system (as I’ve tweeted the contract opportunities), by taking ideas from the Citymapper Pass, TfL should be more creative on their ticketing by allowing users to select different modes of transport in London such as River services, cycle hire, e-cycles, e-scooters, cable car, non-TfL bus services and more.
I’ve suggested on Twitter that TfL should allow users to add their own (existing or new) Oyster card to the Apple and Google Pay app on their smartphone, similar to the Bay Area Clipper card in America.
2. Will it include adding Oyster cards (including Railcard discounts) to the smartphone app Apple Pay/Google Wallet, in which various transport systems in different areas already provided?https://t.co/iXhKlavZcf
— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) November 23, 2022
I’ve tweeted TfL’s press release about more than a third of all adult contactless PAYG on the Tube are now made using a mobile device.
#TfL Press Release - New analysis shows that pay as you go with mobile on the Tube now more popular than before the pandemic
— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) October 28, 2022
"Despite the growth in contactless on the Tube, thousands of paper tickets are still being sold every day in Tube stations"https://t.co/saKg9B55IS https://t.co/TfA44zKb2X pic.twitter.com/TVQ5q3iizM
The validation of the new smart Travelcard for a journey can be used by QR code on a smartphone or paper, their existing Oyster card linked to the TfL account, or by using the NFC on smartphone/smartwatch with Apple and Google Pay app.
Good to see bar code readers now being installed at London Bridge giving customers more choice and convenience. They will be operational soon.👇 pic.twitter.com/GjPNilmSTb
— Steve White (@SteveWhiteRail) December 1, 2022
I believe there will always be a paper ticket because National Rail services are transitioning over to smart tickets including QR codes printed on paper tickets.
To eliminate the issue with maximum journey times on PAYG, a day ticket should be added to the Oyster card without the need of buying a separate paper ticket. Although selected smartcards provided by National Rail’s Train Operating Companies allow users to add Travelcards to the smartcard, they are:
c2c
https://www.c2c-online.co.uk/help_centre/smart-card/can-i-use-a-travelcard-with-my-smartcard/
Chiltern Railways
https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/04-what-tickets-are-available-smartcards
London Northwestern Railway
Greater Anglia
https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/travelcards
Great Northern, Southeastern, Southern & Thameslink (The Key)
https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/help-and-support/contact-us/faqs/the-key-smartcard
Great Western Railway
https://www.gwr.com/your-tickets/smart-tickets/touch
South Western Railway
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/train-tickets/ticket-types/london-travelcards
I’d like to point out that the Government (Department for Transport) in collaboration with TfL, are expecting to expand PAYG to railway services in the South East of England, which is also part of Great British Railways plan on reforming railway services in Great Britain.
TfL should expand the Travelcard scheme to transport services outside of Greater London, preferably the South East of England, by including non-TfL bus services, train services in the South East of England, river boats such as the Tilbury Ferry and more.
Non-TfL bus services can include in collaboration with local authorities: Ensignbus (Grays), Essex Saver, Fastrack (Dartford, Kent) Hertfordshire (Intalink), Surrey and more; they can be sold as ‘add-ons’ to the Travelcard on the TfL app. This would be handy as TfL is expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the entire Greater London area by the 29th August 2023.
The integration of the Travelcard can also include new proposed services once they are built in the future. They are Hertfordshire Essex Rapid Transit (HERT) and KenEx Tram from outside of Greater London.
As part of the reform, I would establish 'park and ride' schemes in collaboration with National Rail train operating companies (and future Great British Railways) at various train stations outside the expanded ULEZ (outside of Greater London) to encourage car users to travel by train to Central London at a competitive price, this could include family and companion Travelcards.
Taking ideas from Transport for Greater Manchester (which allows elderly people to add tram and train to their TfGM concessionary travel pass for £10 per year), I suggest 60+ free Oyster card and elderly Freedom Pass users should be allowed to pay a fee at a reasonable price to use TfL services during morning peaks. I’d also suggest allowing English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), disabled and elderly users to add TfL and National Rail (within Travelcard zones) services to their pass at a reasonable fee.
My idea also expands to transport staff; they could add their staff pass to the Travelcard scheme to use each other’s services (TfL and National Rail) at a reasonable fee.
Conclusion
My ideas might be unusual, but I like to see creativity being made by TfL and other transport authorities.
I do prefer the Travelcard name to be retained because they have been the multi-mode ticketing for transport services in Greater London since 1983.
#London Transport (LT) News (No. 242 - May 6 1983) clipping:
— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) November 7, 2022
The launch of the multimodal #Travelcard ticket scheme, which was first valid on the Underground, British Rail's Waterloo & City line, and Bus services (including non-LT) in Greater London.https://t.co/5eWEC84Bvx pic.twitter.com/HLvFau4FfC
In 1989, the Travelcard merged with the CapitalCard which was a separate multi-mode ticket issued by British Rail, which gave commuters the option to use London Transport services on one ticket. The CapitalCard ticket was first launched in 1985 by British Rail.
In my opinion, TfL's proposal on withdrawing from the Travelcard agreement is going to be complex for many reasons and one example of this is it could cause confusion on which railway service in Greater London their ticket is valid on. Transport services in the UK and certain areas around the world do have multi-mode day travel tickets such as Berlin (Germany), Greater Manchester, Greater Nottingham, Greater Paris (France), Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, and more.
If you compare a mobile phone network service as they have PAYG tariffs which tend to be pricey, many customers prefer bill pay (some with contracts) so they know which packages (such as number of minutes, data allowance etc.) they are getting.
Lastly I’ll mention that in Los Angeles, California, USA. LA Metro will soon adopt PAYG to their system. They will also include daily and weekly caps similar to TfL’s PAYG system. You can read more about their proposal on the LA Metro website.
If you have any concerns about TfL’s proposal, you can write to your local elected representative such as Member of Parliament (MP), London Assembly Member or Councillor etc. https://www.writetothem.com/
I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.