Oyster card users across London will pay just 90 pence for a single bus fare from today after increased passenger number on London’s bus and tube network allowed Transport for London to cut fares by 10%.
As well as the new lower single journey fare the price of a weekly bus pass has been cut from £14 to £13. The new lower fares were launched today by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy.
In recent years London has bucked the UK trend of falling numbers of passengers.
Last year Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee praised Ken Livingstone and Transport for London for their “commitment” in increasing bus usage within the capital which saw “bus usage increase by 32% over recent years”.
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said the fare cut represents a real benefit for London’s bus users. London’s economic success has boosted Transport for London’s income from fares so I am sharing that success with one and a half million Londoners by cutting Oyster Card bus fares to 90p, a 10 per reduction in fares.”
“This fares cut sits alongside free travel for older and disabled people, free travel for children and young people, and half price travel scheme for Londoners on Income support to ensure that all Londoners share part of our city’s prosperity.”
Peter Hendy, Transport Commissioner said he was “delighted that from today everyone who lives in, works and visits London can take advantage of even cheaper bus travel. Oyster was already the cheapest and most convenient way to travel on public transport and this reduction has made it even more so.”
“Transport for London is providing the best bus service for forty years. This was borne out last year when almost 2 billion people travelled on London buses, the highest number since the 1960s.”
Despite welcoming the cut passenger watchdog London TravelWatch said it was “a pity that cash fares couldn’t have been reduced as well.”
However in recent years TfL have followed a policy of higher cash bus fares in order to persuade passengers to adopt the Oyster card of which more than 10 million have now been issued.
The cost of the fares reductions are estimated to be just under £20 million in the current financial year, up to the beginning of April 2008, and approximately £36 million in a full financial year.
Bus Fares – How They Compare
London (Oyster single journey fare, all zones): 90p
London (Oyster maximum daily cost): £3.00
Cardiff (Single journey across any four adjacent fare zones): £1.60
Cardiff (Day to Go Plus ticket – multiple journeys across all bus operators): £3.50
Manchester (System One DaySaver – multiple journeys across all bus operators, Mon-Fri): £4.00
(Sources: TfL, systemonetravelcards.co.uk, cardiffbus.com)
