Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Noah Vickers
- Role, Local democracy reporter
A £24 million pilot program offering off-peak fares for Transport for London (TfL) all day on Fridays has been found to have had a “negligible” impact on attracting more people to central London, according to a Conservative of the town hall.
The town hall introduced the three-month trial in March with the aim of attracting employees to the office and boosting the catering and cultural sector.
Data on tube passenger numbers – which is not the full analysis of the plan’s impact as it also included Overground, DLR Elizabeth Line and London Rail services – showed that the plan appeared to have resulted in an increase in use by only 3%.
TfL said the data on daily passenger numbers was less useful in assessing the impact of the plan and that its analysis would “take a number of aspects into account”.
The increase in the number of Londoners working from home has meant that Fridays in the city center are quieter than before the pandemic.
The trial ran on Fridays for a 13-week period starting March 8 and ending May 31.
Around 40.6 million journeys on the London Underground were made on Fridays during the trial period, excluding Good Friday, when all fares were off-peak anyway because it was a public holiday.
Passenger numbers during the same series of Fridays in 2023 were only slightly lower, at around 39.4 million journeys, again excluding Good Friday.
The figures, available on TfL’s website, cover tube journeys only and do not include passenger numbers on the Elizabeth line, Overground, DLR and London’s national rail services, all of which were also part of the trial.
TfL said in its financial report earlier this month that total journeys across all its services had risen by just over 6% compared with last year, meaning the 3% rise on the Tube on Friday could largely have happened without the trial.
‘Negligible impact’
National rail strikes also appear to have reduced passenger numbers on two of the relevant Fridays in 2023.
Keith Prince, Conservative Party transport spokesman at the Town Hall, said: “Friday off-peak hours are estimated to cost taxpayers £24 million, despite the impact on passenger numbers being negligible.”
He added that this money could have been better spent on other areas, such as improving the Central Line and expanding the zero-emission bus fleet.
Green Party member Caroline Russell called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to reinstate free travel for older people before 9am, which was in place during Friday’s off-peak trial.
Image source, European press photo agency
A spokesperson for TfL said it was continuing to analyze the results of the trial.
“This analysis will take into account a number of aspects, including assessing changes in both morning peak passenger numbers and overall daily passenger numbers, as well as the impact on businesses across London,” they said.
TfL pointed out that the publicly available figures only reflect the total number of passengers per day, making them less useful for assessing specific travel increases during the peak periods covered by the trial.
The authority also noted that passenger numbers have always been volatile around public holidays, the Easter period and the school holidays in April and May.
The £24 million in funding to support the trial was “used to make up for the difference in revenue shortfall” created by the plan, the mayor’s office said when it was signed.
City Hall sources have previously dismissed suggestions that the mayor was “pruning” money to spend just before his re-election on May 2, calling the accusation “complete nonsense.”
Last week, the mayor said he hoped the comprehensive analysis of the trial would be published “in the coming months.”
The Liberal Democrats have also been asked for comment.