The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) are encouraging customers to explore all the sights and activities the city has to offer by bus and tram this summer as a range of schemes mean travel is even more affordable.
This weekend, the Mayor’s Weekend Hopper offer begins. This means, for the first time ever, anyone travelling on buses and trams on a Saturday or a Sunday during the summer holidays can pay one single fare for unlimited journeys across London that entire day, making it easier and cheaper for Londoners and visitors to make the most of everything the capital has to offer. For example, a family of two adults and two under-16s could enjoy unlimited bus travel on a Saturday or a Sunday for just £3.50 – saving up to £7 a day or £14 across both weekend days when making three of more bus journeys.
The offer will run over weekends from 25 July to 31 August – including the bank holiday Monday, when millions travel across the capital to enjoy Notting Hill Carnival, which marks its 60th anniversary this year.
TfL Image – Electric Bus 58
Download
The Mayor’s landmark Hopper fare, which runs throughout the week and allows unlimited journeys within an hour of the first journey on a bus or tram, will continue to operate both through this offer and afterwards. Fares on buses and trams across London have been frozen for another four months until 1 November 2026. This means that Londoners will continue to be able to make unlimited journeys within one hour on London’s buses and trams for just £1.75 – the same price since March 2023.
TfL is also supporting the Government’s Great British Summer Savings Scheme, which will allow anyone under 16 to travel free by bus during August. While children, teenagers and those aged 16-18 and living in London [1] already travel free on London buses and trams with a valid Zip Oyster photocard, and should continue to use them throughout August, any children under 16 visiting London without a Zip Card will also be able to travel on buses for free from 1-31 August [2]. This nationwide government scheme is helping people enjoy days out for less, whether it’s exploring the great outdoors at a national park or discovering new things at one of Britain’s world-class museums.
Londoners and visitors are encouraged to see if they can spot the buses that have been wrapped as frogs on routes 49 and 295 as they travel around the capital over the summer. These routes offer TfL customers the chance to visit landmarks including world-class museums, as well as connecting with a range of other routes, making it easier to travel across the city to visit family and friends. TfL also has a number of a curated leisure bus routes to help provide additional ideas of places to visit this summer.
TfL Image – Tram
Download
Since 2023, the game-changing Superloop network of express bus services has also grown to cover 218 kilometres of routes, boosting ridership and transforming outer London travel. Plans are now in place to expand the network even further, with the SL12 launching later this year, followed by three further routes. This ensures buses continue to play a critical role in building a greener London with a sustainable transport network.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “As I know how expensive the summer holidays can be for families, my new Weekend Hopper will make it cheaper and easier for Londoners and visitors to enjoy all that our great city has to offer.
“During 10 years as Mayor, I’ve been committed to keeping public transport as affordable as possible – including a record seven freezes on bus and tram fares, which I recently extended until November to further support Londoners with the cost-of-living crisis. Buses and trams are a lifeline for many Londoners, and I’m determined to keep them the most accessible and affordable mode of transport in the capital.
“I’m pleased that my Hopper fare has enabled millions of people to enjoy cheaper bus travel over the past decade, and this new Weekend Hopper will help open up our great city even more, as we continue building a fairer and better London for everyone.”
Emma Strain, Customer Director at TfL, said: “There is so much to explore and experience in London, and public transport is absolutely the best and most convenient way to do this. The Weekend Hopper scheme, as well as our wider range of offers for bus and tram customers, will allow families to make the most of the city during the summer holidays.”
Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive of The Childhood Trust, said: “For families living on the lowest incomes, the summer holidays can bring significant financial pressure, with the cost of keeping children entertained, fed and connected to friends and family often stretching already limited household budgets. The Weekend Hopper fare is a welcome initiative that will help make travel across London more affordable, giving children and families greater access to the opportunities, activities and support networks our city has to offer. We are pleased to see practical measures that reduce the cost burden on families facing poverty and help ensure that every child can make the most of the summer holidays.”
Dee Corsi, Chief Executive of New West End Company, said: “The West End will be alive with activity this summer, and initiatives like TfL’s Weekend Hopper scheme make it easier and more affordable for all to come and experience everything the district has to offer. Together with excellent bus connections and step-free access via the Elizabeth line, the scheme will enable more people to explore London’s top destination for shopping, dining, culture and entertainment, supporting businesses while making the West End more accessible than ever.”
TfL Youth Panel member, Isaac Olalokiki-Hassan, said: “A recent audio project has me travelling to a different London borough each week to record content, so my weekends involve a lot of bus journeys. The Weekend Hopper means one £1.75 fare covers the whole day so however far across the city I need to go, and it removes cost as a reason for us young Londoners not to explore.”
Buses and trams play a crucial role in reducing congestion, carrying up to 80 times as many passengers as a car while using significantly less road space by proportion. Buses are the most inclusive form of public transport in London, with 96 per cent of households within 400 metres of a bus stop and more than 90 per cent served by high-frequency routes [3].
Buses and trams play a crucial role in reducing congestion, carrying up to 80 times as many passengers as a car while using significantly less road space by proportion. Buses are the most inclusive form of public transport in London, with 96 per cent of households within 400 metres of a bus stop and more than 90 per cent served by high-frequency routes [3].
Buses and trams also offer the most accessible and affordable way to travel sustainably in the capital, with fares among the lowest in the UK and all bus routes served by low-floor vehicles with a dedicated wheelchair space, providing a vital service for vulnerable Londoners and lower income households.
TfL Go – London’s Official Travel app – also makes it easy for customers to plan their journeys for a day out, allowing users to quickly search for locations and find the nearest bus route to get there from their current location. Customers using an iPad or iPhone can also track their ‘next bus’ in real time along its route, informing them about waiting times and supporting route planning. Android users can expect the features to launch shortly [4] but can still find their nearest bus route and check live bus arrival times using TfL Go.
During the summer, TfL is encouraging customers to carry water with them when they travel and to look out for one another in the heat. A comprehensive hot weather plan is in place to protect the network and keep services running wherever possible. All buses have reflective roofs, insulation and opening windows, while every new double-decker bus has air cooling. More than 3,000 of London’s buses are zero-emission, making up around a third of the fleet, and TfL’s work to make the fleet zero-emission will also mean their engines generate less heat.
