Sadiq Khan Announces £1.75 Unlimited Weekend Bus Travel Across London This Summer

Londoners will be able to make unlimited bus and tram journeys on weekends for just £1.75 this summer, after Mayor Sadiq Khan confirmed a temporary expansion of the capital’s Hopper fare.

The new Weekend Hopper offer will run every Saturday and Sunday from July 25 to August 31, covering much of the school summer holiday period. It means passengers can pay once and travel as many times as they want on London buses and trams for the rest of that day.

For families planning days out, tourists moving between landmarks, or workers making several weekend journeys, the scheme could turn a regular bus fare into a low-cost all-day travel option. The offer is limited to buses and trams, so it will not apply to the Tube, Elizabeth line, DLR, London Overground or National Rail services.

The Weekend Hopper builds on the original Hopper fare introduced in 2016. That system currently allows passengers to make unlimited bus and tram transfers within one hour of first touching in. The summer promotion stretches that idea across the whole day on Saturdays and Sundays, removing the one-hour limit for weekend travel during the offer period.

Passengers will still need to touch in as usual using Oyster, contactless bank cards or accepted mobile payment methods. After the first £1.75 fare is charged, further bus and tram trips made that day during the weekend promotion will not require another fare.

The announcement comes as household budgets remain under pressure and transport costs continue to be closely watched across the capital. Khan said the move was designed to make it easier for people to enjoy London during the summer holidays without worrying about the cost of repeated short journeys.

“I am determined to continue to help Londoners with the cost-of-living crisis,” Khan said, adding that the Hopper fare had already helped millions of people access cheaper bus travel.

He said the new Weekend Hopper would be particularly useful for families, calling it a “whopper of a deal” that would make summer travel cheaper and simpler for Londoners and visitors.

The Mayor also said buses and trams remain a “real lifeline” for many residents, especially those who rely on lower-cost public transport for work, school, appointments and local journeys. City Hall has positioned the scheme as part of its wider push to keep bus and tram travel among the most affordable transport options in London.

The fare offer comes after Transport for London’s latest fares package, which froze the standard bus and tram fare at £1.75 until July 5 while Tube and rail fares increased earlier this year. Full fare information is available on the official Transport for London fares page.

City Hall is also understood to be looking at whether the £1.75 bus fare freeze can continue through the summer, though that has not yet been formally confirmed as a permanent extension.

Transport for London says the Hopper fare has become one of the most widely used fare products in the capital since its launch. More than one billion Hopper journeys have been made since 2016, according to TfL and City Hall, underlining how important the scheme has become for regular bus and tram users.

London’s Transport Commissioner Andy Lord said the original Hopper fare had helped change how people use buses and trams, making it easier to switch routes without being charged again. He said the weekend expansion would make public transport more affordable and convenient during the summer.

The offer is also being promoted with a visible campaign on London’s roads. Three buses running on routes 23, 49 and 295 have been wrapped in frog-themed designs linked to the Hopper branding. Those routes pass through or near busy destinations including Royal Albert Hall, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square, helping the campaign reach tourists, shoppers and regular commuters.

The scheme could also support London’s hospitality and leisure businesses. Cheaper all-day bus and tram travel may encourage more people to visit restaurants, theatres, museums, high streets and tourist attractions during the weekends, especially in central and west London areas served by the promoted routes.

Kate Nicholls, chairwoman of UK Hospitality, said the Weekend Hopper would make it easier for people to experience London’s hospitality sector during the summer. Business LDN chief executive John Dickie also welcomed the move, saying fare innovation is important if London wants more people to use public transport.

The wider political and financial backdrop is also important. City Hall budget papers earlier this year pointed to around £20 million being set aside for new fare initiatives aimed at encouraging more passengers back onto public transport. The Weekend Hopper appears to be one of the clearest examples of that approach, using a short-term discount to test demand during a high-travel period.

For families, the practical value is straightforward. A group moving between a park, museum, shopping area and restaurant could make several separate bus journeys in one day while paying only one bus fare per person. That could make local trips more attractive than driving, especially in areas where parking is expensive or limited.

For tourists, the offer may provide a cheaper way to explore London above ground. Buses often pass through well-known streets and landmarks, giving visitors a slower but more scenic alternative to the Tube. With the Weekend Hopper in place, changing routes several times across the day becomes less costly.

The scheme may also help workers who travel at weekends, including hospitality staff, retail employees and part-time workers who rely on buses outside traditional commuting hours. For those making multiple journeys in one day, the saving could be more meaningful than a one-off discount.

Still, the promotion has limits. It is temporary, weekend-only and restricted to buses and trams. Anyone combining bus travel with Tube, rail or Elizabeth line journeys will still need to pay the usual fares for those services.

Swikblog has been tracking wider London transport disruption and fare-related issues, including recent updates on TfL Tube Strike 2026 dates, affected routes and travel safety advice. The new Weekend Hopper offer gives passengers a more positive transport update after months of fare pressure and service disruption across parts of the network.

Whether the offer becomes more than a summer experiment will likely depend on passenger response. If weekend bus and tram use rises strongly between late July and the end of August, City Hall and TfL may face calls to bring back similar deals during future school holidays, bank holidays or major London events.

For now, the change gives Londoners a clear summer saving: from July 25 to August 31, weekend bus and tram travel across the capital will cost just £1.75 for unlimited same-day journeys.

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