Sadiq Khan confirmed today that Tube and bus fares will rise by an average of 5.9 per cent — the biggest increase for more than a decade — and the Mayor’s share of council tax will rise by 9.7 per cent, the largest jump for 20 years.
Notably for Londoners aged over 60, the decision made at the start of the pandemic to remove their right to free travel before 9am will be made permanent, generating a saving of £40 million a year.
We don’t oppose sensible rises to fund the transport network. Fare freezes, while superficially enticing, lead only to less investment and ultimately a poorer service for all passengers. But Khan is right to limit the rise in bus fares to 10p, given how important the service is for lower-paid Londoners. More ambitious would have been an extension to the Hopper to 75 minutes, for example, to enable people to switch buses for longer on a single fare.
On the day that headline inflation fell just 0.2 percentage points, food inflation soared to 16.9 per cent, the highest level since September 1977, and nurses went back on strike, what is clear is that the pain is being felt by us all.
Safety is not simple
Was it naivety, or just a different time? For many of us, growing up, a police officer was someone we were assured we could trust if we needed help. Today, teachers have told the Evening Standard they feel “defeated” at having to warn schoolgirls to be wary of lone policemen, following a series of appalling scandals involving Met officers, most recently David Carrick.
One London headteacher says staff must strike a balance between encouraging girls to be confident and giving them practical tips on safety, including the advice: “Don’t allow a lone policeman to approach you, at any time.”
Who is to suggest this is anything but sound advice? Such are the depths to which trust in the Met has plummeted, and how far Sir Mark Rowley and the entire force have to go in order to win it back.
A remarkable life
The world’s oldest person, a French nun called Sister Andre, has died in her sleep aged 118, having survived Covid two years ago. Born in 1904, one of her happiest memories was of her two brothers returning unscathed from the First World War.
She was a remarkable person, having devoted much of her life to caring for the sick and elderly. Indeed, after retirement she looked after old people until she was 100 and had become blind. There are lessons there for the rest of us.
Only a few people are called to the religious life but we can all bear in mind her dictum that “people should love each other”. She said “only the good Lord knows” why she lived so long. No doubt, but she drank wine and ate a little chocolate daily. We can all do that.
