Free travel extended for lowest paid London transport workers

The Mayor of London has announced Transport for London (tfl) workers will be offering free travel on the capital’s public transport network to the lowest paid contract workers.

Following the news, around 5,800 transport workers who were previously not eligible will now receive free travel.

Initially announced in September 2022 and funded by City Hall, Examples of employees who will receive the benefit – which comes into place in April – includes cleaners, catering, and security staff.

Mr Khan, who is expected to seek a third term in his position next year, said he has always prioritised supporting transport workers as most of them are on the London living wage, which is an hourly rate of pay set at £11.95.

In addition to this, the Mayor helped London locals by providing more than £50m to tackle fuel poverty through a Warmer Homes programme and energy advice services, £5m for welfare advice and £400K to tackle food insecurity.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: ‘London’s transport workers continue to play an essential and much-valued role in keeping our city’s transport network safe and operational for millions of people every day.

‘The cost-of-living crisis shows no sign of improving, and I want to do everything I can to support those in lower paying jobs who are being hit the hardest.

‘With so little action from the government I’m pleased that I can help ease the pressure for lower paid transport workers such as cleaners, catering and security staff who do such a vital job for the capital.’

However, Mr Khan has recently faced criticism following his rule to axe free travel for over 60s before 9am on weekdays in a bid to generate an estimated £40m in extra fares. The rule was proposed in 2020 but was made permanent last month.

Transport services are also due to increase by over 5% in March across tfl services, including the London Underground, the Overground and Elizabeth line.

Photo by John T