TfL’s financial blackhole hits £3.5bn as commuters stay home July 24, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) this morning said it would need £3.5bn in funding over the full year due to uncertainty over commuter demand due to the coronavirus. The figure is £300m higher than that laid out in the transport operator’s emergency coronavirus budget in May. It also said that it would require an additional £2.9bn [...]
Sadiq Khan suggests London tax autonomy in new TfL bailout deal July 22, 2020 London mayor Sadiq Khan has suggested that the government should consider giving the capital freedom to spend its own tax takings to fund Transport for London (TfL). Speaking to the parliamentary transport select committee this morning, Khan said that one of the options for the future funding of the embattled operator should be “proper fiscal [...]
Sadiq Khan launches finance review of London transport network after coronavirus impact July 22, 2020 Sadiq Khan has today launched an independent review of Transport for London’s (TfL) long-term funding and financing options. The panel will carry out its work in parallel with the government’s already-announced review of the transport network. TfL’s finances have collapsed in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, with passenger revenues plummeting more than 90 [...]
Fares now reinstated on all London buses July 13, 2020 Fares have now been reinstated on all London buses, Transport for London announced today, with enhanced safety measures meaning that passengers can now enter through the front doors. Travellers will now be required to touch in with Oyster, contactless and concessionary cards on all buses in a return to traditional arrangements, following the suspension of [...]
Londoners back Bailey pledge to reverse congestion charge June 23, 2020 Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has today submitted a petition to City Hall calling on Sadiq Khan to reverse the hike to the congestion charge. Bailey also said that he would undo the increase on the first day of his mayoralty, should he be elected next year. The petition, which has been signed by [...]
More ‘Boris bikes’ to be rolled out after record numbers take to two wheels June 10, 2020 Transport for London is adding 1,700 more bikes to its Santander Cycle scheme in response to record numbers of users during May. With health fears over coronavirus keeping Londoners off public transport, last month saw over 1.2m of the vehicles – formerly known as “Boris bikes” – hired, the highest number in the scheme’s 10-year [...]
Night Tube to be suspended until March 2021 June 4, 2020 Transport for London have confirmed there are no plans to bring back the Night Tube in the immediate future, with transport unions saying it will not be before March 2021. Tube union RMT have been told the overnight service will not run until the new year. A TfL spokesperson said: “With the current lockdown regulations [...]
Bailey calls for key workers to be exempt from congestion charge June 2, 2020 Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has called for key workers to be exempt from paying the newly reinstated London congestion charge. In a statement, Bailey said that the measure would be a “fair way” of rewarding the capital’s key workers, many of whom may be driving to avoid public transport during the current crisis. He [...]
TfL bailout conditions published as rescue row rolls on May 29, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) has today published the terms and conditions of its £1.6bn bailout from the government as the row over the rescue package continued. In the letter from transport secretary Grant Shapps, TfL was asked to suspend free travel for under 18s and Freedom Pass holders and reinstate the congestion charge in order [...]
London First: Give more powers to City Hall to fund TfL May 28, 2020 Business group London First has this morning called on the government to devolve further powers to the Greater London Assembly in order to secure the long-term finances of Transport for London (TfL). In a new report produced in partnership with KPMG, the group argues that unless City Hall is given access to tax revenues via [...]