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5. Operational efficiency, public transport fares, asset condition and payment technologies
Real fares levels
A real fares level indicator measures the average actual fare paid in London per
kilometre travelled. It is a composite measure, covering bus and Underground only,
calculated as the total actual fares revenue for passengers paying full adult fares,
adjusted for inflation and divided by corresponding actual bus and Underground
passenger kilometres.
In 2014, the average adult composite bus and Underground fare was 20.3 pence per
kilometre, the same as in 2013 (table 5.2).
Table 5.2
Real fares levels public transport (pence, 2009 prices).
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
18.8 19.8 20.0 19.9 19.9 20.3 20.3
Source: TfL Customer Experience.
This indicator has been relatively stable for the past six years following an increase
in 2009.
5.5 Payment technologies – contactless
The contactless payment card has become the preferred option for travel for a large
and steadily increasing number of TfL customers. Since its launch in September
2014 on the Tube, trams, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail services
in London, TfL has become the fastest growing contactless merchant in Europe,
growing by around 11 per cent per month. Customers can now pay for their rail
journeys simply by touching their debit, credit or charge card on the reader at the
beginning and end of each trip. People have been able to touch in on buses with
their cards since December 2012. Contactless payment charges are the same fare
as Oyster. Those using contactless cards can also benefit from daily Monday-
Sunday capping. This means that once the cap has been reached, there are no
further charges. Figure 5.3 shows the rapid growth in the number of contactless
journeys since launch.
102 Travel in London, Report 8