Fare caps to drop in 2015 for part-time workers

London mayor Boris Johnson will lower travel costs for part-time commuters by introducing daily caps for pay-as-you-go Oyster cards.

This news comes after it was revealed that a variety of fare increases are to come about early next year.

At the moment, people who use pay-as-you-go Oyster cards or travel on contactless bank cards pay more on average than season ticket holders or long-term commuters.

The change to pricing announced on Tuesday by Johnson reveal that those to benefit the most will be infrequent travellers.

From 2 January, daily caps will be cut to one-fifth of the cost of a seven day travelcard to zone one.

The all-day cap for zones one to two will drop from £8.40 to $6.40 and the cap for zone one to six will fall from £15.80 to £11.70.

According to the mayor’s office, 22% of employees in London work part-time “while many others have flexible working patterns and do not know how many days or hours they will work each week”.

However, frequent travellers will suffer from a rise in fares. Seven-day bus passes will soon be increased from £20.20 to £21 while single Oyster bus journeys will rise from £1.45 to £1.50.

Off-peak cards for zones one to six will also rise by nearly 35%, going from £8.90 to £12.

Johnson said: “This will ensure that the capital remains a competitive global city and a fantastic place to live.”

Labour’s transport spokesperson in the London Assembly, Val Shawcross, told the Financial Times that the mayor has increased fares unnecessarily since taking over office.

She said: “The truth is that despite pledging to keep fares low Boris Johnson has overseen a 40 per cent rise in fares since he became mayor.

"That has meant Londoners paying fares 13 per cent above inflation over the six years.”