UK: Transport for London is evaluating the results of offering off-peak pay-as-you-go fares all day on Fridays in a trial which began on March 8 and will end as scheduled on May 31.
The trial announced by Mayor Sadiq Khan aimed to encourage public transport ridership and support the hospitality sector on a day when many people now opt to work from home; by February midweek London Underground ridership had reached 85% of pre-pandemic levels and was growing, while Friday ridership remained around 73%.
The Mayor allocated a budget of £24m to run the trial and compensate TfL and rail operators for lower fares revenue.
Transport for London will now use ridership data, research into customer perceptions and feedback from businesses to evaluate the cumulative impact of implementing off-peak fares on Friday. This will then be used to inform future decision-making and ‘other potential innovative approaches to fares’ in London.
‘Analysis of the trial is ongoing, and will help us to better understand how targeted initiatives like this could help encourage more people back onto public transport and into the London on a day that is currently quieter than midweek days’, said Chief Customer & Strategy Officer Alex Williams.
