For a London commuter, a motorcycle can have a lower fuel cost per mile than the petrol-car assumptions used in this index, but it is not automatically cheaper than the Tube. Zones, distance, commuting frequency, training and road charges can change the result. These figures were checked on 27 August 2026, and the arithmetic is shown rather than hidden.
What does a London commute actually cost in 2026?
There is no single London commuting cost. TfL charges by journey and zone, while motorcycle and car fuel costs depend on distance. Road charges depend on the route and vehicle. A fair comparison must keep those differences visible.
This index starts with the following verified inputs:
| Cost being compared | Verified figure used |
|---|---|
| Tube and rail | £44.70 to £81.60 as the Monday to Sunday cap, depending on zones |
| Bus and tram | £1.75 a journey, £5.25 daily cap or £24.70 Monday to Sunday cap |
| Motorcycle petrol | £0.0735 a mile at an assumed 100 mpg, £0.1050 at an assumed 70 mpg or £0.1470 at an assumed 50 mpg |
| Petrol car fuel | £0.1837 a mile at an assumed 40 mpg or £0.2099 at an assumed 35 mpg |
| Initial rider training | from £205 for CBT, or full licence packages starting at £1,090 |
Every mpg figure in this table is a stated assumption. There is no official UK figure for motorcycle fuel consumption, so the reader must be able to replace the assumption with one that reflects their own motorcycle and riding.
The basic calculation for a road vehicle is the return commuting miles multiplied by the commuting days multiplied by the fuel cost per mile. For example, the motorcycle fuel calculation using the 70 mpg assumption is the return commuting miles multiplied by the commuting days multiplied by £0.1050.
That result is not the complete cost. The index must then add any applicable vehicle tax and London road charges. A car entering the Congestion Charge zone can add £18 for each chargeable day. Two-wheeled motorbikes and mopeds are exempt from that charge, but a motorcycle that does not meet the Euro 3 NOx standard can incur the £12.50 daily ULEZ charge. Tunnel charges can also affect some routes. We link to our separate London road charges guide rather than repeat those rules here.
Training is treated as an upfront cost, not ignored. Later in this article, we compare the £205 CBT cost and the full licence package starting price of £1,090 with the TfL fares a rider would stop paying.
This is therefore a commuting-cost comparison, not a complete cost-of-ownership claim. It does not insert invented figures for insurance, motorcycle parking or fuel consumption.
What do you pay TfL to commute by Tube?
Tube and rail fares changed on 1 March 2026. The current caps and Travelcard prices are being held until March 2027.
The relevant TfL pay as you go caps are:
| Zones travelled | One-day anytime cap | Monday to Sunday cap |
|---|---|---|
| Zones 1 and 2 | £8.90 | £44.70 |
| Zones 1 to 3 | £10.50 | £52.50 |
| Zones 1 to 4 | £12.80 | £64.20 |
| Zones 1 to 5 | £15.30 | £76.40 |
| Zones 1 to 6 | £16.30 | £81.60 |
Source: Transport for London, figures checked on 27 August 2026.
These are caps, not fixed ticket prices. A commuter may pay less if their actual pay as you go journeys do not reach the relevant cap. The correct starting point is therefore the zones used by that commuter, not a generic London train fare.
The difference between the lowest and highest weekly Tube and rail caps is £36.90, because £81.60 minus £44.70 is £36.90.
Bus and tram travel uses a different structure:
- £1.75 for a journey
- unlimited bus and tram journeys made within one hour of touching in under the Hopper fare
- £5.25 daily cap
- £24.70 Monday to Sunday cap
The bus and tram weekly cap is £20 lower than the Zones 1 and 2 Tube and rail cap, because £44.70 minus £24.70 is £20.00. That is a cost difference, not proof that the journeys are interchangeable. Route, journey time and the number of changes still matter, but they are outside this cost index.
Annual totals should not quietly assume that every commuter travels for 52 weeks. For the annual comparison, this index assumes 46 commuting weeks a year, allowing for annual leave and bank holidays. That is a stated assumption, not a TfL rule. Replace 46 with the number of weeks that reflects your own working pattern.
- For Zones 1 and 2, £44.70 multiplied by 46 commuting weeks gives £2,056.20 a year.
- For Zones 1 to 3, £52.50 multiplied by 46 commuting weeks gives £2,415.00 a year.
- For Zones 1 to 4, £64.20 multiplied by 46 commuting weeks gives £2,953.20 a year.
- For Zones 1 to 5, £76.40 multiplied by 46 commuting weeks gives £3,514.40 a year.
- For Zones 1 to 6, £81.60 multiplied by 46 commuting weeks gives £3,753.60 a year.
- For bus and tram travel, £24.70 multiplied by 46 commuting weeks gives £1,136.20 a year.
What does a motorcycle cost to run per mile?
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recorded petrol at 161.63 pence a litre for the week commencing 24 August 2026. Multiplying that by 4.54609 litres gives 734.78 pence an imperial gallon before rounding, and we use this unrounded figure for every division; £7.35 is simply the rounded gallon price quoted in the article.
There is no official UK figure for motorcycle fuel consumption. Every mpg figure below is therefore a stated assumption that the reader can change.
At an assumed 100 mpg, dividing £7.35 by 100 gives a fuel cost of 7.35 pence a mile. At an assumed 70 mpg, dividing £7.35 by 70 gives 10.50 pence a mile. At an assumed 50 mpg, dividing £7.35 by 50 gives 14.70 pence a mile.
These figures are for fuel only. To calculate a personal commuting fuel cost, multiply the appropriate pence per mile figure by the actual return distance and the number of days travelled.
Vehicle tax must then be added separately. The annual motorcycle rates are £27 for a motorcycle not over 150cc, £59 for one between 151cc and 400cc, £90 for one between 401cc and 600cc, £125 for one over 600cc, and £27 for a zero emission motorcycle. None of these annual figures assumes a number of commuting weeks or days because vehicle tax is charged for the year, not by journey.
To express tax as a personal cost per mile, divide the correct annual tax rate by your own annual commuting mileage. We do not insert a standard mileage because London commutes vary too widely for one figure to be reliable.
Where does a car cost more than a motorcycle in London?
On the petrol assumptions supplied for this index, the car has a higher fuel cost per mile in every comparison.
With the petrol car assumed to return 40 mpg, its fuel cost is 18.37 pence a mile. That is 11.02 pence more than a motorcycle assumed at 100 mpg, 7.87 pence more than one assumed at 70 mpg, and 3.67 pence more than one assumed at 50 mpg.
With the petrol car assumed to return 35 mpg, its fuel cost is 20.99 pence a mile. That is 13.64 pence more than a motorcycle assumed at 100 mpg, 10.49 pence more than one assumed at 70 mpg, and 6.29 pence more than one assumed at 50 mpg.
These are comparisons between stated assumptions, not claims about the actual consumption of every car or motorcycle.
Vehicle tax also favours the motorcycle on the rates used here. The standard rate for a car registered on or after 1 April 2017 is £200 a year, which is above every motorcycle tax band listed in the previous section, and this annual comparison assumes no commuting weeks or days because vehicle tax is charged for the year.
London road charges can widen the difference. On each chargeable day that a car incurs the Congestion Charge, it adds £18, while two-wheeled motorbikes and mopeds are exempt.
That does not mean every motorcycle route is free of London charges. A motorcycle that does not meet the Euro 3 standard for NOx can incur the £12.50 daily ULEZ charge. Tunnel charges may also apply on some routes, and our separate London road charges guide explains them.
Diesel cost £8.31 an imperial gallon on the verified fuel price, but no diesel-car mpg assumption has been supplied. This index therefore makes no diesel cost-per-mile claim rather than inventing one.
Can training pay for itself against Tube fares?
A simple payback calculation can show how the training price compares with the TfL fares a rider would stop paying. This index assumes 46 commuting weeks a year, allowing for annual leave and bank holidays. It also assumes that the rider stops paying the relevant weekly cap in full. Readers should change those assumptions if their working pattern is different or they expect to keep using public transport.
For CBT at £205, the gross payback periods are:
- At the Zones 1 and 2 cap, £205 divided by £44.70 gives 4.6 weeks.
- At the Zones 1 to 3 cap, £205 divided by £52.50 gives 3.9 weeks.
- At the Zones 1 to 4 cap, £205 divided by £64.20 gives 3.2 weeks.
- At the Zones 1 to 5 cap, £205 divided by £76.40 gives 2.7 weeks.
- At the Zones 1 to 6 cap, £205 divided by £81.60 gives 2.5 weeks.
For a full licence package starting at £1,090, £1,090 divided by the £44.70 Zones 1 and 2 cap gives a gross payback period of 24.4 weeks. At the other end of the comparison, £1,090 divided by the £81.60 Zones 1 to 6 cap gives 13.4 weeks.
These are gross figures. They set the training cost against fares given up and nothing else.
The rider still has to buy, tax, insure, fuel, park and maintain a machine. If they continue to use the Tube, rail, bus or tram on some days, those fares also remain part of their commuting cost. The real payback period is therefore longer and personal to the rider.
This index does not promise that training will produce a saving. It shows how long the training price alone would take to match the relevant TfL cap before any motorcycle ownership or running costs are included.
What this index cannot tell you
There are several costs that cannot be turned into one honest London-wide figure.
There is no official UK figure for motorcycle fuel consumption. The 100 mpg, 70 mpg and 50 mpg figures in this index are stated assumptions, not facts. A reader should replace them with an assumption that reflects their own motorcycle and riding.
Insurance varies so much between individual riders that we quote no figure at all. Age, address, riding history, licence status, occupation, motorcycle and cover requirements can all affect the price.
Motorcycle parking charges are set by each London borough, so there is no single number that can represent parking across the capital.
Purchase price, depreciation, servicing, tyres and the MOT are outside this index. They are real ownership costs, but they depend on the motorcycle, its age, its condition, its mileage and how long the rider keeps it.
Journey time is not a cost in this index. A faster or slower journey may matter greatly to the commuter, but converting time into money would require another personal assumption.
The figures also cannot predict how often a rider will commute, whether they will ride throughout winter, whether their route will involve ULEZ or tunnel charges, or how often they will still use public transport.
The honest answer is for the reader to put their own distance, commuting pattern, motorcycle costs and mpg assumption through the same arithmetic.
Once you have worked through the figures, the practical next step is to choose the training route and centre that suit your experience and location, then check the available course dates. We teach at seven training centres across London and Hertfordshire, and courses run seven days a week at most of them.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to commute by motorbike than by Tube in London?
It can be, but this index does not promise a saving. The Tube caps used here range from £44.70 to £81.60 a week, while motorcycle cost depends on distance, the rider’s stated mpg assumption, tax, insurance, parking, maintenance, purchase cost and any applicable road charges. The comparison is personal and should use the fares the rider would actually stop paying.
How much is a week of Tube travel in London in 2026?
TfL’s Monday to Sunday pay as you go cap is £44.70 for Zones 1 and 2, £52.50 for Zones 1 to 3, £64.20 for Zones 1 to 4, £76.40 for Zones 1 to 5 and £81.60 for Zones 1 to 6. On the stated assumption of 46 commuting weeks a year, the annual figures run from £2,056.20 for Zones 1 and 2 to £3,753.60 for Zones 1 to 6, and the reader can change 46 to match their own working pattern.
What does a motorcycle cost per mile in fuel in 2026?
Using petrol at £7.35 an imperial gallon, the fuel figures are 7.35 pence a mile at an assumed 100 mpg, 10.50 pence a mile at an assumed 70 mpg and 14.70 pence a mile at an assumed 50 mpg. There is no official UK figure for motorcycle fuel consumption, so each mpg figure is a stated assumption that the reader should replace with one suited to their motorcycle and riding.
How long does a CBT take to pay for itself against Tube fares?
Against Tube fares alone, the £205 CBT training cost equals 4.6 weeks of the Zones 1 and 2 cap, 3.9 weeks of the Zones 1 to 3 cap, 3.2 weeks of the Zones 1 to 4 cap, 2.7 weeks of the Zones 1 to 5 cap and 2.5 weeks of the Zones 1 to 6 cap. These are gross figures which assume the rider stops paying the relevant weekly cap, and they exclude the cost of buying, taxing, insuring, fuelling, parking and maintaining a motorcycle. The real payback, if any, will be longer and personal to the rider, so this comparison promises no saving.
Related reading: Motorcycle Licence Cost in the UK and Full motorbike licence: what it really costs and how long it takes.