RMT press release, issued today

INFLATION-BUSTING fare increases are a short-sighted fix that will create more problems than they solve, London Underground’s biggest union says today.

As the mayor of London announced increases at one per cent ahead of inflation, RMT called for an end to the colossal waste of public money still being poured into private pockets under the part-privatisation of the Tube’s infrastructure

“If the mayor needs extra cash for the London transport network he should be looking at ways to end the shocking waste still caused by the PPP, not squeezing passengers even more with inflation-busting fares hikes,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“Metronet’s catastrophic failure has already cost the public £2 billion and has cast a shadow over the upgrades the network desperately needs by 2012.

“But even if Metronet hadn’t collapsed the PPP would still be haemorrhaging huge sums out of the network because it is an expensive scam designed to convert public cash into private profit.

“Public subsidy of the Tube has increased more than 20-fold thanks to the PPP, and Tube Lines, the one that’s supposed to be more efficient, continues to drain £1 million a week from the network in profits that should be being spent on improvements.

“The truth is that Tube Lines, like Metronet, is massively underwritten by the public, and the time to end the PPP is now, rather than waiting for another financial calamity.

“The economy and the environment need a massive increase in affordable transport capacity, and that applies to London as much as the rest of Britain,” Bob Crow said.