Monthly bus pass up 20%... Happy New Year from Boris!

I renewed my monthly bus pass today and duly received my Happy New Year gift from Boris Johnson - a massive 20% hike in the monthly price from £53 to £63.80.

Despite blogging about these increases I was still taken aback at what this would mean on a monthly basis. On top of the 11% increase last January, and Boris' promise that there will be more inflation busting increases to come, bus passengers have been hit pretty hard. Couple this with the threat to cut schedules and as buses get more expensive they'll get more overcrowded and less frequent too.

We lost lots of things when Ken Livingstone lost the mayoral election in 2008 - one of these things was a real champion for bus passengers... do you remember when a bus fare was just 90p?

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Know Your Ryes!

A few weeks ago I was in a meeting with some local residents and council officers. During the meeting one person started referring to Rye Lane, when in fact they meant Peckham Rye East. Later on another started talking about Peckham Rye Common and it took us a little while to work out that they really meant Peckham Rye Park. You can't really blame people for getting a little confused. There are so many references to "Rye" in our little bit of South London that even the locals can get mixed up. So I thought I'd have a go at writing a little glossary of all the Ryes hereabout. Clearly I'm making a rod for my own back here, so please point out any errors I've made in the comments box below. Anyway, here are my definitions of the ubiquitous Ryes. Some serious, some not so serious, and in no particular order: Peckham Rye Ward - The council ward area. Peckham Rye Ward was created out of Rye Ward, Waverley Ward and Bellenden Ward following the Local ...

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Peckham Rye Labour

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