Cash fares to increase by 33% on the Tube

Ken Livingstone yesterday announced his latest move for forcing people on to the Oyster card, and penalise those who still pay for their fares by cash.

In the January fares revision, a zone 1 tube fare is will rise by a staggering 33% from £3 to £4 for a single journey. Cash fares for bus journeys in zone one will also rise from £1.50 to £2 as part of the fares package.

In his speech Livingstone stated: "the big differential between cash and Oyster card fares is designed to speed up the system by getting people to switch from cash to Oyster. I want to see every Londoner paying the lowest possible fares by switching to Oyster".

The move has sparked anger amongst the majority of tube users, as it means the cost of travelling one stop on the Tube will have quadrupled in two years.

Brian Cooke, Chairman of London TravelWatch said: "we are extremely concerned about the rise in cash fares on buses and on the tube if the journey includes Zone 1. Cash fares on buses are rising 33% to two pounds, and cash fares on the tube in zone 1 will also rise 33% to an astronomical four pounds. There are still not adequate facilities for visitors and tourists to buy Oyster cards easily, so this will really hit hard. London is already an expensive city - it has now become even more expensive for visitors to the city.

The fares increase is not what London needs, as it's just Ken's way of taxing the use of public transport even further.

After all he wants to further tax cars in London to force us on to public transport, and then further penalise us until we switch to his oyster card dream by increasing fares by a ludicrous amount to reap the profits.


Also posted on Anyone But Ken