Transport for London (TfL) and the UK government have reached a funding deal for the capital’s travel network, which should provide £3.6bn worth of funding to last until March 2024.
The agreement includes an upfront funding boost of £1.2bn. This is the sixth government bailout TfL has received since the start of the pandemic.
Tube services will not be cut, though a £740m funding gap remains for TfL. Tube ridership fell to 4% of pre-pandemic levels in 2020 and currently stands at about 70% of 2019 weekday levels.
Other key points include that free travel for under-18s will not be scrapped, but that bus services face cuts and tube fares may increase.
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “This funding agreement comes after more than a month of tough negotiations.
“The good news is that we have managed to win a number of key concessions from the government, which mean we will be able to avoid TfL having to make the devastating cuts to vital transport services previously proposed – moving us away from the managed decline of London’s transport network.
“However, I want to be frank with Londoners – this deal is far from ideal.
“The government is still leaving TfL with a significant funding gap, meaning we will likely have to increase fares in the future and still proceed with some cuts to bus services.
“There are also onerous strings attached, such as the government’s condition requiring TfL to come up with options for reform of TfL’s pension scheme at pace, which could well lead to more industrial action and more disruption for commuters.
“These are things we have had no choice but to accept in order to get the deal over the line to avoid TfL becoming bankrupt, to save the jobs of thousands of transport workers and to keep trains, tubes and buses running across our city.”
The government also pledged £80m a year for active travel programmes to improve levels of walking and cycling across the city.
