Islington Liberal Democrats condemn Boris' fare hikes (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Islington Liberal Democrats condemn Boris' fare hikes

October 21, 2009 12:43 PM

Councillor Greg Foxsmith

The Islington Liberal Democrats have condemned Mayor of London Boris Johnson's decision to impose a huge hike on public transport fares - at the worst possible time during a recession. The huge increases to bus and tube fares show that the Conservatives aren't able to fix financial problems left by Labour without hurting normal people.

From January, buses will be 20p more expensive - meaning that a short bus journey with only one change will cost a huge £2.40. A seven-day bus pass will rise 20% from £13.80 to £16.60. Overall, bus fares will rise by 12.7% and Tube fares by 3.9%.

Transport for London is still suffering from the collapse of Gordon Brown's public-private finance scheme for repairing the London Underground. The collapse of Metronet cost the taxpayer billions of pounds. This financial disaster of epic proportions, organised by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor, continues to impose huge costs of TfL.

London's buses are also currently running at a huge loss and require a £600million subsidy, because Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone completely failed to put the bus system on a sustainable financial footing.

There is concern that the Government could cut its contribution to this subsidy. The Government has already threatened to cut £50 million of funding from the Freedom Pass, which provides free bus travel for pensioners and disabled people.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Greg Foxsmith, the councillor responsible for transport in Islington, spoke out against the rise at the London Councils Transport and Environment Committee this week.

Greg commented:

"I'm concerned that this is a story we're going to hear a lot more of in the future: a history of financial incompetence by Gordon Brown and the Labour Party, but the Tories being unable to deal with that mess in a way that doesn't impact on those with low incomes.

"When bus fares go up, it's hardest on the wallets of those who are least well-off."