London travelcards 'the most expensive in the world by a large margin,' study finds

Monthly travelcards cost on average more than those anywhere else in the world, a study found
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London travelcards are by far the most expensive in the world, according to a new study.

A monthly travelcard in the capital on average costs £135, more than a third more than Dublin, the world’s second most expensive.

The cheapest public transport system in the world is in Mumbai, where the equivalent costs 12 times less than in London at just £11, according to the Deutsche Bank study.

The study found monthly travel in London three years ago was almost twice as much as in New York.

The capital is also is the tenth most expensive city in the world for petrol and the third for car hire, according to the same study, the Times reports.

London is the fourth most expensive for rent and is in the top ten most costly for gym memberships, cigarettes and hotel rooms, the research shows.

And the high prices do not translate to high earnings. According to the study Londoners’ average salaries are no longer in the global top ten.

After tax, the research found that the average monthly pay is £2,150 – a third lower than in New York and below Sydney, Oslo, Copenhagen and Tokyo.

London was ranked in 33rd place for quality of life.

The report read: "London [and other big cities] rank very low mostly due to high living costs, crime, pollution and commuting time.

"This is highly subjective and one person's long commute may be another person's chance to catch up on Netflix," the report noted.

In February, Transport for London revealed its fares income was down £90million in the last year, prompting claims Sadiq Khan would struggle to balance the books.

Mr Khan, the Mayor of London, has frozen fares on buses and trams until 2020, but travelcard prices are set by train operating companies are not under complete control of TfL.

The news of London's expensive travel comes after the Rail Maritime and Transport Union announced it would stage a 24-hour strike on Sunday night at the busy London Bridge station.

All Tube staff are to be balloted for strike action in a row over the sacking of a ticket barrier worker in the latest of a number of deputes and strikes in the capital.

A TfL spokeswoman said: “The cost of transport should not be a barrier to study or work. Although the Mayor does not have the power to set Travelcard fares, all TfL fares have been frozen for the next four years, meaning that customers will not pay a penny more in 2020 than they did in 2016.

“We’re also making travel cheaper through the Bus Hopper fare, which allows for two bus journeys in the space of an hour for the price of one."

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