From September, it will be cheaper to use your Oyster card on the bus

London bus

Soon, passengers using pay-as-you-go Oyster and contactless cards will be able to change buses within an hour and only pay for one journey.

The one-hour ticket will come into effect in September, London's newly-elected Mayor Sadiq Khan announced, making good on the promise made during his campaign.

The 'Hopper' fare will let passengers make one bus change within an hour, and only pay a flat fee of £1.50.

It's a strong first play by Khan in his new role as Mayor, although it wasn't initially his idea. The one-hour ticket was proposed in 2009 by the Lib Dems before being beaten down by Boris Johnson.

It will be welcome news to commuters who have to change buses multiple times each day, taking a significant cut out of their weekly travel cost.

"This is is just the start of my plan to ensure that travelling around London is affordable for everyone," said Khan, "a commitment that includes a freeze on Transport for London (TfL) fares for four years – benefiting millions of people."

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.