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The new one-hour “Hopper” ticket making travel by bus cheaper and more convenient for millions of Londoners will start on Monday.

The £1.50 fare will allow passengers to change onto another bus or tram for free within 60 minutes of touching in at the start of their journey.

It will be automatically given to anyone who uses Pay As You Go with Oyster or contactless payment cards.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the fare will make it cheaper and more convenient for Londoners to travel around the capital, with those on lower incomes benefiting most.

Sadiq Khan said: "Fares in London have risen for eight years in a row – and for people who have to change buses to get to work, the system simply isn’t fair.

Sadiq Khan's first official day as London Mayor 13 show all Sadiq Khan's first official day as London Mayor 1/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan makes his way to City Hall from London Bridge Station in London Jeremy Selwyn 2/13 London Mayor Sadiq Khan boards a bus stop after leaving his home in Tooting Jack Taylor/Getty Images 3/13 London's newly elected mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to supporters as he arrives for his first day at work at City Hall Hannah McKay/EPA 4/13 Sadiq Khan is embraced by a supporter as he arrives at City Hall Hannah McKay/EPA 5/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan waves as he arrives at City Hall Jonathan Brady/PA 6/13 Sadiq Khan won support with his 'common touch' Jeremy Selwyn 7/13 Sadiq Khan is mobbed by supporters at City Hall Jeremy Selwyn 8/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan arrives at City Hall Jeremy Selwyn 9/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan arrives at City Hall in London Jeremy Selwyn 10/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at City Hall Jeremy Selwyn 11/13 On the Tube: Sadiq Khan Stefan Rousseau/PA 12/13 Sadiq Khan on a sunny morning at City Hall Stefan Rousseau/PA 13/13 Breakfast time: Sadiq Khan is offered croissants Hannah McKay/Reuters 1/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan makes his way to City Hall from London Bridge Station in London Jeremy Selwyn 2/13 London Mayor Sadiq Khan boards a bus stop after leaving his home in Tooting Jack Taylor/Getty Images 3/13 London's newly elected mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to supporters as he arrives for his first day at work at City Hall Hannah McKay/EPA 4/13 Sadiq Khan is embraced by a supporter as he arrives at City Hall Hannah McKay/EPA 5/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan waves as he arrives at City Hall Jonathan Brady/PA 6/13 Sadiq Khan won support with his 'common touch' Jeremy Selwyn 7/13 Sadiq Khan is mobbed by supporters at City Hall Jeremy Selwyn 8/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan arrives at City Hall Jeremy Selwyn 9/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan arrives at City Hall in London Jeremy Selwyn 10/13 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at City Hall Jeremy Selwyn 11/13 On the Tube: Sadiq Khan Stefan Rousseau/PA 12/13 Sadiq Khan on a sunny morning at City Hall Stefan Rousseau/PA 13/13 Breakfast time: Sadiq Khan is offered croissants Hannah McKay/Reuters

"The new ‘Hopper’ ticket means 30 million bus journeys every year will now become free – journeys that currently cost people £1.50.

"Alongside our commitment to freeze all TfL fares, the start of the Hopper next Monday is a key part of our plans to make it more affordable to live and work in London."

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 Hopper fare.

The introduction of the Hopper fare has been widely praised on social media, with Londoners excited to see the mayor follow through so quickly on one of his key manifesto pledges.

Twitter user Shamshia said "it will help many Londoners" while another, Sasjikia Otto, described Mr Khan as "a man for his word".

The mayor had previously faced criticism after he was accused of breaking a major election promise to freeze transport fares.

The Mayor admitted the freeze would not cover daily or weekly travelcards or contactless caps — used by half a million Londoners — claiming they were not under his control.

However, Transport for London confirmed it was for the Mayor to set all fares and then to negotiate with the Department for Transport about which of them covered the cost.

Mr Khan had promised in his election manifesto that Londoners “won’t pay a penny more for their travel in 2020 than they do today”. But he admitted in June only single tickets and pay as you go would be frozen, meaning up to 11 million passengers would still benefit.