Flexible tickets for part-time London workers from 2015
- 29 January 2014
- From the section London
Flexible tickets and travel cards aimed at helping part-time workers in London will be launched in January 2015.
The details and costs are yet to be drawn up by Transport for London but mayor Boris Johnson said the plan would "bear down" on transport costs.
The Liberal Democrat group in the London Assembly said the mayor had "totally rejected the idea" months ago.
The Conservative group had previously suggested a part-time travel card and rebates on underused full-time cards.
New transport fares for 2014, which rose in line with the rate of inflation, came into effect on 19 January.
Mr Johnson said contactless bank card payments had allowed passengers more flexibility and provided "a golden opportunity to develop more flexible ticketing products".
"I have therefore asked Transport for London to introduce ticketing which specifically addresses the needs of part-time workers from January 2015," he said.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Lib Dems in the assembly, said: "Only months ago he totally rejected the idea, as he has over the last three years when I presented the idea at each budget round.
"It is time that people who work part-time or work regularly from home are not penalised by an old fashioned fare structure."
Conservative London Assembly member Roger Evans had recently published a report, Home Works, which recommended ticketing options for part-time workers while calling for more people to be allowed to work from home.
Mr Evans said: "I'll now be working hard over the rest of this year to ensure that my specific recommendations of a part-time travel card and a system of annual rebates for underused full-time travel cards will be delivered.
"It will mean that people working three days a week will no longer have to pay for a full week's travel."