Boris Johnson's two transport bombshells

10.27.00pm GMT Fri 19th Dec 2008

AXED: The Tramlink extension

Tory Mayor of London Boris Johnson has scrapped plans to extend the Croydon Tramlink to Crystal Palace and so reduce journey times between Croydon and Crystal Palace to 18 minutes.

In a slap in the face to Crystal Palace residents, the Conservative mayor said "What we want to do is stop pretending the tooth fairy will come."

Meanwhile, despite the financial crisis, the Conservatives in London are jacking up ticket prices, making London's transport system one of the most expensive in the world. The rises include:

Overall rise of 6%

Some fares are rising by up to 11%

Oyster Pre-pay fares to rise by 10%

Tube fares are set to rise above inflation every year for the next eight years Cllr John Canvin expressed the anger of local residents when he said "This once again shows the callous disregard the Tories have for Anerley and Crystal Palace. While there was a lot still to be done to make sure that the Tram did not delay traffic up Anerley Hill or disrupt local residents' lives, to arbitrarily cancel the whole scheme shows that Boris and the Tories can't be relied upon to deal with London's transport needs."