14 July 2025
As part of our 25 year celebrations, we asked a range of people including our newsletter readers and past London TravelWatch CEOs and Chairs what they thought about London’s public transport over the past 25 years, as well as a look ahead to the next 25 years.
We asked our newsletter readers what they thought the best thing about London transport over the past 25 years is, and the most popular response was the Elizabeth Line, followed by London Overground lines, cycle routes and contactless payments.
When asked what they might like to see change in an ideal world in the next 25 years, many of our readers talked about better accessibility – which we at London TravelWatch are big champions of – and fewer cars, as well as the introduction of free travel! You can find out what our Chief Executive Michael Roberts thought of this idea in our new podcast which you can listen to here.
Easier to choose public transport
Our former CEOs and Chairs were also questioned, and interestingly the majority of them opted for contactless and Oyster as the single most significant change to London’s transport network over the past 25 years. Our former CEO Anthony Smith said: “Contactless payments have made it easier to choose public transport, easier to pay and easier for people to keep track of expenditure. It’s a very impressive, massive system and when things go wrong it can be sorted out quickly.” Single fares on buses and the one-hour ticket got a shout out from former Deputy/Interim Chair David Leibling.
We also asked our former CEOs and Chairs what they thought was London TravelWatch’s biggest achievement over the past 25 years. Former Chair Arthur Leathley, and previous CEO Emma Gibson, both opted for the campaign to stop TfL making underground stations cashless, while Anthony Smith mentioned the pressure we continue to put on with regards to bus journey times.
We also had an interesting response from our former Interim Chief Executive Joanna Davidson: “It might seem a small thing in some ways, but the campaign to make all the loos free to use at each of the mainline stations in London has been a massive benefit to huge numbers of people.“
But maybe most importantly is the recognition for our casework team. As our former Head of Research John Cartledge stated: “The investigations we have carried out on behalf of thousands of transport users who have brought their concerns and problems to us, coupled with the unquantifiable (but much greater number) of those who have not had to do so because our interventions with the operators have resulted in small but lasting changes for the better.”
Looking ahead
And what will be the main challenges over the next 25 years? Charles King, former Deputy Chair, said dealing with climate change will be a difficult challenge, while Tim Bellenger, former Director of Policy and Investigation said there needs to be further expansion to step-free access across the network, as well as extensions to the main lines including the Bakerloo.
And what would you like to see change in an ideal world? Former board member John Stewart opted for “much lower fares” and Rufus Barnes, our first CEO, said “a new fares policy to encourage greater use of public transport is long overdue”. Former CEO Janet Cooke opted for better transport in outer London: “I hope that the next quarter century will see more higher speed public transport options in outer London, particularly joining destinations around the perimeter.”
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our surveys and questionnaires. Head to our social channels for more 25 year celebrations and to tell us what you think!
