On 10 Jun, 11:08, "sweller" wrote:
When I started work on Regent St in 1969 the Waterloo to Piccadilly
Circus fare was 3d. That would be just over 1p in currency or
USD0.02.

It cost twice as much to go from Waterloo to Oxford Circus, i.e. 6d of
2.5 new pence. That would be USD0.05 nowadays.
Needless to say that I find the present day London fare to be
extortionate.

How much, say, beer, bread or cheese would the 3d buy in 1969, compared
to the £1.50 fare today?

This site is absolutely excellent for asking this kind of question:
http://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/

So the 7s 6d fare from Northwood to South Ken in 1968 is worth GBP4.35
in 2006 based on RPI; GBP8.53 based on average earnings (because we're
paid twice as much now as we were then, after inflation); and GBP9.87
as a share of GDP (because capital gains have risen even more than
wages).

The 3d fare, meanwhile, is worth 15p based on RPI or 29p based on
average earnings.

The discrepancy in short-hop centre fares compared with long distance
fares in the 1960s seems almost unimaginable - especially given that
it's precisely those short-hop centre journeys where the system is
crowded.

Also interesting is the GBP2 forces return from Bristol to Darlington
in 1958. That's GBP32 in 1996 money based on RPI, GBP82 based on
average earnings, or GBP96 based on GDP. The SVR fare with Forces
Railcard today is actually GBP69.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org