London mayor slams govt over £1.6bn TfL bailout terms

A political row broke out on Friday over a £1.6bn rescue package for London's transport system as the government made the deal conditional on fare rises, extra debt for the capital and axing free travel for children.

London mayor Sadiq Khan On Friday said Londoners were being punished for "doing the right thing on Covid-19" and criticised the government for forcing TfL to take on an additional debt burden, calling the arrangement a "sticking plaster". The deal also includes an increase in the daily cost of the central London congestion charge.

“I want to be completely honest and upfront with Londoners – this is not the deal I wanted. But it was the only deal the government put on the table and I had no choice but to accept it to keep the Tubes and buses running," Khan said in a statement on Friday.

The package, which lasts until September, is made up of a £1.095bn grant and £505m in extra borrowing. The government also insisted that free travel for pensioners be suspended at peak times and that children also pay to commute.

Khan is angry that transport bailouts in other parts of the country have not come with strings attached and specifically demanded the retention of concessions.

On Thursday the mayor warned services in the capital would have to be cut as Londoners stayed home and business shut down during the coronavirus lockdown, leading to a 90% fall in fare income during March and April. Bus services have also been running for free.

TfL, which runs the capital's underground train system, buses and some parts of the London's overground rail network, has kept services running to allow key workers and those who cannot work from home to travel.

'MAKING LONDONERS PAY'

City Hall said the congestion charge, currently suspended but resuming on Monday, would rise to £15 a day from £11.50 on June 22. Operating hours would be extended to 10pm, seven days a week, instead of just weekdays.

“In the last few years, London has been the only major city in western Europe that hasn’t received direct government funding to run day to day transport services since it was cut by the last government," Khan said.

“The government is, in effect, making ordinary Londoners pay the cost for doing the right thing on Covid-19. They want fares to go up next January – ending the four years fares freeze I delivered after the last election. They have insisted that free travel is temporarily suspended for Freedom Pass and 60-plus card holders at peak times."

“This deal is a sticking plaster. The old model for funding public transport in London simply does not work in this new reality – fares income will not cover the cost of running services while so few people can safely use public transport."

Khan said in the next few months he would have to negotiate a new funding model with government involving either permanent funding from central government or giving London more control over key taxes "or a combination of both".

Other measures announced by Khan included establishing car-free streets to allow more journeys by bike and on foot with routes between London Bridge and Shoreditch, Euston, Waterloo and Holborn included.