Public transport is not a luxury

It’s good news that Transport for London and the government have come to a funding agreement without extending the congestion charge or scrapping free travel for under-18s and over-60s.

However, it’s disappointing to see that the agreement is only until March, and not the 18 months mayor of London Sadiq Khan was seeking.

TfL’s plight has been made much worse by the reduction of its subsidy and its consequent almost total reliance on fares. That has left it exposed and vulnerable to a sudden disaster such as the Covid-19 virus, which has robbed it of most of its customer base. If we have another pandemic, heaven help us!

As for increasing fares – they are going up by inflation plus one per cent – ours are already expensive, and this impacts the poor who can’t afford to run a car, and commuters who have little other option (but not politicians, of course, who simply put their travel on expenses).

There’s also the question of the environment. We should be encouraging people to use public transport once things return to normal – to lessen pollution and to avoid gridlock on our roads.

We don’t hear of other countries’ transport systems grinding to a halt from lack of funds. In any civilised society, affordable public transport should be an essential part of the social infrastructure – a necessity, not a luxury.

Do we really want the dubious distinction of being the only European country that doesn’t support public transport in its capital city? The government needs to stop treating public transport as if it were a political football.

Also, it may criticise Mr Khan for the cost of Crossrail but it should put its own house in order and get the cost of that monstrous white elephant, HS2, under control.