Byford sets out financial support hopes for TfL
TRANSPORT for London needs £3 billion worth of financial support for this calendar year, and £1.6bn support per year until 2030, says London Transport Commissioner Andy Byford.
Speaking about the situation at a business breakfast webinar on January 26, Byford told delegates that levelling up the UK should entail helping the capital as well as providing money for other regions.
“Government wants to see a levelled-up UK. So do I. It makes sense,” he said.
“But levelling up does not mean saying to London ‘you’ve had your share, we’re now going to shovel all the money up to the North and the Midlands’. No!
“London generates £39bn net to the Exchequer annually. It would be facile to say ‘cut London off and all the money goes to the North’, because my argument would be ‘what money?’ London needs to be the centre of the recovery.”
Byford said that the COVID-19 pandemic had “exposed a reckless, ultimately over-reliance on the farebox”. Pre-pandemic, 72% of TfL’s operational costs were covered by fare revenue, compared with 38% in New York and 49% in Madrid. He explained that the average figure around the world is 40%-45%.
TfL has received two six-month financial support agreements from the Government ( RAIL 909/917), with the second due to expire next month. While expressing gratitude, Byford said the real prize is for
TfL to come up with a long-term financial sustainability plan.
“I want to negotiate with government a four- to five-year funding settlement, whereby in the short term we will still need support,” he said.
“We will still need around, we calculate, £3bn for the next calendar year, maybe a bit for the year after. But we see a path for sustainability.”
He said different ideas were needed to help TfL raise funds. Those he described to delegates related to roads.
“For CAPEX [Capital Expenditure] we will need £1.6bn per year until 2030. That’s a price worth paying. It’s not just funding TfL, it’s not just funding London, it’s fuelling the UK’s economic recovery.”
Byford also revealed that while publicly he is committed to Crossrail opening in the first half of 2022, he’s told the team he wants an improvement on that, as well as an improvement on the planned early 2023 opening of the complete Shenfield/Abbey WoodReading/Heathrow Airport route.
“What could be a better symbol of recovery than the opening of the Elizabeth Line?” he said.