Assembly calls for one hour bus ticket’ for London

PLANS have been put forward for one-hour time’ tickets on London’s buses, which would mean passengers could change within 60 minutes without having to pay another fare

By Mike Brooke

PLANS have been put forward for one-hour 'time' tickets on London's buses.

The London Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the Mayor to look at bringing in the idea on 'pay as you go' Oyster cards.

It would mean passengers could change buses within 60 minutes without having to pay another fare.

The idea came in the wake of protests over bus fares going up by as much as 20 per cent from �1 to �1.20 from January announced by Boris Johnson last Thursday.

It was put forward by Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, who told yesterday's City Hall meeting: "It really is unfair that people using Oyster 'pay as you go' have to fork out every time they change buses.

"You can switch from one line to another on the same ticket on the Underground without paying again, so it makes sense to do the same on the buses."

Even short journeys involving two or three buses cost up to �3 at present, not taking the fare rises into account which would add another 60p. The Assembly called on the Mayor to investigate the idea of one-hour tickets.

One-hour tickets already operate successfully in Paris, Rome and Brussels, members pointed out. It was now time London caught up and "gave passengers a fair deal.