The
London Green Party has said that the rail fare hike is the latest
evidence that ministers are out of touch with the lives of people
struggling to make ends meet.
London
Greens pointed out that commuters will have to fork out at least £132
extra for an annual travel card for Zones 1-6. They said that Londoners
will be particularly hard hit by the increases, given the money that
many spend on commuting.
The
government say that many fares will rise by 6.2% in January - almost
double the rate of inflation - and some fares could be higher still.
This
would see a one-day travelcard for Zones 1-3 rise from £10.60 to
£11.26. A single peak ticket from Zone 6 to Zone 1, on Oyster
pay-as-you-go, would rise from £6.90 to £7.32.
Noel Lynch, co-ordinator of the London Federation of Green Parties, said:
Once again, Tory and LibDem ministers have shown they are out of touch with the lives of people who are struggling to make ends meet. With unemployment going up and living costs rising, this fare hike makes no economic sense. Londoners will be hit hard as they travel to work.The relatively smooth running of most of London's public transport during the Olympics shows that efficient railways are a real possibility. But money is going into profits, not invested in decent trains and track. Let's take our railways back into public ownership and run them for people, not profit.
