Tubes and buses hit by fare hike

The fare hikes are designed to cut queues

Tube and bus fares in London paid for with cash are set to increase next year, the Mayor has announced.

A single Tube journey in zone one will cost £3 instead of £2 while a single bus journey will rise from £1.20 to £1.50, said Mayor Ken Livingstone.

However fares will fall for holders of the Oyster pre-pay smartcards.

With Oyster, a zone one Tube ride will be cut from £1.70 to £1.50 - half the cash fare. Mr Livingstone said the aim was for fewer people to pay with cash.

Speaking at City Hall, Mr Livingstone said the increased fares to be introduced from January would raise about £80m.

'World's most expensive'

"This proposed fares package focuses on halving the number of cash journeys made in 2006 to speed up journeys and improve the efficiency of the network," he said.

He conceded the new single Tube fare of £3 would probably be the most expensive in the world.

Roger Evans, conservative chairman of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said: "How can the Mayor expect people to leave their cars at home when bus and Tube tickets are spiralling out of control?"

NEW FARES FOR 2006 Tube zone 1: £3 cash (£2 currently) Tube zone 1: £1.50 Oyster (£1.70) Tube zones 2-6: £3 cash (£2.10) Tube zones 2-6: £1 Oyster (£1.80) Bus (all zones): £1.50 cash (£1.20) Bus (all zones): 80p Oyster (£1)

London Assembly Lib Dems said the price hikes would clobber tourists and ultimately businesses during what is already a difficult time in the wake of the London bomb attacks.

Geoff Pope, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport spokesman, said it would also hit those who cannot use Oyster cards because the majority of train companies running services to and from the capital still refuse to accept them.

The fares announcement was also criticised by business representatives as being "desperately short-sighted" in view of the current retail slump on the high street and recent rise in the congestion charge.

"The Mayor seems determined to kill off London business by putting up the cost of visiting the capital by tube, bus or car," said Victoria Carson, spokesperson for the Forum of Private Business.

A further rise in fares is expected in 2007, the last of three previously announced price hikes.

The basic fare on London's buses rose by 20p to £1.20 in January this year.

From August this year, all under-16s have been entitled to free travel on London's buses and trams and this will be extended to all under-18s in full-time education by September next year.