Public transport fares to rise again

Zoe Birdsall

Students are set to suffer from a rise in public transport travel costs of up to 4.2 per cent in the New Year.

The rise, which is one per cent above inflation, will hit Kingston students hard, as 38 per cent of undergraduates who enrolled at Kingston last year live over 21 miles away from the university.

Third-year student Lally Turner, who commutes from Brighton, said: “Train fares are super expensive before 9am, it costs me £28.50 to get to Kingston return, that’s even with my student railcard. After 9am it costs me £15.20, so I usually spend £70 a week.”

A travelcard for zones 1-6 will rise from £8.50 to £8.90, a rise of 40p. Oyster fares on buses will rise from £1.35 per journey to £1.40. Whilst this is only an increase of 5p, it is a 55 per cent increase since Boris Johnson became Mayor of London.

English language student Leila Madhavan said: “I live just past Twickenham and I drive to university because it’s way cheaper than getting the train or a few buses.”

A spokesman for the South West Trains/Network Rail Alliance said: “It is the government, not train companies, that decides how much season tickets should rise on average each year.”