Experts predict that the cost of commuting into London could hot £10,000 a year following a relaxation of the cap on fare hikes.
Figures from the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) show that commuters from Swindon are currently forking out £7024 a year for rail travel which, based on inflation forecasts, will rise to £9016 by 2015. These passengers are also paying £592 for yearly tube passes, also set for a big hike.
Maria Eagle, shadow transport secretary said “With the cost of using the Underground, the cost of travelling into London to work is set to break through the eye-watering £10,000 mark”
“For many the cost of getting to work is now the biggest single item in the monthly budget, bigger even than rent or mortgage payments. It cannot be right that people are expected to spend such a high proportion of their income just to get to work.”
She insisted Labour will oppose the rise in regulated fares by RPI inflation plus three per cent until 2014.
CBT reported that fares from Guildford will hit £3743, Oxford £5268, Canterbury £5556, Bournemouth £6962, and Norwich £8395 by 2015.
However, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond claimed that the rises were necessary to fund key rail network developments.
A Government aide said: “Yet again Labour have jumped on the first bandwagon that has come along. They haven’t even finished their so-called policy review and yet they are already opportunistically announcing that they can’t support our difficult decision to raise fares,”
“As ever, Labour have completely failed to set out what their alternative would be.”
Furthermore, other figures from the CBT show that Tube delays account for three days of the working year for some commuters and journeys are taking longer than scheduled, totalling 20 hours for the year.
Read also
