Bus Users UK is urging Transport for London (TfL) to keep the Day Travelcard scheme as a consultation into proposals to scrap it nears its end.
Daily capping would be unaffected, but the charity is concerned that the Day Travelcard no longer being sold would prevent some people from travelling on buses. TfL has launched engagement with the public and other stakeholders to investigate the move in a bid to cut costs.
The Day Travelcard offers unlimited travel on bus, underground, overground, tram and light rail services within London and they can also be purchased as an add-on to train services into the capital.
TfL says the removal of the scheme is being considered to help meet a government funding agreement which requires them to generate £0.5-1 billion per year of additional revenue from 2023. Weekly and longer-term travelcards would remain for sale.
Bus Users UK says the removal of the Day Travelcard would prevent those without access to contactless payment or the funds to charge an Oyster card from travelling. It also says the proposal would disproportionately effect people with protected characteristics.
Bus Users UK Director for England, Dawn Badminton-Capps, wrote in a letter to TfL: “Withdrawing the Day Travelcard will create a barrier to travel at a time when the need for accessible, affordable transport has never been greater.
“While journeys have yet to return to the levels they were pre-Covid, numbers have slowly been rising, but this trend is unlikely to continue under these proposals. This will not only effect visitor numbers but the businesses and services people use while there.”
The consultation will end on 6 June.
