Articles
Londoners going back to work face fare rise
Monday, 05 January 2009 09:17
Today's first full working day after the Christmas break will bring an above-inflation fare increase for millions of Londoners using public transport - and the extra costs being borne by Londoners today have been criticised by former Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Overall the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has increased fares by six per cent, way above rate of inflation. Some will rise even further. The price of a single bus journey by Oyster will rise by eleven per cent from 90p to £1. That will hit people in the outer London boroughs, where buses are the main public transport, especially hard.
Ken Livingstone said: "The above-inflation fare hitting Londoners going back to work after the Christmas break today provides them with a New Year hangover courtesy of the Mayor. It the year off to the worst possible start when what are needed are steps to protect living standards and boost the economy as we face a major economic crisis. A six per cent fare rise for London as a whole, with an eleven per cent bus fare increase, is totally unnecessary.
"The Mayor is throwing money away by abandoning higher charges on the most polluting cars and removing Kensington and Chelsea, the richest borough in Britain, from the congestion charge zone. And he is making millions of ordinary Londoners who use public transport pay for these policies with unnecessary fare increases. At the same time he has cancelled planned improvements in the transport system. It is the worst of all possible worlds."The Mayor should be trying to ease the burden on Londoners during a time of recession whilst maintaining investment in transport, but he is doing the opposite - putting up fares but simultaneously cutting improvements which would benefit the outer London boroughs he claimed he would help."
ENDS
Notes to editors
* The Mayor has announced a six per cent fare increase overall, with other fares rising considerably more. A single bus journey on Oyster will rise by eleven per cent from 90p to £1.
* The Mayor's New Year fares hike came into force on Friday (2nd January) but most Londoners affected will pay the higher fares on the first full working day after the New Year break today (Monday 5th January).
* Last year Boris Johnson announced that work on future transport links such as extensions to the DLR and the Croydon Tramlink were being shelved.
* The cost to London of cancelling the £25 charge on gas guzzlers has cost London up to £50million a year
* TfL's own figures show that the removal of the Western Extension of the congestion charge will cost £50-70 million a year in lost revenue
