Boris’s fare increases hit the poorest the hardest

• IT hasn’t been a very happy new year for local people who rely on the bus and Tube to get about, as Tory Mayor Boris Johnson’s massive fare increases came into effect across London this week.
The 20 per cent hikes are the biggest fare increases in Transport for London’s history, according to the Financial Times. Overall, Tube fares have gone up by 3.9 per cent and bus fares by a staggering 12.7 per cent.
In fact, the basic bus fare has soared by one-third since Boris Johnson became mayor less than two years ago, despite his promise to put commuters first.
Of course, being a Tory policy, it comes as no surprise that the least well-off are hit the hardest by this fare hike. A working couple who both rely on buses to get to work will have to stump up an extra £263 each year now thanks to the mayor.
He’s broken his promise on fares and his commitment to help Londoners through the recession, and that is why this week local Labour campaigners have been leafleting outside Camden’s Tube stations. We understand how ordinary people rely on London’s public transport to get around and what a impact this fare hike it will have on tight household budgets.
This fare hike tells us so much more clearly than any billboard poster why electing the Tories would be disastrous for Camden’s residents.
MIKE KATZ
Chair, Hampstead & Kilburn Labour Party

High costs

• THE massive public transport fare increases are the clearest sign yet that Boris Johnson is not the right person to lead the capital.
Before he was elected, mayor Boris criticised fares in London as being too high but has now put them up twice. Bus passengers face the biggest hit with the cost of a single journey going up a huge 20 per cent. Tube fares are up  4 per cent, with some single journeys outside zone 1 up by 18 per cent. This is a big hit on tight budgets, especially for those on lower incomes and on anyone who relies on the buses.
It was Boris Johnson’s decision to halve the size of the congestion charge zone, which will cost Transport for London £70million in lost revenue. It was his decision not to charge the most polluting, gas-guzzling vehicles more for driving into central London, costing £50million of potential revenue. And it is his decision to replace perfectly practical bendy buses, which will cost £28million extra a year.
Boris Johnson has campaigned against financial services regulation and a higher rate of tax for those earning over £150,000. His time and effort time would be better spent standing up for hard-working Londoners by keeping fares down.
VALERIE SHAWCROSS
Labour transport spokesperson
London Assembly