Londonwide Labour London Assembly member, Murad Qureshi, has slammed Boris Johnson's decision to raise transport fares by up to 44 per cent. Murad said hitting ordinary Londoners in their pockets shows the Mayor is 'out of touch'.
Londoners going back to work this week face average fare rises of almost 7 per cent.
A single bus journey cost just 90p when Boris Johnson was elected. In just over two years the price has rocketed to £1.30 - a 44 per cent rise. A monthly zone 1-5 travelcard is up £258 a year and this week a zone 1-2 travel card broke the £100 barrier for the first time - up 14 per cent.
The rises this week come after the Mayor was criticised in 2009 for imposing the biggest fare rises in Transport for London's (TfL) history.
Murad Qureshi said: "Yet again the Mayor is showing how out of touch he is and where his priorities lie - sticking up for bankers while imposing huge fare increases on ordinary Londoners and halving the congestion charge zone so fare payers have to pay more."
"High quality, affordable public transport is essential if people across the city are to contribute to our economy. On top of the government's record VAT hike, this yet another price rise that already struggling ordinary Londoners just can't afford."
On Christmas eve the western section of the congestion charge was removed - halving the zone's size. This will cost TfL between £50m - £70m a year - the same amount as is being raised by the hike in bus fares.
Fares headlines
A single bus journey up 44 per cent between 2008-11
Zone 1-4 travelcard up £249 a year - now £39.80 a week - between 2008-11
Zone 1-6 annual travelcard now costs over £2,016 - up 13 per cent since 2008
A single TfL rail journey in zones 1-4 up 36 per cent since 2008, now £3.40
A peak single journey in zone outside zone 1 up 27.3 per cent since 2008
A monthly zone 1-2 travelcard now over £100 for the first time rising from £93 to £106 (14 per cent) since 2008
A day off-peak zone 1-2 travelcard up to £6.60 (24.5 per cent) between 2008-11
Off-peak single journey across three zones outside zone one up by 40 per cent since 2008 - now £1.40
An annual travelcard has breached £1,000 up from £968 to £1,104 (14 per cent) since 2008
Ends
Notes
The amount raised from increasing bus fares in 2011 is almost identical to the amount that would be raised if the western extension was retained http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=33998 (cash raised through bus fares) http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=23419 (cash lost through scrapping western congestion charge zone)
A full breakdown of all fares can be found here http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/17538.aspx
For further information please contact Alison Marcroft on 020 7983 4363