War on Transport

The ‘attack on the motorist’ is fading into the shadows as rail and bus fares soar. Public transport in the capital is 1% above inflation and there are proposed plans to increase it to 3% above inflation. Making it ‘the fourth above-inflation annual increase in a row’ since the Mayor came into power in 2008. The proposal has caused some ministers who are against the proposal to spark.  

Londoners are facing increased living cost due to a reduction of houses being built, increased rent prices and now even more increases in public transport. Is this how we are going to carry on living, even when we are faced with extra costs? With London being the ‘least car independent city in the UK’ a lot of people are going to be adversely affected. Gone are the days when as a child a single bus journey cost 40p and an adult fare was less than a £1. The real issue is that the price of normal goods such as: transport is rising whilst disposable income is not necessarily following the same pattern.

An astonishing fact remains that the cost of driving over the past ten years has actually fallen whilst there has been a systematic increase in rail fares. If the government is trying to encourage people to use public transport then they should have a second thought regarding pricing. Some ministers are in favour of a 3p levy on fuel duty up from 1p. Action needs to be taken to ensure that those who use public transport are not stretched beyond their limit.