Day
Travelcards
may
be
abolished
by
Transport
for
London,


as
it
continues
to
seek
savings
to
meet
the
terms
of
the
government’s
latest
funding
settlement.

Travelcards
are
printed
tickets
which
allow
unlimited
travel
on
most
TfL
services
except
river
boats,
where
the
fares
are
discounted
by
a
third,
and
they
are
also
available
from
many
stations
outside
London,
providing
a
day
return
journey
to
the
capital
and
unlimited
travel
inside
the
London
zones
by
TfL
or
National
Rail
services.

They
can
also
be
bought
within
the
TfL
area,
when
they
are
valid
for
travel
in
the
London
zones.

However,
TfL
needs
to
raise
more
money
in
response
to
the
current
funding
settlement
which
the
government
agreed
at
the
end
of
August
last
year.
The
deal
included
base
funding
of
about
£1.2
billion
until
March
2024,
and
provides
a
financial
safety
net
if
passenger
figures
and
revenue
do
not
continue
to
recover.

But
there
was
still
an
unfunded
gap
in
the
budget
which
TfL
was
now
‘working
hard
to
identify
how
we
will
fill’,
according
to
former
transport
commissioner
Andy
Byford.

TfL
has
now
launched
a
consultation.
It
said:
‘Our
funding
agreement
with
government
requires
TfL
to
develop
and
implement
changes
that
will
generate
between
£0.5-£1.0
billion
per
year
of
additional
revenue
from
2023.

‘As
part
of
this,
we
identified
potential
changes
to
fares
structures
and
ticketing
that
could
help
contribute
to
generating
this
additional
income.’

TfL
added
that
it
had
considered
withdrawing
from
the
Travelcard
scheme
entirely,
but
has
decided
that
weekly
and
longer-term
Travelcards
can
continue.
The
consultation
closes
on
23
May.

UPDATE:


Transport
charity
Campaign
for
Better
Transport
said
abolishing
Day
Travelcards
would
be
‘a
step
backwards’.
CBT’s
Norman
Baker
added:


‘Public
transport
works
best
when
you
can
use
one
ticket
for
your
whole
journey.
Withdrawing
Day
Travelcards
would
be
a
step
backwards,
reducing
the
availability
of
integrated
ticketing.’