- Sadiq Khan held talks with TfL on how to bring home-based workers back to cities
Transport for London plans to cut train and Tube fares on Friday in a bid to lure people working from home back into the city, it has been revealed.
Mayor Sadiq Khan is said to have contributed to the plan to boost the night-time economy to coincide with the weekend kickstart.
Mr Khan wants to end the pattern of workers spending long weekends at home by offering a deal that could have implications for other transport chiefs, the Times reported. ing.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “There is no doubt that Fridays have suffered as a result of changes to working arrangements since the pandemic, with hospitality businesses feeling the drop in commuter traffic. “There is,” he said.
“Addressing these challenges with innovative initiatives like Off-Peak Fridays is exactly the kind of flexible approach we need to increase travel numbers and stimulate attendance at our venues. We hope to see a positive outcome for the hospitality industry, commuters and the economy as a whole.”
Mr Khan is proceeding with the case as the Center for Cities think tank warns that working from home risks destroying London’s unique position as the UK’s growth capital.
London is currently the only city where more than half of its workforce are hybrid workers or telecommuters.
“If the number of commuters increases significantly by temporarily eliminating Friday morning peak fares, the least popular time for office work, there could be an overall increase in revenue,” the institute said. he warned.
Since the end of lockdown, the average city worker is reported to have spent 2.3 days in the office, mainly from Tuesday to Thursday.
Data provided by TfL shows mid-week travel is at 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and rising steadily, but slumped on Friday at 73 per cent.
Discussions are underway between mayors, TfL and rail bosses on how to deal with this dilemma.
Traveling from zone 6 to the central zone will cost £3.60 less than planned, instead of the current £5.60. Similarly, traveling from Richmond to Hammersmith costs £1.90, down from £2.80.
Mr Khan previously announced plans to freeze TfL fares for a further year from March, drawing inspiration from the C40 global network of political leaders from New York, Paris, Barcelona and Rome.
Mr Khan is understood to have consulted with transport operators around the world about the impact of the pandemic and how commuters could potentially return.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Khan said a “dynamic pricing” model could be adopted for the capital’s transport system if existing peak and off-peak fares were deemed unfit for purpose due to changes in working patterns post-pandemic. It was reported that.
But the Conservatives claimed Mr Khan was trying to “take more money from Londoners”.
They warned that the pricing review would allow the Mayor of London to set fares “whenever necessary to fill holes in the budget”.
Mr Khan continues to face pressure from the government to explain where he found the “mysterious” £30m to stop a tube strike scheduled for this week.
Many people working in London have continued their work-from-home routine following the coronavirus pandemic, only going into the office mid-week.
TfL data shows public transport travel in London in 2022-23 was 87% of pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019-2020.
However, it was noted that demand remained higher from Tuesday to Thursday than Monday and Friday.
Passenger numbers on the Underground and London Overground will be 13% lower on Monday compared to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
A recent analysis also found that Monday mornings on the Northern Line were 17% quieter than similar times later in the week.
The route’s Friday morning peak was 32% quieter than midweek.
Those who only went to the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays became commonly known as TWATs.
After it was revealed Mr Khan was considering introducing ‘dynamic pricing’ into TfL services, Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall told MailOnline: ‘Don’t get me wrong, Sadiq Khan “Every time we introduce a new fee like this, we are extorting more money from Londoners.”
“Dynamic pricing under Sadiq Khan means Londoners will continue to be his personal cash machine, and whenever there is a need to fill holes in the budget, some You can increase the price by tweaking the knob.
“I cannot trust him to be in charge of our city for another four years.
“As Mayor, I will take control of TfL’s finances to deliver more value for Londoners and abolish the Ures Extension Levy from day one.”
The Mayor of London is also under pressure from Transport Secretary Mark Harper after striking a deal with RMT union bosses to call off a subway strike planned for Sunday night into Friday morning.
The government has supported TfL with around £6.4bn of funding since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic devastated the network’s finances.
Mr Harper said: “The Mayor has now reportedly promised to buy one Labor union for £30 million, without explaining where the money will come from.”
“When the government oversaw a fair and reasonable deal with RMT, there was no additional cost to taxpayers. Where did Sadiq Khan find this mysterious pile for RMT and complain? “We must urgently explain how we will stop other unions from striking in protest.” ”
Mr Khan is expected to announce next week whether subway and bus fares will rise at the same rate as national railways, which will increase by 4.9% on March 3.
TfL currently has a “working assumption” of implementing a 4 per cent rise, which would likely mean peak fares in zones 6 to 1 would increase by 20p from £5.60 to £5.80. Dew.