New weekend Super Hopper fare for London's buses and trams for the summer

With the local election period over and Sadiq Khan marking 10 years as the Mayor of London, he has released a surprise announcement regarding transport fares.

Press release by the Greater London Authority:

TfL Proposed Fare Hikes to Start on 1 March 2021 and Huge Retains on London Bus Tender Awards

For the first time in five years, TfL fares are set to rise by 2.6% as part of the government’s requirement for TfL’s funding deal.

From London Mayor news release

• The Mayor has already confirmed fares will rise by RPI+1 (2.6 per cent) overall across all services as a condition of the emergency TfL funding deal made with the Government, but Sadiq has kept some single pay as you go Tube, DLR, London Overground and TfL rail fares unchanged.
• Bus and tram ‘Hopper’ fare - introduced by the Mayor and allowing unlimited journeys within an hour - will increase by just 5p to £1.55, the smallest increase possible and keeping the fare one of the best value in the country.
• This rise –from 1 March 2021 – follows five years of frozen TfL fares set by the Mayor.
• Details announced as TfL publishes plan setting out the level of Government funding required to place its finances on a sustainable footing, after fare income was decimated by the pandemic.

As part of TfL’s funding deal with Government in October 2020, the Mayor was required to increase fares under his control in order to deliver an overall fares rise of 2.6 per cent (RPI+1).

Front door boarding reinstated on London Buses

Since the number of Coronavirus cases in the UK are falling and lockdown measures are easing, TfL have drawn up plans to reinstate front door boarding to increase revenue, whilst also imposing limits on the number of passengers using the bus.

Extracts from the TfL press release

Analysis by UCL (University College London) has found that safety improvements made to screens by TfL has made it possible to return to front-door boarding along with collaborative work with UNITE and bus operators

Covid19: TfL start to restore fare payments on London buses (including list of routes)

TfL has recently announced that they are restoring fare payments on London buses as part of the funding and financing package provided by the UK Government to keep London Transport services running.

From TfL Press release

Transport for London (TfL) announced today that it will begin the phased re-introduction of the requirement for passengers to touch in on buses with their contactless, Oyster or concessionary card, starting with routes served by single-door and New Routemaster buses.

From Saturday 23 May, customers on 85 routes, served by more than 1,200 of these buses, will need to touch in on the card reader by the doors as they board.

This is the first step to returning all of London's buses to being able to accept payments once further safety measures have been introduced to protect bus drivers.

The requirement to touch in will follow on more routes over the coming weeks, with announcements and signage in place on bus doors to inform passengers of the requirement.

Unlimited Hopper fare launches for London Buses

TfL and the London Mayor announce the launch of the unlimited hopper fare for London Buses.

From TfL Press release

This press release, issued by the Mayor of London, was first published on london.gov.uk

Over 140 million 'Hopper' journeys already made since it launched in September 2016

Around 13,000 additional passengers to now benefit from the unlimited 'Hopper' every day.