TRAIN USERS AND BUSINESSES WILL FEEL THE PINCH OF LIVINGSTONE FARE PRICE HIKE

10.11.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 4th Oct 2005

Commenting on the fares announcement today by Mayor Livingstone Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport spokesperson, Geoff Pope, today called for urgent talks between the Train Operating Companies and the Mayor to get Oyster Card accepted on all public transport routes in the capital.

Mr Livingstone's fare restructuring and price hikes appear to clobber both tourists and those who cannot use Oyster Card because train companies running services to and from the capital still refuse to accept the ticket.

Geoff Pope said:-

"While the Mayor keeps trying to encourage Londoners to use the Oyster Card, there are huge swathes of the capital's travelling public that are unable to use the scheme because the train companies and the Mayor are at loggerheads over getting the technology installed.

It is vital that the Mayor and the train companies urgently sit down and thrash out how the scheme can be used in the capital otherwise there will be many Londoners who will be left out of pocket.

"With businesses in London already suffering from a downturn in trade, the clobbering of tourists in central London will come as a particularly hard kick in the teeth. There is a danger that with all that has happened in the capital in the last few months that this will end up being the final straw as people go elsewhere to shop and be tourists."

ENDS

Notes to editor

Oyster Card is not accepted on the vast majority of London overland commuter rail services.

A single cash fare on the buses willl increase 25% from £1.20 to £1.50.

A single Zone 1 Tube fare will increase 50% from £2.00 to £3.00