Assembly Members have long argued that because fares make up a large part of the Mayor’s budget, the Assembly and voters should have automatic, routine access to TfL’s advice.
Both the Mayor’s office and Transport for London have repeatedly refused requests to publish the information, arguing that as advice to the Mayor, it is exempt from Freedom of Information laws.
However in a provisional assessment, the Information Commissioner ruled that the public interest in seeing how the annual fares decision was made outweighed the Mayor’s right to confidential advice.
The Commissioner’s letter says that while the Mayor was entitled to a “safe space” to consider his final fares decision, one the decision had been taken and published it was no longer “tenable or acceptable” to argue the information should be withheld.
As a result of the Commissioner’s intervention the Mayor’s office has provided the Assembly with TfL’s advice covering the 2013 fares increase.
The complaint was made by John Biggs, Chair of the Assembly Budget & Performance Committee, who said he hoped the Mayor would now publish “the advice and background information” he relied on for this year’s increase.
Mr Biggs added: “I am glad that the Mayor has finally agreed to publish his fares advice, albeit under pressure from the Information Commissioner’s Office. It’s just a shame this level of openness and transparency required many years of pressure from the Assembly.
“Fares make up such a substantial portion of the Mayor’s income, and have such an impact on Londoners finances, that it is impossible to properly understand how budget decisions have been reached without seeing the advice that informed them.”
Mark says
This section of the advice given to the Mayor shows the strong arguments for a one-hour bus ticket – and confirms that it is technically possible to deliver it.
Bus transfer fare option
5.2 A bus transfer discount would comprise a reduced PAYG fare charged when a second bus trip is started within an hour of an initial full fare trip, again perhaps starting at 90p in 2013. The second bus discount could be of any size and could be increased over time to give a half or ultimately a free transfer facility. The standard fare would apply to a third bus trip starting within an hour of the first. However, the new trip would open a further one hour window during which a trip would qualify for the transfer discount
5.3 Introducing a reduced fare of this kind for bus transfers would be a major step towards resolving the current anomaly whereby PAYG bus journeys of similar length attract higher fares if no direct bus service is available. This penalty does not apply in the case of Bus Passes or Travelcards or in the case of Tube single fares. As well as being a significant source of customer complaint, this would relieve one of the constraints on bus network planning.
5.4 Transfer discounts would also help level the playing field in terms of fare paid per ride between the Bus Pass season and PAYG. Fare per ride is currently around 60p for Bus Pass seasons and over 100p for PAYG bus trips, even after allowing for daily capping.
5.5 The costs of offering a free transfer would be substantial – over £50m pa at current fares. This is one reason why phasing in the discount to offer a free transfer by 2016, say, looks attractive. By 2016, the further option of offering free travel for all bus rides begun within an hour – essentially providing a one hour bus fare – should be technically possible.