The Government has announced that it will be awarding £1.7bn to Transport for London (TfL).
The funds will cover operations up until March 2021 and is in addition to £1.6bn that was awarded by Government earlier on this year.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a huge hit to revenue for all public transport as the public were told to avoid public transport unless absolutely necessary to. This money is intended to cover the lost revenue that has hit TfL.
The vast majority of the funds are coming in the form of grants, with £95m coming as part of a loan from the Government.
National taxpayers will also continue to fund free travel concessions to standard English levels and free travel to school for children who qualify under national legislation.
The Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said:
“This deal is proof of our commitment to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends. Just as we’ve done for the national rail operators, we’ll make up the fare income which TfL is losing due to COVID-19. Londoners making essential trips will continue to be able to use tubes, buses, and other TfL services, thanks to this government funding.
“At the same time, the agreement is fair to taxpayers across the country. The Mayor has pledged that national taxpayers will not pay for benefits for Londoners that they do not get themselves elsewhere in the country.
“Over the coming months, as we look to move beyond the pandemic, I look forward to working with London’s representatives to achieve a long-term settlement, with London given more control over key taxes so it can pay more costs of the transport network itself. This agreement marks the first step towards that, potentially allowing a longer-term, sustainable settlement for TfL when the course of the pandemic becomes clearer.”
