Every year, transport fares rise in line with inflation and the Retail Price Index across many areas of the UK and globally. This significantly impacts certain people, particularly those who are unemployed, receiving benefits, or on a low income.
The Precedent Set by Council Tax Consultation
The UK legal framework regarding local council budget and council tax consultation is based on a blend of specific statutory duties and broader governance principles. The most explicit legal requirement, set out in the Local Government Finance Act 1992, mandates that councils must consult with representatives of Non-Domestic Ratepayers (local businesses) about proposed revenue and capital expenditure before the budget is calculated. However, there is no equivalent, specific statutory duty within this Act compelling councils to consult the general public or council tax payers on the overall budget or the proposed level of council tax.
Despite the absence of a dedicated statute for residents, councils are compelled to seek public input through general legal and good practice duties. These include the Public Law Duty of Fairness, the Best Value Duty under the Local Government Act 1999 (which strongly recommends consulting residents for continuous improvement and informed resource allocation), and the overarching need for democratic transparency and accountability. Consequently, nearly all UK councils adopt best practice by running public budget consultations to ensure good governance and political legitimacy, even though the law only strictly requires them to consult businesses and to publish public notice of the final council tax amount within 21 days of the decision.
This closed government consultation sought views on updating how council tax is administered in England, without changing the underlying tax itself, to make the system fairer and more efficient for taxpayers and councils, and it ran from 20 June 2025 to 12 September 2025. It focused on proposals such as moving from 10 to 12 monthly instalments by default, improving the transparency of bills and information about how council tax is spent and what support is available, modernising certain discounts and disregards (including renaming and redefining the “severe mental impairment” disregard), and reviewing how debts are collected and enforced so that practices are more proportionate and less harmful to vulnerable people.
The Case for Transport Fare Consultations
Consultations are invaluable, allowing the general public, stakeholders, and others to input their views on proposed changes, including their potential impacts and suggestions for any omissions. Governing bodies are also required under the Equality Act 2010 to publish an Equality Impact Assessment to demonstrate the impact on protected groups, including disabled people and those on low incomes.
My central suggestion is that fares must be consulted upon because transport is closely interlinked with the Treasury and local budgets. Residents pay council tax to local authorities to fund services, and people also contribute to the HM Treasury via income tax, VAT, duties, and so forth.
This argument also applies to areas with franchised bus services or bus companies owned by the council, as the fares are subsidised by the local authority and sometimes the Government.
Businesses rely on public transport because they need their staff and customers to travel to their establishments. This is also true for the public sector, especially critical workers such as emergency services personnel, including doctors, nurses, and police constables, as well as people in the government sector, including civil servants and elected officials like Members of Parliament, councillors, Assembly Members, and Lords.
Transport for London (TfL) and other transport authorities should provide a range of simplified fare and ticketing options, which includes daily, weekly, and monthly caps.
Fare Zone Reform Suggestion
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| 2025 PAYG Caps and Travelcards |
I also suggest a comprehensive
fare reform, specifically targeting the complexity and clutter within
the current Pay As You Go (PAYG) and Travelcard zoning system used by
TfL and National Rail services. The existing proliferation of zones,
especially on the periphery, causes confusion for passengers and often
leads to unaffordable fares over short distances. By significantly
reducing the total number of zones, the system would become clearer,
simpler, and more intuitive for everyone, simultaneously making travel
more affordable for commuters and occasional users alike. This reform
should include simplifying day tickets—both the paper Travelcards and
the corresponding daily caps on Oyster and Contactless—to ensure pricing
consistency and ease of use. Furthermore, I propose reforming the
structure of weekly, monthly, and annual Travelcards to a modern,
subscription-based model, drawing inspiration from successful transit
systems in various European cities. This shift would provide a
predictable and flexible approach to long-term travel, better aligning
with modern consumer finance.
Integrating and Modernising Transport Systems
As more stations in the South East of England adopt Contactless Pay As You Go, I have long suggested establishing a new transport authority subsuming TfL with the railways serving the Home Counties and the Commuter Belt.
With the upcoming Great British Railways, I suggest that railway staff and services in Greater London and the commute belt should fall under the TfL umbrella, allowing them to benefit from TfL concessions, etc.
Smartcards
I would like to see a UK-wide smartcard similar to the Leap card in the Republic of Ireland (although they haven't implemented contactless pay-as-you-go yet). This could be achieved by enhancing the current contactless pay-as-you-go system and providing a new smartcard that runs on it.
Recently, Great Western Railway’s pay-as-you-go scheme extended to the whole of Cornwall and into Plymouth, and more and more bus services in the UK are adopting contactless pay-as-you-go to speed up loading times at bus stops.
There is a strong potential to unify transport systems with improved, rapidly evolving technology. This is the opportunity for the Government, TfL, transport authorities, and others to collaborate to provide stronger integration of transport services, and to simplify fares, ticketing, and caps to make travel more affordable and to reduce administrative burden. This includes the use of AI to rapidly identify and suggest new improvements. Working against each other or playing the "postcode lottery" significantly hinders progress.
Promotion of Consultations
TfL could better promote their consultation by notifying users on the TfL Go app and encouraging them to engage in the survey to submit their feedback on proposed fare changes. The same method can apply to other apps by transport authorities in the UK, especially the Bee Network in Greater Manchester. This method should also be applied to bus service changes.
Why Retaining Paper Tickets is Important
In my previous articles, I have raised the issue of how the removal of paper tickets impacts those who are digitally excluded, including victims of crime who have had their cards and smartphone stolen or lost, and have to wait for replacement cards to arrive in the post.
TfL still haven't ruled out scrapping magnetic tickets in the long term, as reported in my previous article where I summarised their Technology Roadmap 2025 document.
I am thankful that the One Day Travelcards were retained at the end of 2023. However, TfL unfortunately withdrew the paper One Day Bus and Tram passes from tube and railway stations in March 2025, which caused impact and inconvenience to some people.
Retaining paper tickets helps reduce the burden on revenue protection inspectors, as the person can immediately prove that they have paid their fare for travel.
This is why I suggested that TfL should transition to QR code ticketing to provide an alternative to PAYG Oyster and Contactless, as part of my suggestion on reforming the Travelcard Agreement.
Democratic Oversight and Historical Context
There should be a democratic oversight when it comes to fares and ticketing, just as TfL held a consultation on the proposed Congestion Charge changes (which the Mayor has now approved, with the rise up to £18) in Central London, and an ongoing review of taxi (black cab) fares and tariffs (consultation closes on 14 December 2025).
The Mayor of London has the power to approve changes to fares, ticketing, etc., in accordance with the legislation, Greater London Authority Act 1999, which states:
Section 174
Structure of fares and services.
(1) The Mayor shall exercise his powers under section 155(1) above so as ensure that the matters specified in subsection (2) below are determined.
(2) The matters mentioned in subsection (1) above are—
(a) the general level and structure of the fares to be charged for public passenger transport services provided by Transport for London or by any other person in pursuance of any agreement entered into by Transport for London by virtue of section 156(2) or (3)(a) above or in pursuance of a transport subsidiary’s agreement;
(b) the general structure of routes of such services and the general level of provision to be made with respect to their frequency of operation; and
(c) the general level of charges to be made for other facilities provided as mentioned in paragraph (a) above.
Most importantly of all, TfL also holds a consultation on proposed bus service changes, as required by legislation, GLA Act 1999.The London Mayor's Decision on the March 2025 fare changes for Transport for London services www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/g... Highlights from document, "MD3318 March 2025 fare changes - SIGNED".
— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 13, 2024 at 12:51 PM
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Looking back at history, in 1981, when the Labour Party won the Greater London Council (GLC) election on a mandate to reduce transport fares, the GLC held meetings to consult workers on different fare options for London Transport, and they voted on which one they preferred.
You can read the articles on the images embedded on social media posts.
London Transport (LT) News (No. 196, June 12 1981) clipping:
— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) November 7, 2025
LT launched a public consultation on a 25% fare cut from 4 October. Four options costing £100–115m were proposed; LT favoured a simplified zonal system. Eight GLC-funded public meetings began 15 June to gather views. pic.twitter.com/fHvGxEuCoS
Subsequently, Bromley Council took the GLC to court. The case went up to the Law Lords (the predecessor of the UK Supreme Court) and they ruled in favour of Bromley Council because the GLC had to increase the rates, and the residents of Bromley were not receiving the full benefits as the borough is not served by the Underground, and the Fares Fair policy did not apply to British Rail services.London Transport (LT) News (No. 197, June 26 1981) clipping: At GLC meetings on a planned 25% fares cut, passengers backed a zonal flat-fare system for simplicity. Concerns were raised over poor notice, higher rates, and British Rail links. LT said the plan would reduce fraud and increase use.
— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) November 8, 2025 at 8:36 AM
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I am not an expert on finance, as this is not my field. However, it is fundamentally important for TfL and other transport authorities to provide a consultation because their services are dependent on taxpayers' money, especially in terms of subsidies.
This is why I suggest that the general public should have a right to provide input on proposed fare changes.
Conclusion
Given the significant reliance of public transport on taxpayer funding—through both local council subsidies and central government contributions via the Treasury—it is paramount that democratic principles extend to the setting of fares and ticketing policies. As demonstrated by the existing legal duties for council tax and other major infrastructure changes like the Congestion Charge, engaging the public is essential for legitimacy and good governance. Unifying our ticketing technology and simplifying fares across local and regional operators presents a clear opportunity for national progress, but this must be underpinned by formal, transparent consultation. Ultimately, the people who fund the services, and who rely on them for work, commerce, and essential travel, must be given the right to formally influence these crucial decisions.
I would like to extend an invite for you to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) for transport-related updates. You can find me by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my X page here. I am also present on BlueSky and Mastodon. I look forward to connecting with you on these platforms. Thank you for your support.
