Brent Cross shopping centre is the most popular place in London to use the brand new ‘Hopper’ ticket, according to figures from the mayor’s office.
The fare, launched last month, lets passengers take a £1.50 bus or tram journey and then change onto another bus or tram for free within one hour of the start of their journey.
New statistics show the most popular bus stop to ‘hop’ at is Brent Cross shopping centre, where more than 20,000 ‘hops’ have taken place.
One of the UK’s first large-scale shopping malls, a new development plan would see the centre double in size with new roads reshaping traffic and bus routes around Brent Cross and Cricklewood.
The figures come as Transport for London for a second time delayed the installation of an Oyster card top-up machine in the shopping centre, a move criticised by Barnet’s London assembly member Andrew Dismore.
He said: “Another delay is totally unacceptable. It was months of arguing before TfL agreed to do the work but first June and now November’s deadline has been missed.
“Brent Cross centre is not near to the tube station, and it is a real deterrent to shoppers coming to Brent Cross they cannot top up their Oyster cards at the bus station.
“It is inconceivable, and has gone on too long that such a major bus terminus is without a top-up machine.”
Mr Dismore had expressed hopes the machine would be installed in time for the busy Christmas shopping season.
More than 10 million total journeys have been made using the ‘Hopper’ fare since its inception on September 12.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I’m delighted that the ‘Hopper’ fare is making such a big difference to the lives of Londoners.
“We must ensure that everyone can afford to travel around our city, particularly people who rely on public transport to get to work or to study.
“10 million journeys so far exceeds all my expectations, and the amount of people using the ‘Hopper’ shows how vital our buses are to the lives of Londoners all across our city.
“Alongside our commitment to freeze all TfL fares, our ‘Hopper’ fare is a crucial part of our plans to make it more affordable to live and work in London.”
Among the most popular bus routes to ‘hop’ on to is the 183 which starts at Golders Green station then ends at Pinner station.
The 10 millionth ‘Hopper’ journey was made at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon on bus route 332 - which runs from the Tesco in Brent Park to behind Paddington Station.
A four-year fares freeze on all Transport for London services which comes into force in January 2017 is hoped to save the average household around £200 over the period.
From 2018, passengers who travel on a Tube or train between their two or more bus or tram journeys will also be eligible for the bus ‘Hopper’ fare.
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