In London, rail fares have frozen but the service has improved. The government could do the same

Many people are sceptical that politicians can deliver a real difference to their lives, and often with good reason. Just take Wednesday, when millions of commuters across Britain will go back to work and pay 3.1 per cent more for their national rail fares and travelcards than they did last year. And that’s after record disruptions, cancellations and delays to services.

The government is failing to deliver a national rail service that works for commuters – and it’s failing to hold the privatised rail companies to account.

No one wants to pay more for a worse service, and it doesn’t have to be this way. In London, we are showing that politicians can deliver real results; that it is possible to provide a better service for commuters without asking them to pay more.

From Wednesday, millions of people will benefit from Transport for London’s (TfL) fares freeze for the third year in a row. It means that Londoners and visitors to our city won’t pay a penny more to travel in 2019 than they did when I was elected in 2016. During this same period, fares on trains run by the privatised train operating companies have increased by around 9 per cent.

By 2020, the fares freeze will have saved the average London household about £200. It begs the question: if I can freeze fares whilst providing a better service for Londoners, why can’t the government do the same across Britain?

Despite the huge government cuts to TfL funding we’ve been able to do even more to make the cost of commuting more affordable. The unlimited “Hopper” bus fare means that passengers can make as many journeys as they need within an hour of tapping in for the cost of just one fare. It has now saved Londoners money on more than 240 million bus journeys since it launched in September 2016.

We are also delivering real results to improve transport services in Londo​n, including getting the night tube and night overground up and running and reducing the number of days lost to strikes on the tube by around 65 per cent – the best strikes record of any London mayor. We’ve been able to do this despite government cuts to transport funding by relentlessly focusing on what matters most to Londoners, by reducing waste, duplication and inefficiency and by building good working relationships with our transport staff and the trade unions that represent them.

There is simply no point in angrily picking pointless political fights with staff and trade unions, as this government has done time and again and as Boris Johnson did as London mayor. It’s a typical Tory tactic: talk down hard working staff in public while refusing to meet them to find solutions to their problems. It only causes more strikes and makes it harder to deliver positive change for commuters.

By rebuilding industrial relations with our transport staff, by engaging in reasoned debate and dialogue and listening to their expertise, they are willing to work with us to improve services and Londoners are better off for it. Evidence suggests that the TfL fare freeze is already encouraging more people to use public transport and has helped cushion the impact of the wider subdued economy across the UK.

There will always be more to do to improve our rail services in the capital – especially at a time of huge cuts to funding for public transport – but I’m extremely proud of what we have already achieved in London. And I’m proud that we are showing Londoners that politicians can deliver real improvement to their lives.