Fare hikes for London’s transport

Starting the New Year as he means to go on, the Mayor of London has jacked up the price of fares on London’s buses and Underground system for people who are paying cash for single journeys.

If you want to go even one stop on the Tube now and go to buy a ticket for that single journey it’ll cost you £4(almost $8 or 6 euros), similarly even travelling one stop on the bus has gone from £1 to £2 if don’t have a Travel or Oyster card. With prices on the Heathrow and Gatwick Expresses also going up by 7.3% and overland train fares by at least 4.3%, travellers coming to the UK are in for a shock when they try to use public transport.

The Guardian has a table of comparative prices for Underground and Metro systems in some of the world’s major cities including Paris, Berlin, New York and Tokyo and London is way out in front as the most expensive, even if you’re using one of the Oyster cards Ken Livingstone’s always raving about.

With the Pound still high against most currencies, paying cash for fares in London will soon eat through your budget if you’re on one. The best thing is to buy a daily or weekly Travelcard or get yourself an Oyster card from Tube station ticket offices, Oyster Ticket Stops, London Travel Information Centres or online. It’s still not cheap but will limit the damage.

If you’re in London and are looking to travel around the UK make sure you book your train tickets well in advance. There was an item on the news yesterday where if you turned up at Paddington and wanted to buy a ticket to Cardiff it would cost £219. Forward planning will help you save money when visiting the UK.