Transport for London (TfL) has agreed a third Government bailout to keep services running amid the collapse in demand for travel during the pandemic.
The Department for Transport said the latest package is worth £1.08 billion and runs until December 11.
London mayor Sadiq Khan who chairs TfL said it is “not the deal we wanted” but it ensures “we can continue to run vital transport services at this crucial time for our city”.
Under the agreement, TfL must find £300 million of new savings or income in the 2021/22 financial year and £500 million of new or increased sources of revenue each year from 2023.
The DfT said Mr Khan has also committed to “review TfL’s generous pensions scheme” and “make progress” towards running driverless trains with an “onboard attendant” on at least one London Underground line.
The package brings Government support for TfL since March 2020 to more than £4 billion.
‘Driverless’ Tubes on the way
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has paved the way for the first “driverless” trains on the Tube — with draft proposals to be drawn up for the Waterloo & City line and Piccadilly line before Christmas. Mr Shapps attached a series of conditions to TfL’s third Covid bailout, including:
- Fare rises of RPI plus one per cent from next January.
- A pay freeze for all TfL staff earning above £24,000 a year and no executive bonuses.
- A cost-sharing deal to get Hammersmith bridge reopened to pedestrians and cyclists this summer.
- A requirement for TfL to spend £100 million by mid-December on walking and cycling schemes.
- A refusal to hand the Mayor the £500 million a year paid by the capital’s motorists in vehicle excise duty
- The requirement for TfL to generate an extra £500 million to £1 billion of income a year.
- A review of TfL’s generous staff pension scheme to cut costs and make it “financially sustainable”.
