Xiaohongshu
Eda, your Equity and Inclusion Officer, shares her progress on representing student voices
Yesterday, I cochaired a Roundtable Transport Cost in London alongside Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, and Elly Baker, London wide Member, London Assembly at City Hall.
I was joined by student leaders from Imperial, Queen Mary, Roehampton and the London Youth Assembly to address the rising cost of traveling around London.
UCL students rely on public transport every single day. Many have no choice but to travel at peak times to attend lectures, placements, or parttime work. Yet they are expected to pay the same peak fares as fulltime professionals, despite having far less flexibility and often far less income.
Advocating for fairer costs
I pressed for a student peak fare concession, explaining that it’s unreasonable that young people, balancing rent, study costs, and caring responsibilities face a system that doesn’t recognise their constraints.
We also highlighted how complicated and confusing the current system of concessions has become, especially for those new to London. Zip cards, railcards, 18+ Oyster cards, different renewal points. We called for a unified, digital-first student concession would make life easier for thousands of UCL students and reduce the admin burden for everyone.
Making transport safer and more accessible
Affordability is only part of the picture. We also discussed safety and accessibility across trains, buses and the underground. We know that students are often traveling early in the morning and late at night and it may not always feel safe. We’ve asked for more to be done to improve safety across the board.
If you’re ever feeling unsafe on trains or the underground speak to a member of staff or text British Transport Police on 61016
Always dial 999 when you need an urgent police response.
What comes next
Seb Dance agreed to regular follow-up meetings which is a big step toward embedding student perspectives into the city’s transport planning. We’ll also be working with TfL staff to push forward concrete actions on costs, accessibility and sustainability.
As your Equity & Inclusion Officer, I’ll keep taking UCL students’ voices straight to the people who can make change happen.