Tube fares charged at off-peak rates on Fridays under ‘pre-election gimmick’ by Sadiq Khan

A three month trial intended to start in March will see all single Tube journeys charged at the lower off-peak rate

The Mayor of London has announced that all London Underground fares will be charged at off-peak rates on Fridays as Conservatives accused him of unveiling another “pre-election gimmick”. 
A three month trial intended to start in March will see all single Tube journeys charged at the lower off-peak rate, in what the mayor said was a move to “support London’s economic recovery”.
The trial would come into force immediately before the London mayoral election, which takes place on 2 May.
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor, said: “London has really bounced back since the pandemic, but the lack of commuters returning on Fridays is a clear exception – with a major knock-on effect on our shops, cafes and cultural venues.
“That’s why I’ve asked TfL to trial off-peak fares on Fridays, and I encourage Londoners to get involved.”
London Conservatives accused Mr Khan on Sunday of announcing another “electoral stunt” after the mayor said earlier this month that single fares on Tubes and buses would be frozen.
Susan Hall, the Tory candidate for City Hall’s May elections, accused her Labour opponent of using the £24 million trial as “yet another electoral stunt”.
“Sadiq Khan dishonestly told the London Assembly on Thursday he didn’t know what he was going to spend this money on, while his taxpayer funded advisers were secretly setting up briefings with a handful of journalists,” she said.
The cost of the trial is being covered from within existing budgets, the mayor’s office said, and will not result in any changes to timetables or to the Night Tube service.
London’s public transport networks were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with mid-week passenger numbers still around 15 per cent below their 2019 levels.
Under the “off-peak Fridays” trial, the price of a peak-time journey would fall by up to £2 for travel into central London from the outermost Oyster and contactless bank card fare zones.
The mayor’s office said the trial is subject to the agreement of mainline train companies who also serve London stations. Contactless and Oyster cards can also be used to pay for non-Tube train journeys.
Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of trade association UKHospitality, said: “I hope we’ll see positive results from the trial, for hospitality businesses, commuters and the wider economy.”
The scheme has some echoes of the Great British Rail Sale, a government train ticket discount scheme to encourage leisure travel on mainline railways.
On Sunday Mr Khan was facing accusations from the Tory opposition that he deliberately misled the London Assembly about funding for the off-peak fare trial.
The mayor denied to the London Assembly just three days ago that he had made plans for the £24 million he earmarked for the scheme.
During questions about a City Hall transport innovation fund on Thursday, Caroline Pidgeon, a Liberal Democrat member, asked about an apparent cut to the fund’s budget.
“There’s a £24 million difference,” said Ms Pidgeon. “What are you planning to spend that money on?”
Mr Khan replied: “I’ve not decided yet,” adding: “What I’ll do over the course of the next few weeks is setting out where that money will be spent, if at all. And I’ll make sure once I’ve made that decision that colleagues are notified in due course.”
A Government source said: “Sadiq Khan’s pre-election gimmicks do not distract from his continued targeting of the poorest motorist with his expanded Ulez, or his secret plans to introduce road charging.”
Although Mr Khan has denied plans to introduce a per-mile road tax system for all drivers inside the M25, Conservative sources claim the mayor wants to introduce such a scheme once the May election is safely past.