Older Londoners will be able to travel for free early in the morning for the first time in four years as Sadiq Khan announced an expansion of his Friday off-peak fares initiative.The mayor revealed on Sunday that he plans to scrap peak Tube and train fares in London on Fridays for three months in a bid to attract commuters back into workplaces and boost the night-time economy.
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00:00 Tube fares are to be made cheaper on Fridays in a bid to get more people travelling into London.
00:07 It's not just commuters who stand to benefit.
00:10 Sadiq Khan has now announced that pensioners and older Londoners will also be able to travel for free for the whole day.
00:17 I'm really pleased and proud with this announcement.
00:20 We're on the one hand free some TfL fares for the next year,
00:24 but I've also announced that TfL will be undertaking a groundbreaking three-month trial
00:29 for Fridays to be off-peak for the entire day, and it provides a huge boon to those above the age of 60.
00:35 The great news about this three-month trial is those 1.2 million Londoners can have benefit travelling before 9am on a Friday.
00:43 Londoners who have a 60+ Oyster card or Freedom Pass used to be able to travel for free during the week before 9am.
00:52 But this benefit was curtailed during the pandemic, partly to encourage social distancing
00:57 and then to get more money in the coffers for TfL.
01:01 What Sadiq Khan has done today is announced that his three-month trial of cheap fares on a Friday
01:07 will include people who have Freedom Passes or the 60+ Oyster, and it will give them free travel for the entire day.
01:14 Success will look like there's growth.
01:18 We're monitoring pan-London activity, but also activity around those busy commuting stations in Zone 1 and Zone 2.
01:25 We'll also have to see if there are any unintended consequences on other days.
01:30 The great thing is it's been really well received by the business community, retail, hospitality, culture,
01:36 those struggling with the cost of living crisis.
01:38 What it means is if you travel between 6.30am and 9.30am and between 4pm and 7pm,
01:45 just for one journey you can be saving up to £2.
01:47 It's a huge win for those struggling with the cost of living crisis, but also our business as well.
01:52 The decision to scrap cheap fares on a Friday comes after Sadiq announced he was also freezing all pay-as-you-go fares for the next year.
02:01 But this has prompted questions from his critics at City Hall, not least, where's he got the money from?
02:08 It's costing £24 million for his Friday fares initiative and £123 million for the annual fares freeze.
02:17 Now Sadiq says this money has come from prudent budgeting.
02:21 But the issue also remains is what will happen if the private train firms refuse to play ball?
02:27 The Mayor says, well, he may have to think again about exactly what he does to try and get people back on the tube,
02:33 or it may just be the case he has to wait a week or two until later in March before this new scheme finally gets going.
02:41 you