London Underground fares are set to rise by nearly 6 per cent next year - despite National Rail ticket costs being frozen for the first time in three decades.
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan revealed today that Transport for London (TfL) passengers will not benefit from the Labour Government's fares freeze next March.
Those using TfL rail services in the capital such as the Tube, Overground and Elizabeth line are therefore expected to pay 5.8 per cent more for their journeys.
The cost of Travelcards, which cover National Rail and TfL services within the London zones for a specified period, are also expected to increase by a similar amount.
Such a percentage rise would mean a single journey between zones one and two would go up by 20p from £2.90 to £3.10 in off-peak, and £3.50 to £3.70 in peak.
A single journey from zones one to six could go up by 25p from £3.80 to £4.05 in off-peak and 35p from £5.80 to £6.15 in peak, reported The Standard.
Tube fares only increase by increments of 5p, 10p or similar – so the actual changes for some passengers may be higher or lower than the 5.8 per cent average.
Thomas Turrell, the City Hall Conservatives' transport spokesman, told the Daily Mail: 'Sadiq Khan's poor relationship with Rachel Reeves means Londoners are getting hit with an above inflation fares hike while the rest of the country gets a fares freeze.
'Londoners are paying more, yet won't see any improvement in their journey. Yet another inflation busting fare hike which only worsens the cost of living across Greater London. London is already an expensive city to live, work and raise a family.
'It is the engine of the UK economy but this anti-London Labour Government seem intent on pricing low and middle earners out of the it.'
Ben Plowden, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, added: 'We recognise this rise is part of the deal around TfL's very welcome capital funding settlement from central Government, but it's nevertheless a pity that Londoners will face a fare rise next year while the rest of the country will be spared.'
Sir Sadiq said the rise is a condition of TfL's funding settlement with the Government, when it secured a £2.2billion deal from the Chancellor in the spending review in June.
This means TfL has to increase its revenue from fares by the 'RPI+1' formula (Retail Prices Index inflation + 1 per cent) for July.
The RPI figure for July 2025 was 4.8 per cent, meaning TfL fares have to rise by 5.8 per cent.
Sir Sadiq told the newspaper: 'What Government didn't announce was individual cities freezing their fares.
'Londoners know that when we had the deal with the Government on the SR [spending review], the Government gave us £2.2billion – the biggest ever multi-year deal we have received in more than a decade.
'One of the things the Government said was that they'd expect us to raise our fares by RPI+1, which pays for around £450million towards capital investment.
'So that was not an unreasonable request from the Government, because the Government's contributing hugely. They are not unreasonably saying, as grown-ups, we should also contribute. I think that is fair.'
Asked to confirm that London would not see a fares freeze, Sir Sadiq said: 'No. The DfT were quite clear: the announcement from the Government was for a national rail fares freeze.'
And a spokesperson for the Mayor told the Daily Mail today: 'We will confirm plans for next year's fares in due course.'
Exact details on Tube price rises are expected over the next few weeks – and there has been no announcement on bus fares, which were frozen by Mr Khan in December last year.
The Government revealed on November 22 that 'regulated' rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years - covering season tickets, peak and off-peak returns between major cities.
Ministers claimed the move will save millions of rail travellers hundreds of pounds, with commuters on the more expensive routes set to save more than £300 a year.
But the announcement only covers regulated fares, which include standard class fares such as saver returns, standard returns, off-peak fares between major cities and season tickets for most journeys.
The policy does not apply to 'unregulated' fares include first class, advance purchase and saver tickets – with train operators remaining free to determine those fares.
Commentators claimed at the time that freezing regulated fares while the industry's costs continue to rise will see operators face more pressure to increase unregulated fares.
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