Commuters count the cost as £3.5m TfL bonus is awarded despite missed targets

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has announced there will be no increase in any single fares, whether using Oyster or cash, on London's bus, Tube, tram, and Docklands Light Railway network in the new fares package for 2008. However, the cost of One Day Travelcards and Travelcard Season Tickets will rise in line with inflation.

Roger Evans, London Assembly Conservative transport spokesman has criticised the decision to increase the cost of the travel card stating that since the Mayor was re-elected in 2004 the cost of a 1- 4 Zone travel card has increased by 13.6%.

Commenting, Mr Evans said, “Public transport needs to be affordable. The increase in travel card prices since 2004 will make news of today’s increase even harder to bear.

“Since the mayor was re-elected in 2004 there has been a 13.6% increase in the cost of the Zone 1 – 4 travel card at a time when inflation has been historically low.”

The fare package for 2008 comes in the same week the Mayor revealed Transport for London were paid more than £3.5 million in bonuses last year despite missing key targets to improve the Tube and buses.

According to figures, supplied by Ken Livingstone to the London Assembly, almost 900 employees received an average £4,000 in performance-related pay-outs with transport commissioner Peter Hendy getting £115,000. The bonuses followed TfL's admittance in their "operational and performance report" that "The combination of increased passenger numbers with the network-wide improvement and upgrade work means some measures of reliability, such as those on the Underground, did not meet their targets for 2006/7."

October 30, 2007