Responding to the Mayor’s statement today following the agreement of another short-term funding package for Transport for London with Government, Sian Berry said:
It is a relief to see a new funding package today, after discussions went past the deadline and Government failed to engage in a timely way with London’s proposals submitted in January.
But the Mayor’s comments today are very concerning, suggesting he is not serious about building resilience and fairness, and reducing the risk of future crises in Transport for London’s finances.
I am very disappointed to see in his statement the clear assumption that London’s public transport fare payers will be filling the remaining gaps in our finances in future and that this is what he regards as ‘fair’. There is no mention of developing truly fair alternatives to the proposed boundary charge for spreading the cost of transport more fairly between people driving on the roads and people using buses and trains.
This would be both fair and resilient to future risks from pandemics and is a massive gap in the Mayor’s policies in his first term – a mistake his second term unfortunately looks set to repeat.”
Sian is responding to the agreement of a six month agreement with Government for £1 billion in additional funding, which asks for proposals to create new income sources worth £0.5 to £1 billion by 2023.
The Mayor today said that he hoped only fare payers would be required to fill this gap, saying:
“I am hopeful that as London bounces back from the pandemic, and income from fares continues to increase, we’ll be able to avoid introducing any unfair measures on Londoners, as the additional fares revenue may be able to meet Government demands.”
Since 2016, Sian Berry has been advocating for the development of a more balanced range of income sources for TfL, including a smarter, fairer per-mile charging scheme for road use, something which is within the current Mayor’s powers.