LONDON Assembly member Jennette Arnold has accused Mayor Boris Johnson of diverting attention away from transport fare increases.

Following the Government’s spending review, the Mayor held a press conference last Wednesday in which he announced that “fares will rise by no more than was already anticipated in the business plan.”

But those travelling around outer London and avoiding the centre face fare rises of up to 57 per cent.

The current Zone 1-6 one-day travelcard is �8 for off-peak journeys: �2.90 higher than the existing 2-6 travelcard.

And an off peak day travelcard for zones 1-2 will increase by 17.8 percent from �5.60 to �6.60 while a child one day travelcard will go up by 50 per cent from �2 to �3.

Bus fares on Oyster pay-as-you-go will also rise 10p to �1.30 per journey.

Ms Arnold said: “TfL and the Mayor are trying to make Londoners believe that they will be spared huge fare hikes and that fares will only go up by an average 6.8 per cent.

“Since Boris Johnson was elected the price of a bus ticket has gone up by a massive 44 per cent.

“This has hit the poorest Londoners hardest since they are the ones who rely most on our bus services.

“The latest public transport users in line for a hit in the pocket are those who don’t travel into zone 1.”

Ms Arnold also warned: “He might try and spin and cover up these rises but he won’t be able to hide from Assembly members when we quiz him next.”