It’s reported Transport for London is only nine days away from running out of money as it negotiates a fresh bailout with the government.
Financial newspaper City AM says TfL is in negotiations with the Department for Transport over the funding settlement, with mayor Sadiq Khan asking for £5.65bn over the next 18 months. It adds that City Hall expects Tube numbers to be far below pre-Covid levels “for the foreseeable future”.
TfL was give £1.6bn in May, after revenues plummeted by more than 90 per cent during the Covid lockdown. This led to changes to congestion charge timing and pricing, planned increases in tube fares and the suspension of free travel for under-18s.
Khan told City AM last month that the first bailout will run out on 17 October, a week from Saturday, and that any extra conditions to the new funding would “put conditions on our ability to run our city and that inhibits our ability to contribute to the wealth and prosperity of our country”.
However, the paper believes the two sides still have “quite a bridge to gap” on a funding settlement.
