Free 60+ Oyster card from 1st November
Transport for All
New 60+ London Oyster photocard will...
This article is from 2012. Please click here for up-to-date information about the Oyster card.
New 60+ London Oyster photocard will give free travel on all TfL services from 1 November.
Free travel on Transport for London (TfL) services for all Londoners when they reach 60 years old will be restored from 1 November when the 60+ London Oyster photocard scheme goes live.
The new scheme fulfils the Mayor Boris Johnson’s pledge to bridge the gap for older Londoners since the age of eligibility for the London Council’s Freedom Pass was raised by the Government.
More than 100,000 applications are expected before the new 60+ London Oyster photocard goes live, and a further 10,000 Londoners are expected to become eligible for the scheme each month.
Eligibility for the Freedom Pass, for both men and women, was raised by the Government in line with the state retirement age for women since April 2010 and means Londoners currently have to be at least 61 years old to qualify. To check when you will become eligible for the Freedom Pass, simply enter your date of birth into the Freedom Pass calculator
The 60+ London Oyster photocard scheme will mean Londoners once again become eligible for free travel on all TfL services and some national rail services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from their sixtieth birthday. Just like the Freedom Pass, it will also allow them free travel outside of morning peak hours on other national rail services in the capital.
However, unlike the Freedom Pass, 60+ Oystercard holders will not be able to use their card to travel free of charge on local bus services in other parts of the country.
Shashi Verma, TfL’s Director of Customer Experience, said: ‘From 1 November, Londoners who are 60 years or over and are not eligible to receive a Freedom Pass will be able to travel for free on all TfL services, at any time of the day.
Apply for the 60+ London Oyster photocard online.
The application process will be primarily online although anyone who is not able to complete the application online can call 0845 331 9872