SOCIAL isolation and mental illness is being exacerbated by high public transport fares in London, researchers warned today.

Workers add hours to their commutes by taking multiple bus routes to avoid expensive trains, a volunteer-run survey by Fare Free London found in a briefing published today. 

Respondents spoke of being left with little time to spend with their families or socialise, with high fares also obstructing access to employment opportunities, education and reasonable living standards, said the report.

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan was urged to include the issues in discussions about the funding basis of Transport for London and how the body can “eventually abolish reliance on fares income.”

Fare Free London’s Pearl Ahrens said: “We focused on the way that the relatively high cost of public transport in London affects lower-income households, whose views are often least heard.

“Nearly half of our respondents said they worry about costs every time they use public transport. More than half said they use cheaper modes of transport because better ones are too expensive. 

“This often meant people taking long journeys by bus instead of Tube.”

London is Britain’s richest city, with the highest proportion of households in the top tenth of incomes nationally, but also its poorest and most unequal, with the highest proportion in the bottom tenth. 

One survey respondent said he used three buses and the Woolwich Ferry to travel from Lewisham to the Royal Docks “to save the money I would have to spend if I took the Underground or the DLR.” 

Another took an hour’s journey to school by bus, double the time it would take by train.

A man described how he caught a bus at 5am and walked a lengthy distance to arrive on time for a 7am cleaning job.

And a single mother said that she is “doing a balancing act” by limiting her two daughters’ weekend outings due to travel costs while taking three buses to commute to central London herself.

Another respondent said: “Every time I step out of the house, I spend more money on travel than even groceries. It disconnects me from seeing my family as well as my friends.”

The mayor’s office was contacted for comment.