Ken Livingstone made a determined play for the student vote in May’s GLA elections with a commitment to give students a thirty per cent discount on Oyster Pay As You Go and a promise to cap daily fares for students at thirty per cent below the price of a One Day Travelcard.
The 18+ Student Oyster photocard currently entitles the holder to buy student-rate travelcards and bus passes valid for seven days or longer periods at thirty per cent less than adult-rate season ticket however the capital’s student population has long campaigned to extend the discounts to the Pay As You Go Oyster card.
Speaking today Mt Livingstone said he wanted “to make sure that everyone can participate in London’s success and this commitment is a practical step to reduce the financial burden for students in this city. This pledge will ensure that those students who live near to their college, or only make a few journeys a week, can still benefit from the travel discount that other London students receive.”
‘This builds on the abolition of bus and tram fares for everyone under eighteen in full-time education, the introduction of half price travel for people on income support and the commitment to extend the operating hours of the Freedom Pass to a twenty four hour service.’
According to figures released by the Livingstone campaign the cost of extending the scheme to pay-as-you-go will be £5m.
