London's Oyster card prices to nearly double - check if yours is affected
People wanting to get free travel with an Oyster concession card will have to dish out more money after a price hike.
The cost of applying for the Oyster +60 and six different Zip photocards will increase from today, TfL announced.
The +60 Oyster card faces the heftiest price rise.
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Around 1.5 million Londoners aged 60 and over can currently travel for free. But the cost of applying for a 60+ Oyster is almost doubling from£20 to £35. The cost of a replacement card will increase from £10 to £18.
The higher prices are needed because of financial constraints, TfL argued – despite a 4.6% Tube fare increase for passengers earlier in the year.
Other Zip photocard applications, like the children and young people photocards, are seeing a £1 rise.
Further Oyster card price increases are in the pipeline. From September 7, the new Oyster and Visitor Oyster card fee will rise from £7 to £10.
Here is a roundup of the Oyster photocard price rises starting today, July 22. 60+ Oyster, new price £35 (previously £20)
5-10 Zip Oyster photocard, new price £11 (previously £10) 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard, new price £16 (previously £15)
16+ Zip Oyster photocard, new price £21 (previously £20)
18+ Student Oyster photocard, new price £21 (previously £20)
Apprentice Oyster photocard, new price £21 (previously £20)
18-25 Care Oyster photocard, charged at £21 (previously £20)
Peter Henderson, from Harrow, 68, relies on his Oyster discount card as he travels from his job as a mental health support worker.
He told Metro he was surprised to hear of the 60+ price hike, saying it is 'a lot of money.'
However, he said he understood why TfL was making the change after losing 'lots of money over Covid, so they are trying to get some of it back.'
'The prices go up all over, and I suppose it's time for an increase. But a lot of people cannot afford that,' he warned.
Without free travel, Peter would be in 'deep trouble' as he struggles with the cost of living and is forced to continue working as long as he physically can.
Michael Roberts, the chief executive of London TravelWatch passenger watchdog, said: 'Higher TfL photocard fees, especially for the over-60s, will be unwelcome news to Londoners who continue to feel the pinch of the ongoing cost of living crisis and some of the most expensive public transport fares in Europe.
'Annual index-linked increases might in future avoid big hikes in fees, but it's disappointing that more isn't being done to soften the blow this year for 60+ card holders on lower incomes.
'Londoners will be wondering what further unpleasant revenue-raising surprises TfL might have in store over the coming months.'
Over-60s were given unlimited free travel on all London transport and trains at any time in 2012 by then-mayor Boris Johnson.
However, during the pandemic, the 60+ concession was cut back by the London mayor Sadiq Khan, with free travel starting only after 9am on the TfL network and from 9.30am on trains. More Trending
The 60+ Oyster scheme made headlines when it was revealed it costs TfL almost £500 million a year – compared to the £130 million the transport authority spends on tackling fare dodging.
It has the biggest revenue gap between paid journeys and discount travel journeys, TfL said.
Alex Williams, TfL's chief customer and strategy officer, said: 'We are fully committed to keeping travel in London affordable and accessible to everyone. Our fees for photocards haven't increased in 10 years, and these changes will mean that we can continue to provide these concessions while ensuring that the fees better reflect our costs for operating the schemes.'
For Peter, who only works night shifts and has to travel before 9am, changing the 60+ discount back to all times would be a 'huge help' as he currently still spends almost £5 a day on travel to work.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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