Bus passengers paying for their journey with a contactless debit or credit card can now benefit from daily and weekly fares capping.
Contactless fares on buses were first introduced in December 2012 but did not previously support capping which meant it was cheaper for regular users to continue using their Oyster card.
From today, fares are capped at £4.40 per day and regular users can also benefit from a Monday to Sunday cap of £20.20, the equivalent of a weekly Bus and Tram Pass.
As part of the changes journeys will no longer be charged individually at the time of travel. Instead Transport for London will calculate the best fare for passengers at the end of each day and charge their card overnight.
The introduction of capping for bus fares comes ahead of best month’s introduction of contactless payment on London’s Tube and rail services.
Passengers who register their card online with Transport for London can check their journey history and apply for any refunds due.
Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Customer Experience, said: “Contactless payments on our buses have been a resounding success with over 850,000 customers using their contactless payment card to pay for bus journeys.
“Now we’re adding capping, contactless customers will benefit from having the best value automatically calculated for their travel which will appeal to even more bus users who want the convenience of using contactless to pay for their travel.”
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, said the introduction of weekly capping to contactless ahead of its roll-out to Oyster meant Mayor Boris Johnson had “ripped up” a commitment that Oyster would always offer the cheapest fare.
Ms Pidgeon commented: “The introduction of daily capping on contactless bus fares is welcome. It brings contactless payment in line with Oyster. However introducing a weekly cap on contactless bus fares offers a new and cheaper fare option that excludes people who use Oyster.
“The Mayor of London has repeatedly made a pledge that Oyster fares will always offer the cheapest fares. Sadly that pledge has been ripped up by the Mayor.”
She added: “If the Mayor was serious about honouring his long standing commitment he would ensure that a weekly cap exists on Oyster just as it will soon exist on contactless payments.
“The cheapest fares must be accessible to the poorest Londoners. Regrettably the Mayor seems to disagree.”
