As some fares soar by 20% Ken Livingstone proposes fares cut
Monday, 04 January 2010 10:43
This year’s above inflation fare increase will be felt by millions of Londoners returning to work after the Christmas break. Ken Livingstone has heavily criticised the fare increases and has said that fares should be held down by restoring revenue cut by Boris Johnson in order to protect London’s fare-payers.
Ken Livingstone said:
“Today the Mayor has hit many Londoners returning to work on public transport with a new year nightmare, a huge fare hike that includes a twenty per cent rise in the price of a single bus fare, combined with plans to cut to transport services. He is singling out bus users in particular, and hitting people in outer London with many big single tube fare increases outside zone one and whacking up tram fares.
“The burden of the fares is hitting those reliant on the bus the hardest, with a 20% increase on a single bus journey and the weekly bus pass, which will not only hit many of the poorest hardest but also hit hard those in those parts of outer London where bus services are often the main form of public transport.
“The fare increase is unnecessary. We are seeing the worst global economic situation since the second world war yet Boris Johnson chooses now to introduce the biggest fare increase in real terms since the mayoralty was established. The mayor should be holding fares down not hammering fare payers.
“This high fares mess must be undone through policies to make fares fairer. A future fares cut should be financed by through the restoration of the western extension of the congestion charge, both reducing traffic levels and generating at current figures £70million a year, alongside the introduction of a higher £25 charge for the most polluting gas guzzlers - which if it had not been axed by Boris Johnson would already be generating around £50million a year. These two measures would make it possible to hold down fares, not squeeze Londoners hard as Boris Johnson is doing.
“Boris Johnson has said that he is going to raise fares each year he is in office. The next mayor must reverse Boris Johnson’s policy of protecting polluters at the expense of fare payers and instead should cut fares.”
Notes to editors
* The Mayor has announced the highest fare rises in Transport for London’s history in real terms.
· A single bus journey on oyster pay as you go has risen by 20% from £1 to £1.20
· A seven-day bus pass has risen 20 per cent from £13.80 to £16.60.
· The daily cap on Oyster bus and Tube travel increases by 50p.
· On average, bus fares have risen by 12.7% and tube fares by 3.9%
· Six-zone peak single Tube fare by Oyster UP 10.5% to £4.20
· A five-zone off-peak single Tube fare (outside zone 1) UP 18.2% to £1.30
· Most Oyster pay-as-you-go Tube fares UP by 20p per trip.
· The CPI rate of inflation is currently at 1.1%
* The Mayor's New Year fares hike came into force on Saturday, 2nd January but most Londoners affected will pay the higher fares on the first full working day after the New Year break today (Monday 4th January).
* 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
