Listen: Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall admits she ‘doesn’t know’ London bus fare

The Tory candidate for London Mayor has admitted she does not know how much it costs to get a bus in the capital.

Susan Hall, who is hoping to unseat Sadiq Khan in the race for City Hall on May 2, was unable to state the price of London bus fare, insisting she tends to get trains instead.

The Harrow councillor also revealed she does not know exactly how much new police officers are paid or who owns Hammersmith Bridge.

During an LBC phone-in with Nick Ferrari, the 68-year-old struggled to answer a series of London-centric questions.

The interview was described by critics on social media as a “total disaster”, with Carol Vorderman, the former Countdown presenter, mocking the Tories for their choice of candidate.

Asked if she knew how much it cost to get a bus in the city, Ms Hall said: “I don’t use them. I use trains all the time.”

Pressed again on whether she knew the bus fare, she replied simply: “No.”

When Mr Ferrari reminded her the fare is £1.75 and suggested the “incredible value for money” on long journeys might be worth reviewing, Ms Hall said the affordability is “why buses are good”, but admitted she does not “know the profitability”.

Ms Hall expressed intentions to increase the number of buses serving the capital but did not go as far as saying where the money would come from, saying she would need to see Mr Khan’s final budget to assess the funds available.

Earlier in the interview, the Tory candidate also insisted that London needs more police on the streets, but could not say exactly how much they are paid.

Asked directly what a police officer earns, she said: “I think they start about 30-something and it goes up from there.”

She added: “I think they cost us… a bobby costs about 60k, with the ongoing costs, don’t forget it’s not just their wages.”

She went on to admit that she did not know the current starting salary, which is £36,775.

Ms Hall also faced an awkward exchange over Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to vehicles for nearly five years in a multi-million pound repair fiasco.

The City Hall Tories have weaponised the issue to criticise the current Mayor, arguing it should be re-named “Sadiq Khan Bridge” because it is “a road to nowhere that’s absolutely no use to anyone”.

Ms Hall described it as a “key bridge”, adding that “if there’s money that can be found that would be able to be used on it, I would”.

But she was unclear on who owns the structure, claiming it is disputed between two councils.

The ownership of the bridge was transferred to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 1985 after the abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC).

Asked why she didn’t know this, Ms Hall said “two councils have been fighting with each other over it”, claiming that Hammersmith and Fulham have been seeking contributions from other local authorities.

The caller who asked the question said she was “a bit disappointed” by the response as it “shows a basic factual misunderstanding of the case”.

Shortly before the phone-in on Monday morning, Ms Hall invited her followers on X to tune in, promising to “always embrace scrutiny” if she is elected Mayor.

Ms Vorderman tweeted: “Susan Hall doesn’t know how much police officers earn, who owns Hammersmith Bridge or the cost of a bus fare…

“Rishi Sunak thinks she’s marvellous… Some days you do just wonder what they’re drinking!”

Dawn Butler, the Labour MP who plans to stand for Mayor when Mr Khan steps down, said: “The Tory candidate seems seriously unfit to be London Mayor and clearly doesn’t understand the cost of living in London.

“She’s running for Mayor but hasn’t grasped the basics – like the price of a London bus fare, how little a Met police officer earns, or who owns Hammersmith Bridge.

“And her values are also totally out of line with Londoners. The Tories have changed the rules on how Londoners will choose their Mayor.”

A spokesman for Ms Hall: “Susan is focused resolutely on the issues that matter – getting a grip of crime and scrapping Sadiq Khan’s unfair Ulez expansion on day one.

“Londoners want a Mayor who will deliver for them and that is what Susan offers.”

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