Boris Johnson today boasted he had "no doubt whatever" that he was responsible for "bouncing" the Treasury into announcing its rail fares freeze.
He said passengers "from Cornwall to Corby" could thank him for last month's announcement that average rail fare increases would be limited to the rate of inflation.
The Mayor was forced into a chaotic last-minute rethink to bring London fares into line leaving an estimated £20 million gap in Transport for London's budget.
He told the London Assembly today he was "absolutely confident" TfL would be compensated for the extra cost in some other way.
However, the Chancellor last week appeared to throw out his plea for extra funding forcing TfL to shoulder the cost of reducing the planned hike in travel cards itself.
The Mayor's remarks will be interpreted as his latest attempt to boost his national profile - and his own ambitions.
Lib Dem Assembly member Stephen Knight claimed the "fiasco" over fares demonstrated a breakdown in relations between the Treasury and City Hall.
"George Osborne obviously doesn't trust Boris not to try to claim credit for the announcement and today's session perhaps demonstrates he was right," he said.
"It's clear there is a complete breakdown in trust between the Treasury and Mayor in London and we're suffering the consequences."
Earlier, he asked Mr Johnson whether he believed that "rail passengers from Cornwall to Corby have you to thank" for keeping down their fares.
The Mayor replied: "I am. Absolutely. I've got no doubt about it whatever. They weren't going to do it."
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Mr Johnson refused to publish advice on the fares packaging prompting the Assembly to say it would consider referring the case to the Information Commissioner.
