TRANSPORT chiefs in London have given their customers their usual Christmas message, an announcement of higher fares starting on the first Sunday in 2011.
Once again, they have refused to publish those details in a leaflet form to be distributed at stations and ticket shops.
From January 2, Oyster card holders will pay £1.30 for a bus journey, a rise of 10p, while on the Tube the increase will be from between 10p and 30p per journey.
One small concession to Oyster card holders is that fares into zone 1 in the evening peak will be reduced to the off-peak level.
**TRAVELCARD holders, though, do not fare so well, as most cards will rise in price by £1, a clear attempt to steer people away from Travelcards to Oyster cards.
To add further weight to this notion, the range of cards is being reduced. The zones 2 to 6 card, which was bought by about 300 people a day, is being withdrawn so those passengers will find their travel bill will rise by more than the standard increase.
**EXCITEMENT greeted the Transport Minister's announcement that he had sanctioned a further 2,000 coaches for Britain's railways - 700 more than previously promised.
Could it be that he had read comments about local overcrowding in this column, or had our local MPs hammered home the need for more space on the Paddington trains?
But the joy our local commuters might have felt soon disappeared, as it seems none of the extra coaches will be for any west London rail line.
**LINKED to the announcement was the news that, while electrification of the Paddington to Swansea line was still on hold, works on Crossrail and electrification of the inner suburban First Great Western lines would go ahead, with a further one-year delay.
When Ealing Public Transport Users' Group (EPTUG) met the relevant minister in the last government, we were told no new trains would be allocated to the Inner Thames Valley services until the 'imminent' electrification of the line, at which time we would be handed down the worn-out trains from another railway.
Now, it seems, the trains delivered in 1992/1993 must now struggle on to meet the demands of the line until 2018. Perhaps our MPs should go back and talk to the minister again.
**FIRST Great Western (FGW), to its
credit, responded immediately to the results of the overcrowding survey carried out by EPTUG.
The survey of about 800 passengers chosen at random resulted in an amazing response, with almost 300 of those surveyed paying for a stamp and mailing back their replies.
Of these, just under one fifth of the early morning travellers claimed they usually got into the first train to arrive, whereas more than 50 per cent said they occasionally had to wait for a later train.
Not only did more than half the passengers fail to get into their chosen trains occasionally, a further 21 per cent said they frequently could not get into their train.
**WHEN made aware of the survey results, FGW managing director Mark Hopwood apologised for the intolerable situation and explained that FGW was trying to resolve the matter.
But, due to the strange way that rail franchises were set up by the government, FGW's plans could not be implemented until the government gave its consent.
**ARE some bus operators getting out of hand? Several passengers have left messages on EPTUG's answering machine - 020 8998 0999 - complaining that buses have terminated their journeys short of the terminus, without warning.
Route E5 and routes in the Pitshanger area have been especially busy in this respect. EPTUG would like to investigate such instances but, to do so, we need dates and times and the bus registration or fleet number.
**ONE complaint taken up by EPTUG is the failure of the 440 bus service to stop anywhere near North Acton station, while roadworks continue leaving passengers with a long walk to make the connection between bus and train.
Transport for London (TfL) is being made aware of this situation and we hope a quick solution will be found.
**LONDON Mayor Boris unveiled his Routemaster of the Future in Acton recently, although only the press and
chosen friends were allowed to see the full-size mock-up. No details emerged about the manning levels, (one conductor, two conductors or no conductor), or about when the rear door and platform will be open for use by passengers, so we have been unable to assess the benefits of the new vehicle. Perhaps the press should have stayed at home, with bus users invited instead.
**THE replacement for the Countdown bus information system still eludes us.
London Buses did state its intention to install the upgraded equipment at all the busiest stops in the borough, but it was suggested to them that its use on the quieter, less-frequent routes would be preferable.
TfL, however, feels the future lies with mobile phone technology - the passenger entering the bus stop number and getting information back in a text message. Is bus travel not expensive enough without the addition of call charges?
**INCIDENTALLY, the familiar London Transport 24-hour information number, 020 8222 1234, has changed again. You must now ring 0843 222 1234, for which, presumably, there is a higher charge.
**CHRISTMAS Day is a day when the bus and train operators take a day off.
If you aim to hire a taxi instead of public transport, make sure it is a licensed cab.
Remember too that, railway engineers still work around the clock on upgrade and repair work. Over the Christmas and new year period, Reading station and its approaches will best be avoided, as a £5million upgrade will be taking place there.
Nearer to home, the North London Line serving South Acton and Central Acton will not operate on December 25 and 26 but will be served by a bus replacement service from December 27 to January 3.
**On behalf of EPTUG, can I wish all those hardworking travel industry men and women, and the passengers, a very happy Christmas and a happy new year.
