The centre of London has officially spread a little further east, with the capital’s transport authorities rezoning stations near the 2012 Olympics venues to the boundary of zone 2.

The move will cut fares for about 100,000 people travelling each week, and put Stratford’s rail, tube and DLR stations, West Ham and Canning Town and others in the two central zones on the traditional visitor’s map and travelcard.

The eight rezoned stations will still count as zone 3 for journeys from outer London, meaning the move should not make any existing journeys more expensive.

Stratford is at the heart of the regeneration eastwards in the capital, particularly around the Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park, where Transport for London’s new headquarters are currently being constructed.
  
The other stations that have been rezoned are Star Lane and Abbey Road.

The change comes as fares in London increased by 1%, raising an extra £43m in revenue for TfL. Bus fares and most single tube pay-as-you-go journey fares have remained constant, bar a 10p rise to the central off-peak tube fare to £2.40. There have been slight increases in the price of travelcards and the daily Oyster cap on total fares.

Children under 11 can now travel for free on national rail services in London, with a photocard, bringing all train services in the capital in line with the policy on bus, tube and other rail services.

As part of the changes, Oyster pay-as-you-go fares will be extended to Gatwick airport from 11 January.

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, said he was delighted to be “freezing” fares at the rate of RPI inflation. But the Labour mayoral candidate, Sadiq Khan, attacked the rise and promised to keep all TfL fares at 2016 prices during his term if elected. 

Source: theguardian.com