Bus and Tube fares soar

Bus and Tube fares will soar in the New Year, it was announced today.

The price of taking a bus in the morning rush hour will increase by 20 per cent to £1.20 a journey in January. Tube passengers will also be hit by above-inflation rises.

The controversial move follows Ken Livingstone's promise not to increase fares over the rate of inflation for the next four years. It also comes on top of hefty rises last January.

The Mayor said the increases were necessary to fund improvements to London's transport network.

In an effort to encourage off-peak travel he has frozen Zone 1 Tube ticket prices and will offer new discounts for Underground journeys after 7pm and buses after 9.30am.

Overall, bus fares will increase by the rate of inflation plus 10 per cent, while Tube tickets will rise by the rate of inflation plus one per cent.

The new package is expected to raise about ?150 million to help fill a huge deficit in the Mayor's transport budget. It will fund a series of improvements to the network, including the extension of the East London line to boost London's 2012 Olympics bid.

Key changes in bus and Tube ticket prices include: bus fares up 20p to £1.20; Zone 1 Tube fares remaining at £2; weekly bus passes up from £9.50 to £11; bus fares down to 80p outside the 6.30am-9.30am peak; a £1.10 fare for Tube travel outside Zone 1 after 7pm; a £2 fare for a Tube journey including Zone 1 after 7pm.

But bus and Tube passengers were told by Mr Livingstone last year they would not see an increase in fares above the rate of inflation for the next four years. Travellers are already paying more after increases last January. Then Zone1 prices soared by 25 per cent. At the same time suburban bus fares went up by 43 per cent. Among the concessions in the new fares is under-16s travelling free on buses from next September with the exemption extending to under-18s in September 2006. At present, under-11s get free bus travel.

Discounts will continue to be offered to users of the Oyster smartcard, who will qualify for a £1 peak-hour bus fare.

Journeys to and from central London to Zone3 and Zone4 stay the same price. This will also be implemented for Zone5 and Zone6.

The new fares mean that Transport for London will earn 53p from every bus journey.

Jo Valentine of business group London First said bus fare increases were "overdue" but added: "It is already expensive to live in London and business is concerned about employees having to pay more. Business will only tolerate fare rises if there is a clear commitment to improving performance."