Keeping pace with the global inflation are London commuter rates, which will see strong increases.
Tubes, buses and train prices will soar in January, with a peak pay-as-you-go Oyster Tube journey costing almost £5, reports This Is London.
How bad are transportation prices across the UK? Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has already admitted the railways are now a "rich man's toy" because of fare increases, says TIL.
Note: I have no idea what an "Oyster Tube journey" is, could someone from London please fill us all in, in the comments section.
bastards
ReplyDeleteAn "Oyster" is the card you scan before using buses and trains. It can be topped up with cash to pay fares or it can be set-up with a weekly or monthly pass to be used for unlimited rides within a certain area range (known as a Travelcard).
ReplyDeleteThe 5 quid fare mentioned is if you were to pay a cash fare for one-way tube travel from the middle of London (Zone 1) out past Heathrow Airport (Zone 6) or vice-versa.
You don't understand, Robert. Inflation doesn't really hurt anyone because wages rise instantaneously to combat the increased prices. Keynesianism imbues currency with the magical property of instantaneously changing prices and wages simultaneously and equally. Inflation is a non-issue. /sarc (just in case)
ReplyDeleteI'm from London so i'm happy to explain:
ReplyDelete'Oyster cards' are basically RFI-chipped debit cards for all forms of public transport in London (the 'tube', busses, trains etc)
So, say I used my Oyster card on a pay-as-you-go basis (as opposed to weekly or monthly travel) and there was no money on it, I would have to go to a machine in a tube station to 'top up' my oyster card, ie. put some money on it to then get past the subway gates or on a bus etc.
prices are outrageous (and why i ride by bike). if you plan to use the tube a few times in the same day, a full-day travel card will cost you between £8-15 (USD$12-23) depending on the zones you use. Single journeys cost like £2 (even if you only go one or two stops).
Unlimited travel in ONLY the center of London costs £106/month ($167) which is what anyone who works in london will usually have to pay for.
And you're telling me it's going to get worse? jebus
Ahhh, public transporataion, the wave of the future!
ReplyDeleteMan, would I love a Robert Wenzel v. Mike Shedlock death match!
ReplyDeleteI follow both Wenzel and Mish and both have really great insight on the world. I think Robert is right more of the time because Mish sometimes doesn't realize the impact of the change in money supply with regards to how the economy will react.
ReplyDeleteMay be it is of some use this fact: in the summer of 1991 I was in London for 6 weeks and living in zone 2 near Queen's Park and working at knightsbridge along the day and touring the dancings and Trocadero near Piccadilly Circus by almost every night, I find out that a weekly tube valid for both zone 1 and 2 was the cheapest and simplest solution..the price? a lot..£ 20 already in 1991 and now? £ 27.60 or the monthly £ 106 already mentioned in the comments: so it appear to me that for now price inflation in London it is effectively being kept away from the tube considering that back then the change was about € 1,5 and now only € 1,10 so also the big £ devaluation has still to show its ugly head in tube subscription fares; for comparison I remember this: we lived in four in a zone 2 flat for a weekly £ 140 fare and I could gain a weekly £ 100 just working at at a cheap fare italian restaurant about 40 hours without special skills (I was twenty one years old); to enter dancings of the time (Hyppodrome and Empire near Piccadilly Circus) I spent £ 10 (I was a little bit off balance..) but I was lucky to get a good meal at work at noon and not to be in London to save!
ReplyDeleteOyster Cards are for the Oysters.
ReplyDelete(See TV series entitled "Alice").