The rising travel fares in london

The world’s most expensive city will increase travel fares in 2010.

The cost of a single central London tube journey will rise from £1.60 to £1.80 on Oyster. The bus journey will rise from £1.00 to £1.20.

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, announced that he would make this decision later this year. The fare rise will impact the London Underground and the expanded bus network.

The fares have been rising during the past decade. Although the Oyster card cut the price down, the average cost of travel in London is higher than others in Europe.

According to research done by London's Liberal Democrats, ”London'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.”

The mayor defended the sharp rise is going to help plug a multimillion-pound hole in transport funding in the capital.

Johnson wrote for the Evening Standard "We are coping with the colossal costs of the failure of Metronet and the disastrous PPP, and we are dealing with the costs of years of irresponsible politically motivated jiggery-pokery in setting fares”.

Johnson also said, "Nobody wants to make an announcement like this, especially when Londoners are feeling the effects of the recession,"

Researching the recent years’ figures about the London transport fares. It is easy to find out last year Johnson had announced an inflation-busting 6% rise in tube and bus fares from 2009.

The comments from Londoners show their about the rising fares. They said, “Without the fare increase we would not get the much needed tube update that we are all crying for.”

Sharon Grant, chair of the commuter watchdog London TravelWatch, said the rises were unacceptable. "We are particularly appalled at the 20% rise in single bus fares, and the rise of a single Oyster trip in zone 1," she said. "While 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."