Mayor confirms fares increase for 2012 to support unprecedented £12bn investment in London's transport network

This will maintain essential day to day public transport services and help continue record investment in London's extensive transport network, which is experiencing surging passenger demand.

Free and concessionary travel protected

All free and concessionary travel for older people, students, veterans and disabled Londoners has been protected in full, which means that 40 per cent of bus passengers will continue to travel free or at a substantial concessionary rate.

From 2 January 2012, fares on TfL's services will rise by an average of RPI plus two per cent, the assumption outlined in TfL's Business Plan in October 2009.

Based on July's RPI figure of five per cent, this represents an average seven per cent fare increase across TfL services and Oyster pay as you go.

Within this average there will be some TfL fares that go up less than seven per cent, and some slightly more either due to small increments in rounding or because they are fares involving National Rail services but every effort has been made to ensure that this is distributed as evenly as possible across individual fares.

Investment to continue

Following the Mayor's successful campaign last year to protect Government contribution to TfL's funding, unprecedented investment in London's transport network will continue totalling £12bn over the Mayor's four year term.

This is an increase from £8bn investment from the previous administration.

The current investment programme includes upgrades to the Tube, now carrying a record 1.1 billion passengers a year, delivery of Crossrail and the maintenance of London's frequent, extensive, reliable and accessible bus network, which is now carrying almost 2.3 billionn passengers a year - more than any other time since records began in the 1960s.

Further extensive improvements have also been made on the DLR and London Overground, both of which are also experiencing record ridership.

Mayor: Put finances on a steady footing

Investment is vital for the transport network to continue to develop and improve and to meet future demand, which is set to grow yet further.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'Despite some of the toughest economic times in living memory, I have secured unprecedented levels of investment for London's transport network totalling £12bn over my four year term of office.

'Not since the days of our Victorian forefathers has there been improvements of this scale which includes upgrades and capacity increases ahead of 2012 and beyond to Crossrail.

'At the same time, we are focusing as never before on providing value for public money by committing to find significant savings of £7.6bn at TfL, over two thirds of which have now been secured.

'Income from fares is vital to ensure the on-going health of London's transport network, keeping services running for the billions of passengers who rely on them day in, day out.

'This is a fares package that continues my aim to put Transport for London's finances on a steady footing, moving us away from the boom and bust approach undertaken by my predecessor when we saw a succession of draconian increases and knee-jerk, unaffordable pre-election freezes.

'This year, as Londoners begin to experience the benefits of that investment through more frequent and reliable journeys, I am also once again able to protect all free and concessionary travel for people who rely on public transport most, including older people, disabled veterans and those on lower incomes.

'I understand that any increase in tough times is difficult.

'This is a package that has sought to balance the needs of today's passengers whilst ensuring we continue apace with plans to overhaul London's transport system in the face of unprecedented demand.'

Investment results

Over the last year alone, investment in London's transport network has delivered:

• The completion of the Jubilee line upgrade, delivering faster, more frequent and reliable journeys
• A full fleet of new trains on the Victoria line, delivering smoother, faster journeys for passengers
• Further air-conditioned trains on the Metropolitan line, running into central London for the first time
• The completion of the DLR three-carriage upgrade, delivering a 50 per cent increase in capacity across the network
• The completion of the DLR Stratford International extension, with four new stations, delivering the final transport improvements required ahead of the London 2012 Games
• The extension of the East London line to Highbury & Islington as the London Overground network became the most reliable railway in the UK
• New fully accessible lifts and the upgrade of Green Park Tube station, making this key interchange station for the London 2012 Games step-free

Over the next year, sustained investment will see:

• The completion of the Victoria line upgrade, further increasing capacity and cutting journey times on the line
• The extension of the Barclays Cycle Hire eastwards, including securing future sponsorship, to the edge of the Olympic Park, almost doubling the size of the scheme
• The first of the Mayor's New Bus for London on the Capital's streets later this year
• The completion of the London Overground rail network, delivering London's first orbital railway and linking 20 of London's 33 boroughs
• The start of the introduction of new air-conditioned trains across the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
• Work to improve the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City lines
• Work continuing on the new signalling upgrade for the Northern line which will provide 20 per cent more capacity
• The upgrade of the A406 at Bounds Green to predominately two lane dual carriageway to reduce delays and improve pedestrian and cyclist facilities
• A new real time service for bus passengers - using web and SMS to allow passengers to see when the next bus will be arriving at individual bus stops
• The new Crossrail stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel continue to progress with intensity and the first of up to 3,500 people will be trained to work below ground at the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in east London.

London's fares

On London's buses, the Oyster pay as you go fare will only rise by 10p to £1.40.

In London the average bus fare per journey, including concessions, will be just 62p, compared to an average typical bus fare of around £1 in other UK cities.

On the Tube, Oyster pay as you go fares typically increase by between 10p and 30p.

Tube cash fares, which are now used by just one per cent of Tube users, increase between 30p and 40p, ensuring that Oyster pay as you go continues to be the cheapest way to travel around the Capital.

In order to achieve the average RPI plus two per cent rise in the 2012 fares package, there will be some fares that go up less than the seven per cent and some slightly more.

This is particularly the case when fares rise in small increments of 10p.

London Travelcard season ticket prices (for use on TfL and National Rail services) will rise by RPI plus three per cent overall in line with the rail fares policy set by the Department for Transprt (DfT) for the Train Companies.

Further details of the new fares are set out in the tables below, but the key elements of the January 2012 fares package are:

• All free and concessionary travel protected in full
• On the Buses, Oyster pay as you go fares increase by 10p
• The daily price cap for bus passengers using Oyster pay as you go will be set at £4.20 - the cost of just three bus rides for all day travel
• On the Tube, Zone 1 pay as you go fare rises by 10p to £2
• Oyster pay as you go fare for three zones outside Zone 1 frozen at £2.20

Notes to editors:

• When calculating the fares package for 2012, all TfL fares have been kept as closely as possible to the RPI plus two per cent formula set out in 2009. In order to achieve this, particularly in the case when fares rise in small increments of 10p, some TfL fares will go up significantly less than seven per cent (four or five per cent), and some slightly more. For example, The single Oyster pay as you go bus fare is only increasing by 10p to £1.40. The calculation of seven per cent (RPI plus two per cent) on the current £1.30 bus fare would take it to £1.39 - this has been logically adjusted to £1.40 resulting in the 7.7 per cent increase
• The average TfL fare paid per bus trip is calculated by comparing all ticket types - including Oyster pay as you go, single cash fares, bus pass season tickets and Travelcards, plus free and concessionary travel - with total bus passenger numbers
• The UK average bus fares have been calculated using DfT statistics
• Bus and tram, Tube/Rail cash, Oyster pay as you go and Travelcard fares tables are below:

Bus and tram fares 2012

Adult pay as you go fares on TfL rail services

One Day Travelcards and caps

Travelcard seasons - 7 Day ticket prices

Adult Monthly Travelcard season prices are 3.84 times the 7-Day price (rounded up to 10p multiples).

Adult Annual Travelcard season prices are 40 times the 7-Day price.

Adult cash fares on TfL rail services