Some people won’t be charged for using the TfL network
Some people can travel free of charge(Image: Getty Images)
While London’s public transport network proves invaluable for getting around, the expense can quickly mount up, occasionally putting people off making certain trips. Nevertheless, there are ways to cut costs.
From connecting a railcard to your Oyster card to catching multiple buses within 60 minutes for just one fare, lots of strategies exist to reduce your travel spending.
Yet one pass outshines the rest, granting holders unlimited complimentary travel on buses, the Tube, DLR, Trams, Overground, and the Elizabeth line – essentially covering the entire Transport for London (TfL) network.
This prized pass is called the TfL Freedom Pass, and there are several routes to obtaining one, assuming you fulfil specific requirements. Two varieties of Freedom Pass exist.
A Freedom Pass can be held by certain people in London(Image: TfL)
The first is the Older Person’s Freedom Pass, enabling holders to journey free on TfL services from 9am on weekdays and at any time during weekends and bank holidays.
To be eligible, you simply need to live in a London borough and have reached state pension age (presently 66 for both men and women).
Applications can be submitted online here.
The second variety is the Disabled Person’s Freedom Pass, providing complimentary travel at all times on TfL services.
To qualify, you must live in a London borough and have an eligible disability. Eligible disabilities include:
People who are blind or partially sightedPeople who are profoundly or severely deafPeople without speechPeople who have a disability, or have suffered an injury, which has left them with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to walkPeople who do not have arms or have a long-term loss of the use of both armsPeople who have a learning disability that is defined by TfL as ‘a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning’People who, if they applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, would have their application refused pursuant to section 92 of the Act (physical fitness) otherwise than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol.
However, under exceptional circumstances, London boroughs may possess the authority to issue Freedom Passes to disabled people who don’t satisfy one of the statutory eligibility criteria.
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