Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed Transport for London’s 2026 fares package, with Tube and TfL Rail fares rising from March 2026 while bus and tram fares are frozen until July 2026 through a City Hall-funded emergency cost-of-living measure. The package is the direct consequence of the £2.2 billion multi-year funding settlement agreed at the Spending Review in July 2025, which requires TfL fares to rise by inflation plus one per cent (RPI+1).
The headline numbers: 10p to 20p per journey
The Mayor has stated that no single pay-as-you-go Tube fare will rise by more than 20p, with many increasing by just 10p. The headline numbers: an off-peak pay-as-you-go Tube journey from Tottenham Court Road (Zone 1) to Edgware (Zone 5) rises from £3.60 to £3.80; pay-as-you-go fares within Zone 1 rise from £2.90 to £3.10 in the peak and from £2.80 to £3.00 off-peak and at weekends. An off-peak journey from Richmond (Zone 4) to Stratford (Zone 2), avoiding Zone 1, rises from £2.20 to £2.40. A peak journey from Upminster (Zone 6) to Cannon Street (Zone 1) rises by just 10p, from £5.80 to £5.90. Daily and weekly caps remain frozen, alongside Travelcard prices.
The £2.2bn deal: London’s biggest in over a decade
Khan called the settlement “the biggest ever multi-year funding deal for London in more than a decade.” Speaking at the announcement, the Mayor said: “When the Government awarded TfL £2.2bn in vital investment, it made clear it expects TfL fares to rise by inflation plus one percent. However, I remain committed to doing everything in my power to keep TfL fares as affordable as possible because I know how the cost-of-living crisis is still hitting many Londoners hard.” He added that under the plans, Londoners are still saving around 16% on Tube and rail fares and 34% on bus and tram fares compared with what would have been the case if fares had risen in line with inflation since 2016.
The bus and tram freeze: seventh time since 2016
The bus and tram fare freeze until July 2026 is the seventh time Khan has secured one since taking office in 2016. The freeze is funded directly from City Hall reserves rather than central government grant, and is targeted at the lowest-income Londoners who use buses disproportionately. The Mayor has framed the freeze as an emergency cost-of-living measure tied to the broader squeeze on UK households from the Iran war energy shock, with UK CPI rising to 3.3% in March and the Bank of England holding Bank Rate at 3.75%.
National Rail fares freeze: a counterpoint
The TfL package follows the UK Government’s announcement that regulated National Rail fares would be frozen for the first time in 30 years, covering season tickets, peak commuter returns and off-peak fares between major cities. The contrast — National Rail frozen, TfL Tube and rail rising — has been politically awkward for Khan’s office, though TfL officials note the funding mechanisms are entirely different. London TravelWatch, the independent passenger watchdog, called the package “a bitter-sweet pill,” welcoming the bus and tram freeze and the cap on Tube increases while criticising the underlying RPI+1 mechanism as “inflation-busting.”
What it pays for: trains, signalling, capacity
The fare rise revenue funds operational costs and contributes to TfL’s capital programme, which includes the rolling-stock replacement on the Piccadilly Line (already in delivery), the DLR fleet replacement (delayed from earlier targets), and signalling upgrades on multiple Underground lines. London TravelWatch noted that delays to delivery of new Tube and DLR trains, alongside worsening bus speeds across the capital, will make the overall package “feel like a hard sell to many passengers.” The 2026 increases come on top of last summer’s price rise for concessionary cards and the recent hike in the central London Congestion Charge. TfL faces a fundamental dilemma: it must “run ever faster” to demonstrate value for money to London’s travelling public.
The political backdrop: borough elections and 2028
The fares package lands in the political context of the 32 London borough elections held today, 7 May 2026. Although Khan himself is not on the ballot — his current term as Mayor of London runs to 2028 — Labour faces a projected loss of council control in Barnet, Croydon, Wandsworth and Enfield. The fares decision, particularly the Tube and rail rises, may have featured in voter calculus despite the bus and tram freeze. Khan’s office will be watching the borough results closely as a barometer for the 2028 mayoral campaign, with the Greens under Zack Polanski already targeting Khan’s progressive flank, and Reform UK under Nigel Farage attacking from the populist right.
