A fundamental reason why people choose to live in the leafy Borough of Bromley is because it is easy and quick to get to and from the centre of London. So I am absolutely delighted that my Party has decided to take action to freeze commuter fare rises in real terms. Thank goodness; they have been rising far too quickly above inflation and this has real impact on Beckenham constituents. The cost of commuting from anywhere in the constituency has been taking far too much of people’s pay packets and always seems to rise annually more than inflation. No more I hope - obviously with a Conservative Government in power to ensure it.
The cost of all rail and tube journeys around London will be frozen in real terms. That should save an average of £400 from an annual season ticket. In future tickets to and from London or elsewhere cannot rise more than the rate of inflation which is, as everyone knowa, very low at the moment. This will apply to all annual, monthly and weekly season tickets as well as many singles and returns. For his part Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has already confirmed that this change will apply to all Transport for London fares. In Labour’s last year in Government our commuting fares rose by a massive 11 per cent.
Apart from costs my biggest complaint about commuting has always been that too many trains are grossly overcrowded. Like others I find it particularly galling when short trains pull into platforms during the rush hour. I guess the operating companies don’t mean that to happen but they should get more efficient about managing their trains so that they are in the right place, with the right number of carriages and at the right time.
During the last 5 years I have been in frequent contact with Southern and Southeastern railway companies about over-crowded trains and (too often) their unreliability. Of course I will continue to do so if I am re-elected. But I am really pleased that at last there is a Tory pledge to get a grip of commuting fares. That is great for Beckenham constituents and thank goodness.