Those of you who use the local tube stations will probably know that the stations on the Hainault loop have been re-zoned from Zone 5 to Zone 4.What you may not know is that this has been done to “attract more passengers”, Tube officials said. See here.
Now excuse me. If you’ve got an Oyster card or a season ticket this will make no difference whatsoever, so there is no incentive to change your habits.
The people they are targeting are those who use cars, they want to “encourage them out of their car and onto public transport” at least that’s what they say. They also admit that most car journeys are short. So…..
What is the cost for a one-stop tube journey? £4
What is the cost of a one-stop bus journey? £2
Need I say any more?
Maybe our GLAM, Deputy Chair of the GLA Transport Committee, would like to comment?
The re-zoning is a good news story for people using those stations to commute into town as their fares will be lower than they would otherwise have been.
ReplyDeleteNot so sure about TfL's claim that it wants to attract more passengers. If you commute you have not got much choice in the matter, and anyway they probably don't want greater use of the Central Line between Stratford and Liverpool Street, which is the most crowded part of the network.
For shorter journeys there is greater spare capacity, choice and more opportunity to encourage people to switch from their cars. You are right to point out that £4 for one stop is unlikely to be attractive.
The London Assembly Transport Committee is a cross party scrutiny body which has been very critical of the fare increases introduced by the Mayor over the last three years. Last year we saw a reduction in the number of bus passengers for the first time. Tube numbers continued to rise - but for how long?
As I stated in the Wanstead & Woodford Guardian last week: 'These fare rises are well above inflation and will dissuade many poorer people in the borough from using the underground. It seems strange to me that we have seen yet another massive rise in fare costs, when we are trying at the same time to encourage more people to use public transport.'
Thanks Roger.
ReplyDeleteGants Hill is a popular station, probably because it is well served by buses.
It is a bit of a walk to the High Street from Fairlop and Barkingside.