Engagement to withdraw Day Travelcards

This engagement has concluded

Update Tuesday 6 June 2023

The Day Travelcard stakeholder engagement has now closed. 

The decision on whether to withdraw Day Travelcards is a Mayoral Decision. We are considering the feedback we have received and the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) will be published on the GLA website in due course once a decision has been made.

Lady on a bus with a pram paying for her journey

The Mayor is exploring the option of withdrawing Day Travelcards.

If withdrawn, Day Travelcards would no longer be sold or accepted by TfL. Daily pay as you go caps would not be affected, nor would weekly and longer-term Travelcards.

We are engaging with key stakeholders to develop our impact assessment on the potential change.



Why is the Mayor exploring this?

We are required to explore this because of conditions of Government funding settlements that have been necessary due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on TfL’s finances. Our funding agreement with government requires TfL to develop and implement changes that will generate between £0.5-£1.0bn per year of additional revenue from 2023.

As part of this, we identified potential changes to fares structures and ticketing that could help contribute to generating this additional income.

One option identified was to withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement, which would have meant TfL would have stopped selling and accepting all Travelcards.

This option is no longer being progressed because funding provided by the Mayor means TfL can continue to meet its financial commitments under the government funding settlements, to keep providing weekly and longer-term travelcards.



The current Day Travelcard offer

Day Travelcards give unlimited travel on TfL services, including bus, Tube, Tram, Docklands Light Railway, London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line, and National Rail services in London, and can also be used to get one third off River Services fares. They are only available as paper tickets.

Day Travelcards can be bought for unlimited peak travel (before 09:30) or unlimited off-peak travel (after 09:30 Monday – Friday and any time weekends and bank holidays), and to cover various zones.

When travelling from outside London, customers can buy an “add-on” of a Day Travelcard to be included on their train ticket to travel around London.



Withdrawing the Day Travelcard would mean

  • TfL would no longer sell, issue, or accept all adult and child Day Travelcards covering Zones 1-9, including
    • Group Day Travelcards
    • Weekend Travelcards
    • the London Family Travelcard
    • and discounted Day Travelcards bought using National Railcards
  • Customers travelling in a single day would have to use pay as you go (PAYG) using contactless or Oyster, or buy paper single/return tickets to travel on TfL services
  • Customers travelling from outside London would have to pay for their journey to a London train station and then use PAYG or buy paper tickets to travel on TfL services
  • Instead of purchasing child Day Travelcards, customers travelling from outside London could apply in advance for a Zip card or get the Young Visitor discount set on an Oyster card – both of these options give discounted PAYG fares. Customers could also continue to buy child rate single and return tickets
  • Although customers who use a National Railcard to buy a discounted Day Travelcard would no longer be able to do so, they would still be able to add their Railcard to a registered Oyster card to get the same discounted day travel 
  • TfL would continue to sell, issue and accept weekly and longer-term Travelcards
  • We anticipate that, if TfL ceases to accept Day Travelcards, Rail Operators will also stop selling Zone 1-6 Travelcards. They do however determine their own products and services and have not confirmed their intentions.

The Mayor is exploring the option of withdrawing Day Travelcards.

If withdrawn, Day Travelcards would no longer be sold or accepted by TfL. Daily pay as you go caps would not be affected, nor would weekly and longer-term Travelcards.

We are engaging with key stakeholders to develop our impact assessment on the potential change.



Why is the Mayor exploring this?

We are required to explore this because of conditions of Government funding settlements that have been necessary due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on TfL’s finances. Our funding agreement with government requires TfL to develop and implement changes that will generate between £0.5-£1.0bn per year of additional revenue from 2023.

As part of this, we identified potential changes to fares structures and ticketing that could help contribute to generating this additional income.

One option identified was to withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement, which would have meant TfL would have stopped selling and accepting all Travelcards.

This option is no longer being progressed because funding provided by the Mayor means TfL can continue to meet its financial commitments under the government funding settlements, to keep providing weekly and longer-term travelcards.



The current Day Travelcard offer

Day Travelcards give unlimited travel on TfL services, including bus, Tube, Tram, Docklands Light Railway, London Underground, London Overground and Elizabeth line, and National Rail services in London, and can also be used to get one third off River Services fares. They are only available as paper tickets.

Day Travelcards can be bought for unlimited peak travel (before 09:30) or unlimited off-peak travel (after 09:30 Monday – Friday and any time weekends and bank holidays), and to cover various zones.

When travelling from outside London, customers can buy an “add-on” of a Day Travelcard to be included on their train ticket to travel around London.



Withdrawing the Day Travelcard would mean

  • TfL would no longer sell, issue, or accept all adult and child Day Travelcards covering Zones 1-9, including
    • Group Day Travelcards
    • Weekend Travelcards
    • the London Family Travelcard
    • and discounted Day Travelcards bought using National Railcards
  • Customers travelling in a single day would have to use pay as you go (PAYG) using contactless or Oyster, or buy paper single/return tickets to travel on TfL services
  • Customers travelling from outside London would have to pay for their journey to a London train station and then use PAYG or buy paper tickets to travel on TfL services
  • Instead of purchasing child Day Travelcards, customers travelling from outside London could apply in advance for a Zip card or get the Young Visitor discount set on an Oyster card – both of these options give discounted PAYG fares. Customers could also continue to buy child rate single and return tickets
  • Although customers who use a National Railcard to buy a discounted Day Travelcard would no longer be able to do so, they would still be able to add their Railcard to a registered Oyster card to get the same discounted day travel 
  • TfL would continue to sell, issue and accept weekly and longer-term Travelcards
  • We anticipate that, if TfL ceases to accept Day Travelcards, Rail Operators will also stop selling Zone 1-6 Travelcards. They do however determine their own products and services and have not confirmed their intentions.

This engagement has concluded

Update Tuesday 6 June 2023

The Day Travelcard stakeholder engagement has now closed. 

The decision on whether to withdraw Day Travelcards is a Mayoral Decision. We are considering the feedback we have received and the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) will be published on the GLA website in due course once a decision has been made.

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