London mayor’s £24m fares cut on Fridays made ‘no noticeable difference’ – TfL
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Sir Sadiq Khan’s £24 million scheme to cut London’s Tube and train fares on Fridays to boost passenger numbers made “no noticeable difference” to demand, Transport for London (TfL) said. The Mayor of London hailed the trial as “groundbreaking” when it was launched in March last year.
The 13-week pilot involved making Friday fares off-peak at all times of the day, instead of peak prices being used for weekday travel between 6.30am and 9.30am, and between 4pm and 7pm. But a TfL report on the trial stated: “There was no noticeable difference in the number of pay-as-you-go journeys made at peak times during the trial compared to pre-trial.”.
It added: “While there were no discernible changes in our ridership data, the trial was popular with Londoners, businesses and business improvement districts, particularly in areas where hospitality and cultural venues are particularly reliant on trade from local business rather than visitors.”.
City Hall hoped the trial would increase the number of workers going to offices on Fridays and subsequently raise revenue for the hospitality sector through additional spending on lunches, after-work drinks and evening entertainment. When it was launched, TfL statistics showed midweek ridership on the Tube was at 85% of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, but the figure for Fridays was just 73%.
