Passengers will no longer be required to wear masks on London’s buses, trains and trams, mayor Sadiq Khan has said.
It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the end of all legal Covid restrictions from Thursday.
Mr Khan said he also “expected” to lift the requirement to wear a face covering as a “condition of carriage”.
But he urged passengers to “be considerate of their fellow Londoners” and to continue choosing to wear masks on public transport, unless exempt.
Although the legal requirement for mask-wearing on public transport, in shops and schools was lifted across England last month, the mayor chose to keep mask-wearing as a requirement on Transport for London’s (TfL) network.
“However, we know that face coverings remain a simple, effective measure that give Londoners confidence to travel, and following clear advice from public health advisers, TfL will likely continue to recommend their use on the network.”
After examining the latest data, Mr Johnson has told the Commons all restrictions will end on Thursday with free mass-testing ending on 1 April.
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But Mr Khan urged Londoners to continue to mask-up.
“Following the government dropping all legal Covid restrictions, and in light of falling infection levels in London, it is expected that wearing a face covering will no longer be a condition of carriage on the TfL network,” Mr Khan said.
“However, we know that face coverings remain a simple, effective measure that give Londoners confidence to travel, and following clear advice from public health advisers, TfL will likely continue to recommend their use on the network.”
Some 30% of Londoners aged 12 and over have not received any vaccination, while 45% have had booster jabs, according to latest government figures.