• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MayorWatch

London News and Comment

  • NEWS

Time to price the cable car like the tourist attraction it is

June 4, 2013 by Martin Hoscik

Image: TfL
Image: TfL
Two years ago I called on Boris to “be more open about the fact that the cable car is a tourist attraction, not a genuine part of the capital’s public transport network.”

In recent weeks he’s done just that – a Mayoral Decision approving a new £1 fare for school groups states that usage patterns are more “consistent with a tourist attraction rather than a commuter service.”

It’s hardly surprising that City Hall are belatedly admitting the scheme’s true nature.

When asked by TfL’s £150,000 pollsters, less than half of all passengers say they’ll use the cable car again within 6 months while 40% are unsure if they’ll ever make return visit.

The London Assembly are right that fares are too high for the cable car to win over regular travellers, but rather than try drawing in more weekday users by increasing the subsidy per passenger, TfL should be looking to price it in line with other one-off tourist attractions.

Of course, with value for money being a concern for 44% of users, TfL will need to drastically improve the offering before they can increase prices – they could start by slowing down the cars to increase the journey time and include a return trip in the new, higher fare.

As bus passengers know, and cycle hire scheme members learnt last year, TfL normally likes higher fares so it’d be surprising if they’ve not yet looked at hiking the cost of ‘flights’ on the cable car.

And the Mayoral Decision approving the £1 school fares shows how desperate TfL are for any extra revenue from the scheme – the document reveals that the new fare will raise just £9,000 towards running costs.

Boris could save much of that £9k by axing the lavish expenses culture at the top of TfL and let the school groups travel for free as they do on other transport modes.

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: Comment

RECENT UPDATES

Tube and rail users to benefit from Oyster weekly fares cap

Mayor and TfL call on ministers to help plug funding gap

Tube to get full mobile phone coverage from 2024

TfL says Direct Vision Standard is already making HGVs safer for London road users




POPULAR

City Hall to move to Docklands as Mayor seeks to raise £55m for frontline services

‘Concern’ over TfL’s ability to deliver major projects in wake of Crossrail cost overruns

City Hall halts London Overground ticket office closures but many will still see opening hours reduced

Transport for London confirms bus cuts will go ahead despite passenger opposition

Copyright © 2025 · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy