Huge bus and Tube fare rises plus £10 C-Charge

Published in Evening Standard on Thu 15th Oct 2009

Huge bus and Tube fare rises plus £10 C-charge

Boris Johnson today imposed huge rises in bus and Tube fares and a 25 per cent increase to the congestion charge.

The Mayor said there would be a cut in bus schedules and fewer off-peak Tube trains in outer London as he tackles a £3.2 billion black hole in his transport budget.

He admitted that Londoners had to swallow "tough medicine" as a result of the recession and the need to prioritise Tube line upgrades and safeguard cash for the £16 billion Crossrail scheme.

From January, Oyster pay-as-you-go fares on buses will rise 20p to £1.20 while a single Underground trip in zone one will also jump 20p to £1.80.

However, the vast majority of regular commuters will have their Oyster travelcard fares frozen, while free or cut-price travel for children, pensioners and jobseekers will be unaffected. Four in 10 bus passengers currently travel for free.

The rise in the congestion charge, from £8 to £10, will not be introduced until the western extension is scrapped - probably at the end of next year - and drivers signing up to a new automated payment scheme will only pay £9.

Mr Johnson said the "grim" rises were necessary to balance Transport for London's finances, which have been badly hit by falling passenger numbers as a result of the recession and the collapse of Tube maintenance firm Metronet.

He said: "Nobody wants to make a decision like this, especially when Londoners are feeling the effects of the recession. It is not a decision I have taken lightly.

"However, the mistakes of the past and the current economic climate have conspired to present us with a huge challenge."

The higher fares will raise an extra £125 million a year. The increase in the congestion charge will add a further £15 million - but TfL will lose £50 million when the western extension is scrapped. Cuts to services and changes to TfL priorities will save £1.36 billion over the next three years. TfL is searching for £5 billion of savings overall.

The upgrade of Victoria Underground station - which has to be closed at peak times because demand is so high - will not be completed until 2018. Twelve other station refits that were to have been done by Metronet, including Bank, Charing Cross and Paddington, will be shelved for three years.

Key changes include:

• A seven-day bus pass rises 20 per cent from £13.80 to £16.60.

• A zones one and two weekly travelcard is frozen at £25.80.

• Cash fares on buses stay at £2.

• A zone one Tube journey remains at £4 for passengers paying cash.

• Most Oyster pay-as-you-go Tube fares will rise 20p per trip.

• The daily cap on Oyster bus and Tube travel increases by 50p.

• Plans to install step-free access at six Tube stations have been scrapped.

Overall, bus fares will rise by 12.7 per cent and Tube fares by 3.9 per cent. CPI inflation is currently at 1.1 per cent. TfL expects the changes to result in a small fall in bus passenger numbers but says the Mayor's aim is to encourage more people to cycle or walk.

The changes prioritise funds for line upgrades on the Tube, with extra capacity being delivered shortly on the Jubilee and Victoria lines, and the £16 billion Crossrail scheme. A spokesman for Mr Johnson blamed policies followed by previous mayor Ken Livingstone: "These look like grim times but we have to have a reality check from the fantasy that perpetuated beforehand."

Transport commissioner Peter Hendy said the collapse of Metronet had caused a "financial disaster of epic proportions", while the scale of the national debt meant that TfL could no longer rely on massive Government subsidies to run the bus network - currently £602 million a year. "Now it seems hopelessly improbable that we are going to get any more subsidy," he said.

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat chair of the London Assembly transport committee, said: "This will be a slap in the face for the millions of Londoners who will be seeing no increase in their pay packets this year."

Labour's deputy leader on the London Assembly, John Biggs, said: "Londoners will rightly wonder why Boris can apparently find £5 billion of TfL savings but can't keep down their fares."

Baroness Valentine, chief executive of business organisation London First, said: "Almost half of bus passengers and up to a third of Tube passengers pay nothing at all. When we're searching down the back of the sofa for every last penny, should those in work but over 60 still be travelling in the rush hour for free?"

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23756905-huge-fare-rises-and-pound-10-c-charge.do