Transport for London fares could rise ten per cent
London’s transport fares on TfL services could rise by ten per cent next January according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Any rise would compound the rising cost of living and high inflation currently seen.
This appears the opening salvo in the next publicity battle between the Mayor and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
The Department for Transport have been pushing for large budget cuts resulting in service reductions and alongside higher fares after financial support during the pandemic.
Khan has stated he will resist rises, after five per cent increases were enacted in March 2020.
One issue is Khan’s support for the Silvertown tunnel, which costing Transport for London at least £150million in addition to the £2 billion PFI-type contract undertaken with Riverlinx.
It’s not a great look to be pushing against cuts and higher fares while also supporting a road building project that will increase congestion in much of south east London in places as far away as Eltham and Kidbrooke.
An agenda of cuts across public transport extends well beyond TfL, as the DfT and Treasury insist on severe cuts on national rail while passenger numbers continue to grow strongly in recent months.
In late May passenger numbers were above 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, though continuing cuts and fare rises threatens to choke that off, leading to greater congestion on roads.
I might be in minority here, but any new river crossing east of Tower Bridge should be welcome. In fact at least 2 or 3 more tunnels or bridges are needed between Blackwall Tunnel and Dartford Crossing to properly stitch the road networks of London. Nobody is talking about the thousands of unnecessary miles added to journeys just to cross river in the east/south of London. South and North Circulars are not connected to this day! Nobody is talking about the pollution from stationary traffic jams etc. Public transport investment is also needed, it is not a simple case of one or the other. Cars are here to stay electric or petrol we still need roads to move goods around. We have not invested in road network in London for decades and this under investment is badly showing as London is expanding and large areas in the south east and east London are being built up with new homes/flats/warehouses. More river crossings means shorter and more efficient journeys.
Yet all is likely for decades is one tunnel in the worst possible place feeding into the existing a102 and A2 in Greenwich.
Two tunnels into one road south of the Thames doesn’t work. TfL themselves admit it.