MAYOR Boris Johnson has blamed his predecessor Ken Livingstone for the increase in Tube and Bus fares next year.

Fares on buses and the Underground are set to rise next year, with bus fares increasing by 12.7 per cent while Tube tickets will rise by 3.9 per cent.

Oyster card pay-as-you-go bus journeys are to go up from £1 to £1.20 and the price of a seven-day bus pass will shoot up £13.80 to £16.60.

The Congestion Charge is set to rise to £10 but there will be a £9 charge for those using a new account system which will be operational next year.

Mr Johnson said: “Nobody wants to make an announcement like this, especially when Londoners are feeling the effects of the recession.

“The mistakes of the past and the current economic climate have conspired to present us with a huge challenge.”

Previous Mayor Ken Livingstone told the BBC: "That is patently untrue.

"They are the results of his own policies.His plan to abolish the western extension of the Congestion Charge will cost £50m -£70m a year.

"His decision to scrap the £25 charge on the worst polluting gas guzzlers, like Chelsea tractors, has cost another £50 million a year.

"He is throwing away millions of pounds a year more with his stupid plan to get rid of bendy buses and turn the clock back with a costly new Routemaster bus."