Heathrow scraps free travel zone
Heathrow Airport is to reduce and then abolish the Free Travel Zone in 2021, despite the Airport pledging to increase use of public transport and reduce pollution as it seeks to expand.
Under the current scheme, journeys on buses between each of the Heathrow terminals and around the airport perimeter are free. Most routes subsidised are on Transport for London services, but a number of privately run routes serving Surrey and Berkshire are also subsidised.
Heathrow, and its predecessor BAA, have subsidised the scheme since the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 and have continually claimed that it wants to see 50% of journeys to the airport made on public transport by 2030 if it is allowed to build a third runway.
The scheme plays a key role in allowing travel around the airport perimeter and into the terminals – which are not accessible by any active travel methods such as cycling or on foot – for both passengers and staff and the travelling public, in the specified areas. The abolition of the Free Travel Zone is likely to lead to more cars on local roads and therefore an increase in carbon emissions.
In an email to staff this week, Heathrow’s Surface Access Director, Tony Caccavone, said that free travel would be suspended in stages from January 2021. Staff benefits, such as and discounts on TfL Rail between London Paddington and Heathrow and on Great Western Railway between Reading and Heathrow, will also be scrapped from January. The Heathrow Travelcard scheme for travel on buses and coaches was suspended with immediate effect on 18 November.
Email from Heathrow confirming the abolition of the Free Travel Scheme
A number of bus routes, which are yet to be confirmed, will charge from 1st January. The remainder of the routes will start charging later in 2021. By the end of 2021, the Heathrow Free Travel Zone will cease to exist.
The news is yet another blow to Heathrow staff, including firefighters, engineers, security and baggage handlers, who are striking for four days in December following a pay cut of 20% enforced by Heathrow’s ‘fire and rehire’ plans despite the airport having billions of pounds in cash reserves.
Stop Heathrow Expansion’s Geraldine Nicholson said that ‘this represents a massive step in the wrong direction. By reducing this free travel scheme for passengers and scrapping travel discounts for staff, Heathrow are not only going to hurt the pockets of hardworking staff who are also facing significant pay cuts, but this could lead to an increase in pollution if less people use public transport to access the airport. When pushing its plans for expansion, Heathrow were crowing to politicians that it would ensure at least half of all journeys to the airport were made on public transport. This retrograde step is hardly going to achieve that and amounts, ultimately, to yet another broken promise from Heathrow.’
The Heathrow Travelcard website has already suspended the scheme