Mayor admits C-Charge fine and defends fare increases

BORIS Johnson today defended his decision to increase Tube and bus fares despite the economic downturn.

The Mayor blamed the "massive black hole" in Transport for London's finances which he inherited when he took over from Ken Livingstone.

However, he told BBC Radio London: "[Fares] have gone up much less than other national rail services. We try to keep them as low as possible.

"If you don't have the financial stability in TfL then you can't do it and that's why fares had to go up by RPI plus 1."

Mr Johnson also admitted he was fined for not paying the congestion charge after he drove into central London. "I forgot to pay and then bing'! I got the £60 fine which I have just coughed up," he said.

He has pledged to bring in a new account-based system when the new technology becomes available. "That would get away from the crazy system whereby you suddenly get clobbered by these fines," he added.

The Mayor also promised to extend the period for paying the charge from a 48-hour window to a month.