Commuter fury as fares rise for 10th year (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Commuter fury as fares rise for 10th year

10:30am Friday 4th January 2013 in News By Clare Buchanan

Outraged commuters started the new year on a low, when fare rises hit them in the pocket this week.

Rail fares for season ticket holders have increased by an average of 4.2 per cent, with overall ticket prices rising by 3.9 per cent across the country.

Passengers on the Tube, buses, trams, DLR and trains were faced with Transport for London’s (TfL) new prices, which were announced in August, when they came into force on Wednesday, January 2.

Passengers travelling to London at peak-time from stations in zone six, including Hampton Wick, Teddington and Fulwell, pay £5, a 4.2 per cent increase.

Emma Presland tweeted: “Is this a sick joke? It’s nearly cost me the same to get to Victoria from Twickenham than it has to get to bloody Portsmouth. HATE TFL.”

Zone one to six one-day travel cards have increased by 3.8 per cent to £16.40 and seven-day passes for the same zones have risen by 4.1 per cent to £55.60.

A single journey within zone one now costs £2.10, a five per cent increase, and on the Tube, cash fares increased by 20p and Oyster pay as you go fares rose by 10p or 20p.

Antony Obeto, 40, who works in Twickenham, said: “I commute every day from Lewisham, so I paid a fortune. They should just put a cap on it. It’s very disappointing. I’ve been a commuter for seven years and I don’t drive, so I rely on public transport.

“If everyone gets £5 on top of their wages, then it wouldn’t be a problem. A quarter of wages go on transport.

“You don’t get the service you expect.”

On buses, the Oyster pay as you go fare rose by 5p to £1.40, a 3.7 per cent increase, and the cash fare increased by 10p to £2.40 – a 4.3 per cent rise.

The daily Oyster pay as you go price cap for Tube, DLR and TfL and National Rail travel remains unchanged. It was the 10th consecutive year prices went up by more than inflation.

Concessionary travel for young people, veterans and older and disabled Londoners has been protected.

The new fares are expected to raise about £134m a year and TfL and the Government said the rises would fund improvements.

Councillor Stephen Knight said the fare rises were intolerable.

He said: “I think there’s more the Mayor could have done to keep fares down. “The main issue really is TfL has, compared with most other parts of the GLA, had to make very few savings and it doesn’t seem to have been under any pressure to make savings and it seems to have a huge surplus.

“I think more needs to be done, particularly to help those people who aren’t earning top salaries or who work part time.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “Further investment on the transport network will help us to provide faster, more frequent and reliable journeys for Londoners; and is crucial to the economic development and growth that is so vital to our great city.

“This fares package is hugely important to our millions of passengers and I am very pleased to have secured nearly £100m that will help to keep fares as low as possible, and protect the important concessions that we offer the most vulnerable Londoners.”