- Sadiq’s unlimited Hopper fare used on more than 1m journeys in one month
- Hopper fare was extended on January 31 to unlimited bus and tram ‘Hops’ in an hour for £1.50
- More than 160m Hopper journeys have been made since the fare was initially launched in September 2016, with nearly 10m made in February alone
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s landmark unlimited Hopper fare has helped more than one million journeys in its first month.
The Mayor extended his Hopper fare on January 31 so that anyone using pay as you go can make unlimited bus and tram journeys within one hour for the price of one fare.
In February more than 1m journeys benefited from this extension by changing bus or tram more than once for free, while nearly 10m journeys benefitted in total from at least one change.
This comes ahead of the publication of the latest ridership figures from TfL, which are anticipated to show rising bus passenger numbers.
Sadiq originally launched the Hopper fare in September 2016 to help those using two buses or trams on their journey. Since then he has helped millions of Londoners and visitors to the capital make affordable bus or tram journeys across London, with more than 160m journeys using the fare.
The extension at the end of January to allow unlimited changes in an hour has now helped tens of thousands more Londoners every day and fulfilled a key manifesto pledge of the Mayor. The upgrade has also allowed passengers to make use of the Hopper fare, even if they travel on Tube or rail services in between their bus journeys
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that tens of thousands of Londoners are benefiting every day from the extension to our Hopper fare. The Hopper has helped more than 160m journeys in just 18 months and I’m proud that the unlimited fare is helping even more Londoners. Together with my TfL fare freeze, it’s making a real difference in making travel affordable right across our city.”
Rebecca Thomson, founder of Greenwich Mums, said: “As a busy mum I love the hopper fare. When I’ve got lots of stops to make - especially on the school run - its simplicity makes it easy to zip around town on the buses and leave the car at home!”
Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer at Transport for London said: “It’s great to see so many people taking advantage of The Hopper fare. These improvements to our ticketing system are just one of the many ways that we are trying to make life more convenient and affordable for Londoners and encourage them to leave their cars at home and use public transport instead.”
The continuing success of the Hopper fare will help encourage people across London to switch from their cars to public transport – supporting the Mayor’s wider work to clean up London’s air and improve the local environment. The fare is of particular benefit to Londoners on lower incomes, who rely on bus services more to get around, as well as those with pushchairs and small children.
The introduction of the Hopper is a key part of the Mayor’s wider fares package to make life easier for Londoners, including a four-year fares freeze on all TfL services until 2020 that is around four million journeys a day across London.
For more information about the ‘Hopper’ fare, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/hopper
Notes to editors
From September 11, 2016 to March 4, 2018 there have been 160,678,,024 journeys made using the Hopper fare
In February 2018 there were 9,743,978 journeys using the Hopper fare, including 1,092,428 with more than one hop thanks to the unlimited Hopper fare