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Published: 7 January, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

BUSY commuter hub Finsbury Park station was the setting on Tuesday for a protest against big public transport fare increases.

Labour council leader councillor Catherine West and MP Jeremy Corbyn joined campaigners, including London Assembly member for transport Val Shawcross, giving out leaflets against the increases outside the station.

Tube and bus fares have risen by at least 6.8 per cent, making life even more difficult for commuters struggling with increased VAT.

At the same time, the Islington-based national pressure group Campaign for Better Transport warned that commuters in some parts of the country are being asked to pay £5,192, or 20 per cent of the average UK salary, for their annual season ticket.

On buses, single cash tickets in the borough have risen from £2 to £2.20; on Oyster this will rise from £1.20 to £1.30. The daily Oyster cap will increase by 10p to £4.

On the tube, a Zone 1-4 weekly travelcard has risen from £34.60 to £39.40. And a Zone 1-2 monthly travelcard broke through the £100 barrier for the first time.

A single tube journey from Zone 1 to 2 on an Oyster card has risen by an average of 10p.

But the cap – which is the maximum that passengers could be charged in a day – has gone up by 80p for peak times from £7.20, while the off-peak price has risen by £1 to £6.60. Some travelcards – like the Zone 2 to 6 card – have disappeared, meaning people who paid £5.10 for a card now have to buy a zone 1 to 6 card for £8.

Ms Shawcross said that at a time of great financial uncertainty and pressure on family bud­gets, the fare rises are completely unnecessary and add an additional burden to millions of Londoners.

She added: “Last year Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson and Conservative Chancellor George Osborne made a cut of 21 per cent, or £2.1billion, to the London transport budget. That’s a £300 cut in transport investment for every Londoner.

“The consequences of Conservative transport cuts are clear; ordinary Londoners hit in the pocket by record fare ­rises in order to pay for Boris Johnson and George Osborne’s desire to cut public services. The huge hikes in tube, bus and rail fares show just how out of touch Johnson and Osborne are with the concerns of ordinary Londoners.”

The Campaign for ­Better Transport, based in Wharf Road, Angel, called for cheaper, simpler and fairer train ­tickets. Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the group, said: “Commuters feel like they are being pickpocketed by the government – [they are] expected to pay more year on year for the same poor quality service.

“Politicians need to start living in the real world and understand that people simply cannot afford to pay a fifth of their income just to do a day’s work. The government pledged to ­create fair fares and we all expect them to keep that promise.”

Mayor Johnson said he has kept the fares at the “absolute minimum” while still protecting the vital improvements that London’s transport network needs.

“I promised to protect free and concessionary travel for those needing it most and this package does exactly that.”