Off-peak Fridays trial made no difference - TfL

A £24m trial to make all Friday fares off-peak did not increase the number of passengers using the network last year, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

The Off-Peak Friday fares trial ran between 8 March and 31 May and saw fares on London Underground and Overground, Elizabeth line and DLR, as well as some National Rail services, set at off-peak levels throughout the day.

Peak fares are charged in London between 06:30 GMT and 09:30 and between 16:00 and 19:00.

In a report published in December, but which has only just been made public, it said during the trial "there was no noticeable difference in the number of pay as you go journeys made at peak times during the trial compared to pre-trial."

Passenger numbers on Fridays have not recovered since the pandemic, with many commuters choosing to work from home and avoid central London.

At the start of the trial, the Conservatives on the London Assembly called it "a pre-election bribe".

The mayoral election - won by Sir Sadiq Khan - took place on 2 May.

TfL said: "While it was positively received by customers and supported by stakeholders including London's hospitality industry, ultimately the trial showed that a temporary discount to peak fares on a Friday did not result in a significant increase in travel."

Speaking in front of the Assembly's budget committee, the mayor said he had told TfL to look at other ways to entice people into using the network at quieter times.

These include working with the private sector to give away free coffees as part of a scheme similar to supermarket points loyalty schemes.

He added "nothing was off the table" and TfL should borrow ideas from other cities.

Professor Nick Tyler, director of the Centre for Transport Studies at University College London, said it was good that TfL had trialled off-peak Fridays but it seemed savings did not change behaviour.

"The result is interesting because it suggests that the reduced numbers are about behaviour and lifestyle rather than money – people realise they can work more flexibly and not travelling into the centre of London, for example, on a Friday is one element of that," he said.

A TfL spokesperson said: "Like many transport authorities across the world, we are always looking at ways to innovate and grow ridership on our services.

"The Off-Peak Friday fares trial formed part of a wider approach to make fares and ticketing more flexible and innovative, and looked at whether reducing fares on Fridays would impact ridership and revenue, as well as London's wider economy.

"However, this trial has informed our understanding of how changes to overall fare levels can impact ridership and we will use this insight to inform fares policy going forward."

Additional reporting by Harry Low

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