London transport fares set for sharp increase

Bad new for all you London commuters as the mayor, Boris Johnson, announced steep rises in bus and tube fares and the congestion charge to reduce multimillion-pound deficit in transport funding in the capital.

Bus fares would rise by an average of 12.7% from January 2010 while tube fares would rise by an average of 3.9%.The daily congestion charge for vehicles entering central London would rise by £2 to £10, however drivers who use the automatic payment system would be charged £9.

Oyster pay-as-you-go fares on buses would rise by 20p to £1.20 while a single underground trip in zone one would jump by 20p to £1.80. The cost of a seven-day bus pass would rise from £13.80 to £16.60.

Johnson said "Nobody wants to make an announcement like this, especially when Londoners are feeling the effects of the recession...The mistakes of the past and the current economic climate have conspired to present us with a huge challenge."

the freeze on the price of a weekly Travelcard is welcome, it appears that infrequent, irregular users, such as part-time workers, will be disproportionately punished. It is these people who may well decide not to use public transport, not travel at all, or use their car instead."

Bob Crow, the general secretary of the RMT said"A large chunk of the multi billion financial black hole facing TfL is a direct result of the failure of tube privatisation...Passengers and staff are being asked to pay a heavy price for the failures of politicians and it is no surprise that they are angry at these heavyweight fare increases."