London hospitality welcomes off-peak Fridays

Operators from across London's pub, bar and hospitality scene have welcomed a new initiative from the mayor of London.

Sadiq Khan has announced a three-month trial travel programme where all tube and rail fares on pay-as-you-go with contactless and Oyster will be priced as off-peak all day on Fridays.

Peak pay-as-you-go fares ordinarily apply between 6.30am and 9.30am and between 4pm and 7pm on both Transport for London (TfL) and National Rail services. By making pay-as-you-go journeys on Fridays off-peak all day, Khan hopes to support economic growth by encouraging more people back onto public transport and into the office, and the city, on a day that is currently quieter than other weekdays.

TfL and London & Partners have also been working with local businesses across London to help promote a range of activities to further encourage people to make the most of their Fridays.

"We need to see as many initiatives as possible to support our hospitality venues which our facing tough challenges – with duty too high, landlords increasing rents and the cost-of-living crisis," says Jeremy Joseph, owner of G-A-Y and Heaven Nightclub. "We need these new initiatives to get people back out, so I hope off-peak Fridays will encourage people to stay out after work and into the early hours. London has some of the best venues and we need to be supporting all of them so London can thrive. Friday No Peak Travel = Peak Partying."

What is being saved?

Under the scheme, someone commuting in from Romford (Zone 6) into Bond Street (Zone 1) would have paid £5.60 for travelling on the Elizabeth line during peak hours. Under the trial, this fare will be reduced to £3.60. 

Someone commuting from Morden (Zone 4) to Vauxhall (Zone 2) in peak hours would have paid £2.80 for the trip. This fare will now be reduced down to £1.90.

On National Rail, someone commuting using pay-as-you-go with contactless from St Albans City to London Blackfriars would pay £12.90 midweek, but will pay £9.50 on Fridays during the trial. These savings will be doubled if the return journey is also made during evening peak hours.

"We are delighted that the mayor is introducing the Off-Peak Fridays initiative," says Simon Champion, CEO at Boxpark Ltd. "London’s hospitality sector is what makes London such an exciting and vibrant city and Friday nights are the lifeblood of London’s night time economy. We love that coming out to visit us has just become that much easier and we very much look forward to working with the mayor and the Night Czar on all future projects to keep London as a world class night time city."

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