LibDems hit the streets to support London's bus passengers

12.39.15pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th May 2009

Sign up to support a better deal for bus passengers... http://www.ourcampaign.org.uk/1hourbusticket

LibDem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon and the party's Westminster North parliamentary candidate Mark Blackburn hit the streets near Paddington station recently to sign local people up to their campaign to support cheaper tickets for bus passengers.

People needing to change buses at the moment need to buy separate tickets for each leg of their journey. This forces people to pay more to travel by bus, and is unfair on bus passengers.

The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for a new 'one hour' ticket that will allow someone to travel on different buses for an hour from the moment the ticket is bought. People wanting to support the campaign can sign up online at http://www.ourcampaign.org.uk/1hourbusticket

LibDem parliamentary candidate for Westminster North Mark Blackburn said, "We need more people travelling by public transport. That will cut congestion, cut air pollution, and help to tackle climate change. It's win, win, win. Right now the way bus tickets are sold discourages people from leaving the car at home and taking the bus. Please support the campaign to change this."

The party's transport spokesperson on the London Assembly Caroline Pidgeon added, "You can already switch from Tube to Tube on the same ticket, so it makes real sense to allow people to do the same with buses. It really is unfair that people with a 'Pay as You Go' Oyster Card have to pay a new fare every time they change buses.

"One hour bus tickets already operate successfully in Paris, Rome and Brussels. It is now time London caught up and gave bus users a fair deal.

"One hour bus tickets would also make bus travel very attractive to a lot of people who often don't use the bus at present. One hour tickets could even lead to a shift away from people using their cars for short trips and help to reduce congestion across London."