LONDON, Jan 19 Reuters Most public transport fares in London will remain the same this year, in a move aimed at easing costofliving pressures and boosting the retail and hospitality sectors, the city39;s mayor said on Friday.

In London and across Britain, households have tightened their purse strings due to a costofliving crisis over the last two years that has pushed up the prices of everything from food to furniture.

The costofliving crisis continues to hit Londoners hard, Mayor Sadiq Khan said, adding he was setting aside 123 million pounds 156 million to freeze transport fares until March 2025.

Not only will this put money back in people39;s pockets, making transport more affordable for millions of Londoners, but it will encourage people back onto our public transport network.

The freeze will affect all fares for buses, trams, the Tube underground trains and the Docklands Light Railway, as well as a majority of fares on the new Elizabeth line and Overground rail. Operator Transport for London had originally planned for a 4 rise in fares.

However, the British capital still has some of the most expensive public transport fares in Europe. A Greenpeace report last year ranked London the secondworst for public transport affordability among 30 European capitals, just head of Dublin.

1 0.7887 pounds

Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar Editing by Mark Potter

Source Reuters