Guardian
Quote:
Most expensive in the world: London's fares rise again
· Bus and tube cash prices in capital soar by 33%
· Rail firms announce 4.3% average increases
Hugh Muir
Wednesday January 3, 2007
The Guardian
The cost of travelling on buses and tubes in London rose by 33% yesterday as the capital's public transport was declared the most expensive in the world.
London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, raised the cost of cash fares on the London Underground and the expanded bus network. The increases mean a single-stop tube journey in the central London zone 1 area now costs £4 in cash. A single zone trip on the buses is now £2 in cash.
The changes are aimed at raising finance for investment but also at forcing passengers to rely on the Oyster smartcard for their journeys. Those fares have been frozen.
The cash increases form part of a new pricing structure which will hit travellers across the country. As details of the London fare rises emerged, overland rail companies announced price increases of an average of 4.3%.
Unregulated fares, such as cheap day returns and long distance open tickets, will increase by an average of 4.7%. The largest average price rises, 7.3%, will be charged on the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express trains, which link London with its two main airports.
Passengers using the Virgin West Coast trains will see fares go up by an average of 6.6%, meaning a standard open return ticket from London to Glasgow will now cost £240. The smallest average increase, on Merseyrail trains, is still 3.2 %. Like the London mayor, the train companies said the increases were needed to pay for improvements.
Despite criticism, the government refused to intervene. "We don't want to see people driven away from the railways," the Department for Transport said. "We're taking action looking at the overcrowding issue but it's the commercial decision of operators on how to set their fares."
Defending London's rises, Mr Livingstone called the Oyster card Europe's "biggest and most successful smartcard ticketing system".
He said: "We said that in order to pay for massive investment in our public transport system, including new rail links and better services, there would be three years of 10% fares increases. The savings and efficiencies made by Transport for London mean that the planned 10% increase in fares for this year has been cut back.
"None the less, the huge investment that we are now making to make our transport system fit for the growth in passenger numbers is totally necessary and could not be ducked."
However, London's Liberal Democrats yesterday unveiled research suggesting that the city's cash single fare is over two and a half times that of Tokyo, the next most expensive city, and almost three times the price of the European average, £4.00 compared with £1.37.
Researchers say that even the much lauded and cheaper Oyster fare is 56% higher than the world average, £1.50 compared with £0.96. The average monthly fare is seven and a half times that in Lisbon.
Geoff Pope, the Lib Dems' transport spokesman in the capital, said: "Londoners are paying the price for overcrowded and unreliable journeys. Monthly fares for regular commuters are extortionate - well over twice New York, Paris or Rome. The mayor can get away with it because he knows he has passengers over a barrel. Cash fares are also scandalous - short journeys are cheaper by black cab."
The national fare rises also triggered calls for political intervention. Despite denials from the transport department, Chris Grayling, the Conservative transport spokesman, accused the government of using high ticket prices to suppress demand.
"These fare increases are being dictated by ministers, who now specify in minute detail what rail companies can or can't do," he said. "My own view is that they are deliberately putting train companies under pressure to push up fares because it's the only way they can think of to deal with the increasing problem of overcrowding on our trains."
Ministers are due to release a five-year strategy for the rail network later this year.
So they don't want you on the roads, and they don't want you on public transport?
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