TfL funding deal means tube fares must rise and bus services be cut

theguardian.com:

Tube fares will rise and more bus services will be cut in the capital, the mayor, Sadiq Khan, warned, after Transport for London agreed to accept a £1.2bn funding settlement from the government.

The deal, slightly improved from a “final offer” made in July by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, was welcomed by TfL as allowing it to avert the “managed decline” of its transport network.

But Khan warned it was “far from ideal” and still presented London with a £600m shortfall from its budget.

The Department for Transport said the settlement would “secure the long-term future of London’s transport network” and match TfL’s pre-pandemic spending plans – albeit not adjusted for inflation.

The funding would enable continued investment, including new Piccadilly line trains and other tube upgrades, the DfT said. Hammersmith Bridge will be repaired and an £80m annual investment in active travel schemes to expand walking and cycling infrastructure will be guaranteed.

The TfL board decided at an emergency meeting on Tuesday afternoon to accept the deal, almost four weeks after the ongoing short-term bailouts had expired.

It takes total Covid-era emergency funding to TfL to about £6bn. TfL’s finances were wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic, with its budget mostly dependent on tube fare revenue. Ridership sank to 4% of normal levels in 2020 and has only recovered to around 70% of 2019 weekday levels.

Shapps said: “For over two years now we’ve time and again shown our unwavering commitment to London and the transport network it depends on, but we have to be fair to taxpayers across the entire country.

“This deal more than delivers for Londoners and even matches the mayor’s own pre-pandemic spending plans but for this to work, the mayor must