Row over fares rise

A row has broken out over Ken Livingstone's decision to break his promise and increase bus and Tube fares above the rate of inflation.

Politicians and passenger groups have criticised the Mayor's intention to impose ticket price rises to plug a looming multi-millionpound shortfall in his transport budget.

They said his plans, due to be ratified over the weekend and unveiled on Tuesday, would hit travellers on fixed incomes and risked driving people back to their cars. The increases are likely to become effective in the New Year.

Fares normally rise each year but last January's revision - up 25 per cent for central London Tube journeys and 43 per cent for suburban bus tickets, generating an extra ?81million - was accompanied by a promise not to exceed the cost of living for the next mayoral term.

An official mayoral press release stated: "The new fare package will stand for the next four years with any further annual increases pegged to no more than the rate of inflation."

Mr Livingstone yesterday said the forthcoming rises were necessary to continue to improve public transport and compensate for lower than required government funding.

But Cynthia Hay, of the Capital Transport Campaign, said: "Fare increases above the rate of inflation will hit people on low incomes hard." She pointed to a recent government report on social exclusion, in which passengers complained that "Travelcards go up every year but wages don't".

Ms Hay added: "The Mayor is holding an inquiry into the cost of living in London but Tube fare increases will make a significant contribution to that."

Lynne Featherstone, the Lib-Dem chair of the London Assembly's transport committee, accused the Mayor of behaving "dishonestly" with Londoners.

"Time and again he told the public that fares would only increase in line with inflation," she said. "Just three months after his reelection he has already broken one his most important pledges."

Mr Livingstone, who sets the fares after advice from Transport for London, will have to perform a juggling act to ensure higher fares bring greater revenue. Bus numbers are at a modern-day high of more than six million journeys a day - but even small fare rises could drive passengers away.

The biggest price rise on the Tube last year was for single tickets in Zone 1, specifically to target tourists and discourage Underground use where the system is most congested.

The Mayor must also decide whether to maintain discounts on the pre-pay Oyster card to encourage the move to cashless buses, and how to implement his manifesto pledge of free bus travel for under-18s.