The London Transport Executive was the

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...

within the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, responsible for public transport in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

from 1970 to 1984. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.

Background and formation

The Greater London Council came into its powers in 1965, but did not have authority over public transport. Responsibility for such provision had been removed from the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

and neighbouring authorities in 1933 and passed to the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Londo ...

. The Transport (London) Act 1969 gave the GLC powers over the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

and

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

, but not over

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

services in Greater London.

Fares policy

The GLC aimed to increase usage of public transport, especially in

Outer London Outer London is the group of London boroughs that form a ring around Inner London. Together, the inner and outer boroughs form London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. The population at the 2021 Census was 5,395,500, which means over 60% o ...

, where car use was high. Fare setting policy was used to increase patronage on the London Underground and London Buses, particularly during less busy times. Shortages of staff meant it was also necessary to speed up the rate of boarding on buses that ran without conductors, by introducing pre-purchased and inter-modal tickets. On 4 October 1981, following the Greater London Council election, the incoming Labour administration simplified fares in Greater London by introducing four new bus fare zones and two central London Underground zones, named ''City'' and ''West End'', where flat fares applied for the first time. This was accompanied by a cut in prices of about a third and was marketed as the ''

Fares Fair Fares Fair was a public policy advocated by the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party administration of the Greater London Council (GLC), then led by Ken Livingstone. The policy of low public transport fares was implemented in 1981, but was later rul ...

'' campaign. Following successful legal action against it, on 21 March 1982 London Buses fares were doubled and London Underground fares increased by 91%. The two central area zones were retained and the fares to all other stations were restructured to be graduated at three mile intervals; and thus grouping those stations within three miles of the central zones in an 'inner zone'. In 1983, after further legal action, a third revision of fares was undertaken, and a new inter-modal

Travelcard The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelc ...

season ticket was launched covering five new numbered zones; representing an overall cut in prices of around 25%. The off-peak ''One Day Travelcard'' was launched in 1984 and on weekdays was sold for travel after 09.30.

Chairmen

* Sir Richard Way, 1970–1975 * Sir Kenneth Robinson, 1975–1978 * Ralph Bennett, 1978–1980 * Sir Peter Masefield, 1980–1982 * Sir Keith Bright, 1982–1984

Abolition and legacy

The GLC was abolished in 1986, however transport powers had been removed two years earlier and transferred to

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operation ...

. Responsibility for public transport returned to local government in London in 2000, with the creation of the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

and the

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

executive agency. The inter-modal zonal fare system devised during this period continues to be used throughout Greater London and is broadly unchanged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:London Transport Executive (Glc) Defunct transport authorities in London 1970 establishments in England 1984 disestablishments in England Organizations established in 1970 Organizations disestablished in 1984 1970s in London 1980s in London