Paying our way
Page 2
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THAT PART OF Britain's population which does not live in London could justifiably have been hot under its collective collar this week as the nation was daily fed a surfeit of metropolis menu. There can surely be no one between Shetland and the Scillies who does not now know that London's transport fares have doubled.
What is much less apparent is what a "one hundred per cent increase" actually means. London Transport's press office has been consistently vague on how the new fares compare with those that existed before the GLC introduced the ridiculously low flat-fare scheme.
Why should the rest of the country subsidise London's commuting workforce? Wages and salaries in London are higher than elsewhere in Britain. Senior Citizens should travel at concession fares; the rest of us must pay our way.
The exhibition of petulance by the GLC's leader Ken Livingstone does nothing for his public image or the status of London worldwide.
Dave Wetzel, chairman of the GLC's transport committee, emulated his master by encouraging passengers to refuse to pay the fare. He has thus aggravated the situation, added to the work of the drivers, and exposed all non-paying passengers to the risk of imprisonment or heavy fine. All credit to London's travelling public for ignoring the advice.
Whatever Messrs Livingstone and Wetzel hope to achieve, be it publicity for themselves or their case, it could have been achieved by talking, a skill in which both are well qualified. Meantime, Londoners still arrived at work.