Six months after its launch, the Mayor of London’s ‘Hopper’ bus fare is expected to hit its 50 millionth journey this week, new figures from Transport for London (TfL) show.
The fare, which was introduced on 12 September 2016, enables passengers to take a £1.50 bus or tram journey and then change onto another bus or tram for free within one hour of starting their journey. It is automatically given to anyone who uses pay as you go with a contactless bank payment or Oyster card.
On average – around 300,000 ‘Hopper’ journeys are being made every weekday, with the most popular bus stop to ‘hop’ on still at Brent Cross Shopping station, where more than 12,000 ‘hops’ took place during February alone.
The continuing success of the ‘Hopper’ fare will help to encourage people across London to switch from their cars back to public transport – supporting the Mayor’s wider campaign to clean up London’s toxic air. With the Mayor cleaning up London’s bus fleet, passengers using the bus can help to reduce emissions, while reducing congestion on London’s roads. The ‘Hopper’ is of particular benefit to Londoners on lower incomes who rely on bus services to get around.
Analysis of the last six weeks shows that the most popular bus to ‘Hop’ onto is Route 18, which runs from Sudbury & Harrow Road station to Euston Station via Kensal Green, with more than 74,000 ‘hops’ during February alone.
Other popular routes for passengers using the ‘Hopper’ fare include:
• The Route 25 from Oxford Circus to Ilford, which saw more than 60,000 ‘hops’ in February
• The Route 73 from Victoria to Stoke Newington, which saw more than 48,000 ‘hops’ in February
Brent Cross Shopping station is the most popular single ‘hopper’ location with 12,000 ‘hops’ taking place during February. The bus stops outside Woolwich Arsenal station and outside Brixton station were both hugely popular during February, with 12,499 and 11,356 ‘hops’ respectively. Over 20,000 ‘hops’ took place from bus stops around Elephant and Castle during February.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan: "Six months after its launch I’m delighted and proud that our ‘Hopper’ fare continues to be such a huge success. The cost of transport must never be a barrier to study or work, and hitting 50 million journeys this week shows the difference the ‘Hopper’ is making cutting the cost of travel for Londoners all across our city.
"Alongside our TfL fares freeze, the continuing success of the ‘Hopper’ will put money back into the pockets of millions of Londoners and encourage more people onto public transport, helping tackle congestion, and improving our city for everyone."
The introduction of the ‘Hopper’ fare formed part of the Mayor’s wider fares package to make life easier for Londoners, which included a four-year fares freeze on all TfL services which came into force in January 2017.
TfL is now working on delivering unlimited bus and tram transfers within one hour, which is not currently possible due to limits with the existing technology. Plans are for TfL to deliver unlimited bus and tram journeys in an hour from 2018.
In addition to this, from 2018, passengers who travel on a Tube or train between their two or more bus or tram journeys will also be eligible for the ‘Hopper’ fare.