Andrew Dismore

Dear Editor,

The government’s decision to put up fares on national rail services again in the New Year will come as a massive blow for many Londoners, particularly when we also hear that fares have risen three times as fast as wages in the past five years. There is no escaping that for the many Londoners who have no choice but to commute to work, above inflation ticket price increases are effectively a tax on jobs.

Indeed, commuters have endured years of inflation-busting fare hikes. For too long passengers – particularly those in Outer London – have been paying through the nose for dramatically overcrowded and often unreliable services. Many passengers on those routes will be left struggling to understand why they are forced to pay more yet see little improvement to their services, despite numerous promises over the years.

Boris Johnson has yet to announce what he will do with Tube fares come the New Year but with Tube ticket prices already having risen 43% during his time as Mayor, surely it’s time Londoners got a fair deal.

 

Yours,

 

Andrew Dismore