Wokingham Borough Council is one of more than 20 organisations who have written to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urging him not to scrap the Day Travelcard next year.
The Travelcard, which has been helping tourists and locals to travel around London with ease for decades, is due for withdrawal next year as part of Transport for London’s (TfL) drive to save money – despite 14 million being sold in 2022.
Analysis by Campaign for Better Transport, which has launched a ‘Don’t Cut the Card’ campaign, revealed passengers face bureaucratic hurdles and significant cost increases to travel around the capital once the Travelcard is withdrawn.
Norman Baker from Campaign for Better Transport, said: “The sheer number and breadth of organisations which have signed this letter shows that this decision is not only unpopular, but also potentially disastrous for the capital’s economy.
“At a time when we should be doing all we can to encourage people to use green public transport to access London’s shops, museums, art galleries, public spaces and attractions, this move is a retrograde step.
“Transport for London must rethink its plans as a matter of urgency and work together with the Department for Transport and the train operating companies to find a way to save the Day Travelcard before it’s too late.”
Currently, people travelling into London can add a Travelcard onto their national rail ticket for use on the capital’s transport network, meaning they buy one ticket for their entire journey.
From next year, people will need to buy their national rail ticket and then either use contactless or buy an oyster card to travel within the capital, making it more difficult to access child and other discounted fares, removing the ability to access seamless, integrated ticketing and adding significantly to the cost of travelling around London.
The letter calls on the Mayor and the Department for Transport to work with the train operating companies to find a way to keep the Travelcard to prevent people being priced out of the capital.
It has been signed by Campaign for Better Transport, Bus Users UK, England’s Economic Heartland, Federation of Small Businesses, Greener Vision, Living Streets, London Deanery, London TravelWatch, Luton Borough Council, Medway Council, Night Time Industries Association, North Northamptonshire Council, Surrey County Council, Transport Action Network, Transport & Environment, Transport East, Transport for All, Transport for the South East, Slough Council, West Berkshire Council, Wokingham Borough Council and Urban Movement,
People can join the ‘Don’t Cut the Card’ campaign and share their views on the scrapping the Travelcard at: www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/save-the-travelcard.
