The deal, slightly improved on a “final offer” made in July by transport secretary Grant Shapps, was hailed by TfL as allowing it to prevent the “managed decline” of its transport network. But Khan warned it was “far from ideal” and still presented London with a £600m budget shortfall. The Department for Transport said the settlement would “secure the long-term future of London’s transport network” and match TfL’s pre-pandemic spending plans – although they will not be adjusted for inflation. The funding will allow investment to continue, including new Piccadilly line trains and other tube upgrades, the DfT said. Hammersmith Bridge will be repaired and an annual investment of £80 million in active travel schemes to expand walking and cycling infrastructure will be ensured. TfL’s board decided at an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon to accept the deal, almost four weeks after the ongoing short-term bailouts ended. Total emergency funding needed since the Covid era at TfL at around £6 billion. TfL’s finances have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with its budget mainly dependent on tube fare revenue. Passenger traffic fell to 4% of normal levels in 2020 and has only recovered to about 70% of 2019 weekday levels. Shapps said: “For over two years now we have shown time and time again our unwavering commitment to London and the transport network it depends on, but we must be fair to taxpayers across the country. “This deal offers more than Londoners and even matches the mayor’s pre-pandemic spending plans, but to work, the mayor must keep his promises to put TfL back on a solid financial footing, stop rely on government bailouts and take responsibility for its actions. Now is the time to put politics to one side and get on with the job – Londoners depend on it.” Khan said some key concessions meant TfL could avoid “having to make the devastating cuts to vital transport services previously proposed – taking us away from the managed decline of London’s transport network”. However, he added: “This deal is far from ideal. The government still leaves TfL with a significant funding gap, which means we will likely need to raise fares in the future and make some cuts to bus services.” He warned that “onerous commitments attached”, including a condition requiring TfL to set out options for reforming its pension scheme, were likely to cause more industrial action and disruption for commuters. The RMT union has already held a series of strikes in the capital this year over the issue. Khan said TfL “had no choice but to accept to complete the deal to avoid bankruptcy of TfL, save the jobs of thousands of transport workers and keep trains, tubes and buses running across our city”. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He added: “The sole cause of TfL’s financial crisis was the impact of the pandemic, so it is simply wrong to punish Londoners and transport workers in this way.” TfL commissioner Andy Byford said the funding still had a hole in the budget but “avoided the disaster scenario”. He said: “We have stuck with the Londoners and fought to get a fair amount. It’s not the three-year deal we wanted, but it protects us for longer than we expected. “We will need to move forward with our plans to further modernize our organization and become even more efficient, and we will continue to face a number of difficult choices going forward, but London will move away from the managed decline of its transport network.” The deal guarantees a level of revenue until March 2024, but will still leave TfL looking for around £230m in extra savings over the next two years. But City Hall believes it has won enough concessions to avert worst-case cuts, avoiding scrapping free travel for under-18s and giving TfL some leeway on controversial pension reform. It will now have to provide options instead of proposals for workers’ pensions – one of which, Byford said, would be to “do nothing”.
title: “Tfl Funding Deal Means Tube Fares Must Rise And Bus Services Cut Tfl Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-24” author: “Patricia Lerner”
The deal, slightly improved on a “final offer” made in July by transport secretary Grant Shapps, was hailed by TfL as allowing it to prevent the “managed decline” of its transport network. But Khan warned it was “far from ideal” and still presented London with a £600m budget shortfall. The Department for Transport said the settlement would “secure the long-term future of London’s transport network” and match TfL’s pre-pandemic spending plans – although they will not be adjusted for inflation. The funding will allow investment to continue, including new Piccadilly line trains and other tube upgrades, the DfT said. Hammersmith Bridge will be repaired and an annual investment of £80 million in active travel schemes to expand walking and cycling infrastructure will be ensured. TfL’s board decided at an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon to accept the deal, almost four weeks after the ongoing short-term bailouts ended. Total emergency funding needed since the Covid era at TfL at around £6 billion. TfL’s finances have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with its budget mainly dependent on tube fare revenue. Passenger traffic fell to 4% of normal levels in 2020 and has only recovered to about 70% of 2019 weekday levels. Shapps said: “For over two years now we have shown time and time again our unwavering commitment to London and the transport network it depends on, but we must be fair to taxpayers across the country. “This deal offers more than Londoners and even matches the mayor’s pre-pandemic spending plans, but to work, the mayor must keep his promises to put TfL back on a solid financial footing, stop rely on government bailouts and take responsibility for its actions. Now is the time to put politics to one side and get on with the job – Londoners depend on it.” Khan said some key concessions meant TfL could avoid “having to make the devastating cuts to vital transport services previously proposed – taking us away from the managed decline of London’s transport network”. However, he added: “This deal is far from ideal. The government still leaves TfL with a significant funding gap, which means we will likely need to raise fares in the future and make some cuts to bus services.” He warned that “onerous commitments attached”, including a condition requiring TfL to set out options for reforming its pension scheme, were likely to cause more industrial action and disruption for commuters. The RMT union has already held a series of strikes in the capital this year over the issue. Khan said TfL “had no choice but to accept to complete the deal to avoid bankruptcy of TfL, save the jobs of thousands of transport workers and keep trains, tubes and buses running across our city”. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He added: “The sole cause of TfL’s financial crisis was the impact of the pandemic, so it is simply wrong to punish Londoners and transport workers in this way.” TfL commissioner Andy Byford said the funding still had a hole in the budget but “avoided the disaster scenario”. He said: “We have stuck with the Londoners and fought to get a fair amount. It’s not the three-year deal we wanted, but it protects us for longer than we expected. “We will need to move forward with our plans to further modernize our organization and become even more efficient, and we will continue to face a number of difficult choices going forward, but London will move away from the managed decline of its transport network.” The deal guarantees a level of revenue until March 2024, but will still leave TfL looking for around £230m in extra savings over the next two years. But City Hall believes it has won enough concessions to avert worst-case cuts, avoiding scrapping free travel for under-18s and giving TfL some leeway on controversial pension reform. It will now have to provide options instead of proposals for workers’ pensions – one of which, Byford said, would be to “do nothing”.
title: “Tfl Funding Deal Means Tube Fares Must Rise And Bus Services Cut Tfl Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Joel Seid”
The deal, slightly improved on a “final offer” made in July by transport secretary Grant Shapps, was hailed by TfL as allowing it to prevent the “managed decline” of its transport network. But Khan warned it was “far from ideal” and still presented London with a £600m budget shortfall. The Department for Transport said the settlement would “secure the long-term future of London’s transport network” and match TfL’s pre-pandemic spending plans – although they will not be adjusted for inflation. The funding will allow investment to continue, including new Piccadilly line trains and other tube upgrades, the DfT said. Hammersmith Bridge will be repaired and an annual investment of £80 million in active travel schemes to expand walking and cycling infrastructure will be ensured. TfL’s board decided at an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon to accept the deal, almost four weeks after the ongoing short-term bailouts ended. Total emergency funding needed since the Covid era at TfL at around £6 billion. TfL’s finances have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with its budget mainly dependent on tube fare revenue. Passenger traffic fell to 4% of normal levels in 2020 and has only recovered to about 70% of 2019 weekday levels. Shapps said: “For over two years now we have shown time and time again our unwavering commitment to London and the transport network it depends on, but we must be fair to taxpayers across the country. “This deal offers more than Londoners and even matches the mayor’s pre-pandemic spending plans, but to work, the mayor must keep his promises to put TfL back on a solid financial footing, stop rely on government bailouts and take responsibility for its actions. Now is the time to put politics to one side and get on with the job – Londoners depend on it.” Khan said some key concessions meant TfL could avoid “having to make the devastating cuts to vital transport services previously proposed – taking us away from the managed decline of London’s transport network”. However, he added: “This deal is far from ideal. The government still leaves TfL with a significant funding gap, which means we will likely need to raise fares in the future and make some cuts to bus services.” He warned that “onerous commitments attached”, including a condition requiring TfL to set out options for reforming its pension scheme, were likely to cause more industrial action and disruption for commuters. The RMT union has already held a series of strikes in the capital this year over the issue. Khan said TfL “had no choice but to accept to complete the deal to avoid bankruptcy of TfL, save the jobs of thousands of transport workers and keep trains, tubes and buses running across our city”. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He added: “The sole cause of TfL’s financial crisis was the impact of the pandemic, so it is simply wrong to punish Londoners and transport workers in this way.” TfL commissioner Andy Byford said the funding still had a hole in the budget but “avoided the disaster scenario”. He said: “We have stuck with the Londoners and fought to get a fair amount. It’s not the three-year deal we wanted, but it protects us for longer than we expected. “We will need to move forward with our plans to further modernize our organization and become even more efficient, and we will continue to face a number of difficult choices going forward, but London will move away from the managed decline of its transport network.” The deal guarantees a level of revenue until March 2024, but will still leave TfL looking for around £230m in extra savings over the next two years. But City Hall believes it has won enough concessions to avert worst-case cuts, avoiding scrapping free travel for under-18s and giving TfL some leeway on controversial pension reform. It will now have to provide options instead of proposals for workers’ pensions – one of which, Byford said, would be to “do nothing”.
title: “Tfl Funding Deal Means Tube Fares Must Rise And Bus Services Cut Tfl Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-12” author: “Steven Smith”
The deal, slightly improved on a “final offer” made in July by transport secretary Grant Shapps, was hailed by TfL as allowing it to prevent the “managed decline” of its transport network. But Khan warned it was “far from ideal” and still presented London with a £600m budget shortfall. The Department for Transport said the settlement would “secure the long-term future of London’s transport network” and match TfL’s pre-pandemic spending plans – although they will not be adjusted for inflation. The funding will allow investment to continue, including new Piccadilly line trains and other tube upgrades, the DfT said. Hammersmith Bridge will be repaired and an annual investment of £80 million in active travel schemes to expand walking and cycling infrastructure will be ensured. TfL’s board decided at an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon to accept the deal, almost four weeks after the ongoing short-term bailouts ended. Total emergency funding needed since the Covid era at TfL at around £6 billion. TfL’s finances have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with its budget mainly dependent on tube fare revenue. Passenger traffic fell to 4% of normal levels in 2020 and has only recovered to about 70% of 2019 weekday levels. Shapps said: “For over two years now we have shown time and time again our unwavering commitment to London and the transport network it depends on, but we must be fair to taxpayers across the country. “This deal offers more than Londoners and even matches the mayor’s pre-pandemic spending plans, but to work, the mayor must keep his promises to put TfL back on a solid financial footing, stop rely on government bailouts and take responsibility for its actions. Now is the time to put politics to one side and get on with the job – Londoners depend on it.” Khan said some key concessions meant TfL could avoid “having to make the devastating cuts to vital transport services previously proposed – taking us away from the managed decline of London’s transport network”. However, he added: “This deal is far from ideal. The government still leaves TfL with a significant funding gap, which means we will likely need to raise fares in the future and make some cuts to bus services.” He warned that “onerous commitments attached”, including a condition requiring TfL to set out options for reforming its pension scheme, were likely to cause more industrial action and disruption for commuters. The RMT union has already held a series of strikes in the capital this year over the issue. Khan said TfL “had no choice but to accept to complete the deal to avoid bankruptcy of TfL, save the jobs of thousands of transport workers and keep trains, tubes and buses running across our city”. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He added: “The sole cause of TfL’s financial crisis was the impact of the pandemic, so it is simply wrong to punish Londoners and transport workers in this way.” TfL commissioner Andy Byford said the funding still had a hole in the budget but “avoided the disaster scenario”. He said: “We have stuck with the Londoners and fought to get a fair amount. It’s not the three-year deal we wanted, but it protects us for longer than we expected. “We will need to move forward with our plans to further modernize our organization and become even more efficient, and we will continue to face a number of difficult choices going forward, but London will move away from the managed decline of its transport network.” The deal guarantees a level of revenue until March 2024, but will still leave TfL looking for around £230m in extra savings over the next two years. But City Hall believes it has won enough concessions to avert worst-case cuts, avoiding scrapping free travel for under-18s and giving TfL some leeway on controversial pension reform. It will now have to provide options instead of proposals for workers’ pensions – one of which, Byford said, would be to “do nothing”.
