- Sadiq Khan has held talks with TfL about how to woo home workers back to city
Transport for London plans to offer cheaper rail and Tube fares on Fridays in order to entice home workers back to the city, it has been revealed.
Mayor Sadiq Khan is said to have contributed to the plan in order to help revitalise the night-time economy at the kickstart of the weekend.
Mr Khan hopes to end the pattern of workers taking long weekends at home by offering the deal which could influence other transport bosses, The Times reports.
UK Hospitality Chief executive Kate Nicholls said: ‘There’s no doubt that Fridays have suffered as a result of changes to working patterns since the pandemic and hospitality businesses have felt that loss of commuter trade.
‘Responding to these challenges with innovative trials like off-peak Fridays is exactly the type of flexible approach needed to boost journey numbers an stimulate footfall in our venues. I hope we’ll see positive results from the trial, for hospitality businesses, commuters and the wider economy.’
Khan is pursuing the trial amid warnings from the Centre for Cities think tank, which states that home working is risks destroying London’s unique position as Britain’s growth capital.
London is currently the only city where over half of employees are hybrid or home workers.
The institute warned: ‘If a temporary scrapping of morning peak fares on a Friday — the least popular day for office work — caused a substantial increase in commuting, it could see an overall increase in revenues.’
Since the end of lockdown, the average city worker is reported to spend 2.3 days in the office, chiefly from Tuesday to Thursdays.
Data provided by TfL shows midweek travel is matching 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and is steadily rising, but Friday is flagging at 73 per cent.
Talks are underway between the mayor, TfL and rail bosses about how to counter the dilemma.
Travelling from zone six to the central zone would cost £3.60 under than plans, instead of the current £5.60. Similarly, travelling from Richmond to Hammersmith would come down to £1.90 from £2.80.
Khan previously announced plans to freeze TfL fares for another year from March, taking inspiration from the C40 global network of which he is a part – made up of political leaders in New York, Paris, Barcelona and Rome.
Khan is understood to have held talks with transport providers around the world about the impact of the pandemic, and ways commuters might be tempted back.
Earlier this month, it was reported Khan might adopt a ‘dynamic pricing’ model for the capital’s transport system if existing peak and off-peak fares are deemed not fit for purpose due to post-pandemic changes in working patterns.
But the Tories claimed Mr Khan was seeking to ‘take more money from Londoners’.
They warned a shake-up of pricing would give the London mayor a greater ability to put up fares ‘whenever he needs to fill a hole in his budget’.
Mr Khan remains under pressure from the Government to explain where he found a ‘mystery’ £30million to prevent this week’s planned Tube strikes.
Many who work in London have continued work-from-home habits following the Covid pandemic and only travel to their offices in the middle of the week.
Across 2022/23, travel on public transport in London was at 87 per cent of the pre-Covid level from 2019/20, according to TfL data.
But it was noted how demand continues to be higher between Tuesday to Thursday, than on Mondays and Fridays.
There are 13 per cent fewer passengers on the Tube and London Overground on Mondays than on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
A recent analysis also found, on the Northern line, Monday mornings were 17 per cent quieter than similar times later in the week.
The Friday morning peak on the line was 32 per cent quieter than midweek.
Those who only travel to the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays have commonly become known as TWaTs.
After it was revealed Mr Khan is considering adopting ‘dynamic pricing’ for TfL services, Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall told MailOnline: ‘Make no mistake, every time Sadiq Khan introduces new charges like this, it is to take more money from Londoners.
‘Dynamic pricing under Sadiq Khan means Londoners will continue to be his personal cash machine, allowing him to twiddle a few knobs to up the charges whenever he needs to fill a hole in his budget.
‘He cannot be trusted with another four years in charge of our city.
‘As Mayor, I will get a grip of TfL’s finances to get more value for money for Londoners and scrap his Ulez expansion tax on day one.’
The London mayor is also under pressure from Transport Secretary Mark Harper after he struck a deal with RMT union bosses to suspend a planned Tube strike between Sunday evening to Friday morning.
The Government has supported TfL with almost £6.4billion of funding since March 2020, when the Covid pandemic decimated the network’s finances.
Mr Harper said: ‘The mayor has now reportedly promised £30million to buy off one trade union without explaining where this money is coming from.
‘When the Government oversaw fair and reasonable deals with the RMT, it was at no extra cost to the taxpayer — Sadiq Khan must urgently explain where he has found this mystery pile of money for the RMT and how he will prevent other disgruntled unions from striking in protest.’
Mr Khan plans to announce next week whether Tube and bus fares will increase at the same rate as on National Rail which is going up by 4.9 per cent on March 3.
TfL currently has a ‘working assumption’ of implementing a 4 per cent rise, which would likely mean a Zone 6 to 1 peak fare increasing by 20p from £5.60 to £5.80.
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