Mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone has announced he will reverse Boris Johnson’s 2012 increase in travel fares if he is elected next May.
The increase, at an average of 5.6%, is considered necessary by the Mayor in order to continue investment into Transport for London (TfL) projects. Fares have increased each year under Johnson, often above the rate of inflation.
Livingstone, however, plans to cut fares by 7% next year if he reaches office. Livingstone’s plan also includes a fare freeze in 2013 in order to reduce the “spiraling” cost of travel.
Under his proposal, ‘Ken’s Fare Deal’, Livingstone originally promised a 5% cut but says this new 7% cut would “save the average Londoner £1000 over four years.”
His campaign claims that there is a £206m surplus in the TfL budget, which Livingstone would utilise to cover the fare cut. “I want to use the excess money that is sitting idle in Transport for London’s budget to fund a fare cut that will cut the cost of travel for millions of Londoners,” Livingstone said. “That’s the responsible thing to do in tough times.”
However, TfL denied the existence of the £206m figure, telling the Huffington Post that every penny of TfL’s budget was accounted for, adding that: “It would be impossible to absorb the loss of revenue suggested by Ken Livingstone without a huge and damaging impact on TfL’s investment programme and operations.”
“With regard to the £206m 'surplus' Ken Livingstone thinks he has unearthed in TfL’s current budget, his figures are wrong again, as they do not take into account debt service and related payments. The forecast difference for the current year is only £32m.”
A spokesperson for Johnson’s re-election campaign commented that: “It is the same old Ken Livingstone. He promises one thing before an election when he needs Londoners' votes but what he does after is another story.
"He knows his numbers don't add up on this - he has already changed them once. Ken Livingstone simply can't be trusted with Londoners' money."