Victory! On 24th October 2023 I welcomed the successful outcome of my campaign to save the Day Travelcard which I led for Crawley rail passengers.
The Mayor of London finally confirmed that he will not go ahead with his earlier proposals to scrap the Day Travelcard, which allows passengers to take journeys across overground and underground trains as well as buses into and around London on one ticket, following his plans announced in July to withdraw this provision from stations including Crawley, Ifield, Three Bridges and Gatwick Airport.
Were the Mayor to have continued with his original proposal this would have had a significant impact on all local rail passengers. Many of us often use a Day Travelcard to get to work, or attend a medical appointment, in addition to travelling for a day out.
This proposal would have turned people away from travelling to London and beyond, and hit the poorest families hardest. London’s own mayor would have made it harder and expensive for us to visit our nation’s capital city.
I am grateful to all Crawley rail users who signed the petition which I had been organising. The Mayor was already made aware of the views which had been raised with me by concerned Crawley rail passengers after I wrote to him.
Going forward, I continued to call for the Oyster zone to be extended south to include Three Bridges, Crawley and Ifield train stations.
The latest Transport for London settlement supports almost £3.6 billion worth of projects: Government’s total funding to Transport for London has been more than £6 billion since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.