MP adds voice to travelcard outcry

MAIDENHEAD: MP Theresa May has joined calls to rethink proposals to scrap day travelcards that let people travel from the South East to stations throughout London.

Last week, the Advertiser reported on the Transport for London (TfL) proposals, which would mean people visiting London from the South East will have to pay for their National

Rail fare into London, and then switch to Oyster or contactless.

This could mean an increase in costs for people looking to travel into London, and then use other TfL services such as the underground.

The Maidenhead MP said: “This would hit the pockets of hardworking families across my constituency making it increasingly costly to travel into London. It looks like the London Mayor is trying to cover the mismanagement of Transport for London’s finances by hammering us here in Maidenhead.

“He’s already trying to expand the ULEZ which will add to the costs for local people who drive into London. Now when we should be encouraging more people onto greener forms of transport he is punishing those using public transport.”

Last week, a TfL spokesperson said: “We are required to explore this because of conditions of Government funding settlements that have been necessary due to the devastating impact of the pandemic on TfL’s finances.

“Our funding agreement with government requires TfL to develop and implement changes that will generate between £0.5£1.0billion per year of additional revenue from 2023.

“As part of this, we identified potential changes to fares structures and ticketing that could help contribute to generating this additional income.”

The Mayor’s decision in set for June.