Dave Raval

Two years ago the fare to take a London bus was 90p (using Oyster pay-as-you-go). But now it is £1.20. With inflation low and unemployment rising, this is a massive kick in the teeth for people who regularly use buses, like myself.

There are two main reasons for the rise. Firstly, Labour's foolish "PPP" system for privatising underground maintenance failed disastrously when Metronet went bust, leaving a black hole of millions of pounds in the transport budget. Secondly, the Conservatives decided to scrap the Congestion Charging Zone for areas like Kensington and Chelsea, therefore they too need to find money from elsewhere.

So the poorer people of London (especially in places like Hackney, where there are no tubes) end up subsidising the £millions we’ve given to fat cat businessmen in Metronet thanks to New Labour, and rich car drivers in Chelsea thanks to the Tories.