• THE government gave Transport for London a short-term emergency funding deal last week to keep services running for another six months, but it is laden with punitive conditions.

Londoners have done the right thing in the pandemic and stayed away from public transport where possible; at the start passenger numbers on the tube and buses plummeted. Since that time, TfL’s fares revenues have struggled to recover.

The financial impacts on TfL have been huge and far-reaching. Compared with other transport authorities TfL is disproportionately reliant on fares income to keep operating.

This is because, when he was mayor, Boris Johnson agreed to cut £1billion of annual government grant funding to TfL.

Despite this Sadiq Khan managed to reduce the operating deficit at TfL, that he inherited from Johnson, by 71 per cent and increase its cash reserves by 13 per cent.

So the only reason that TfL is now struggling is the pandemic. In March 2020, government ministers handed private rail companies a blank cheque to keep them running for 18 months. But they have treated TfL very differently.

As part of the last sticking-plaster funding deal, they imposed long-term cuts on TfL’s budget, among other damaging measures. This could all have significant knock-on impacts down the line for services local commuters.

For the sake of London’s recovery and that of the country, the government has to urgently go back to the drawing board and provide TfL with a long-term funding package.

ANNE CLARKE AM
Labour, Assembly Member
for Barnet & Camden