Government needs to provide long term funding to sustain TFL

The time has surely come for the government to stop playing silly games with the funding of Transport For London (TFL) and put it on a secure footing. The latest short term funding deal finishes at the end of the month. A decent deal that provides long term security, without imposing cuts and fare rises is needed urgently. The fortunes of TFL were turned on its head, as a result of the Covid pandemic. Suddenly, a transport system that moved millions of people around everyday saw passenger number practically disappear overnight. The initial reduction, saw more than 90% stop travelling on the public transport system. People were told in the early stages to avoid public transport for fear of getting Covid. The virus took a terrible toll on bus drivers, with a number dying. How quickly we seem to forget the sacrifices made by those heroic people. Today, the government seem to be using Covid's legacy to settle old political scores with the Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan. Up to the pandemic, TFL was going from strength to strength. Services were expanded, with fares frozen for four years. The Mayor's transport policy which seeks to get 80% of people travelling by cycle, foot or public transport by 2041 was progressing well. TFL was the vehicle for funding many active travel projects across the capital. The cycle network expanded, as a result. A real modal shift has been taking place in the way people get around. But the government saw it's opportunity to exact political revenge. The lack of passengers during the pandemic brought TFL financially to its knees. It had to look to government for funding to keep going. This has been slowly forthcoming with strings attached. The government has insisted on fare increases and cuts to services in exchange for financial support. The cuts have serious implications for the active travel agenda, with local authorities now restricted by the lack of funds available from TFL for the schemes. It would be good to see the funds raised from the Ultra Low Emissions Zone being reinvested in the active travel schemes The assault has claimed TFL to be badly run, which is why it is in such a poor financial state. No mention of the pandemic. The sacrifice of so many bus and Tube workers is forgotten. The financial pressures are seeing vacancies not being filled, so increasing the pressure on those doing the daily work on the buses and railways. The government's pressure for cuts is what is causing the strikes. What is needed is for the government to stop playing political games and provide a proper long term financial deal to support TFL back to recovery. A struggling TFL has implications across the country, with jobs right across the UK dependent on the network. The supply of new trains, ongoing servicing of infrastructure and vehicles provides work across the country. Unsurprisingly, TFL has a long supply chain. TFL has for a long time represented the best of Britain in providing a sustainable transport network, from the Elizabeth Line to the active travel orientated cycle networks. This all despite receiving far less in public subsidy than the transport systems of most Western capitals (TFL has to find 72% of its operating costs from fare income, compared to 38% for operators in Paris and New York). If the government is serious about levelling up, it needs to sustain TFL, whilst seeking to bring the rest of the country up to its standards. The answer is not to drag everything down to the lowest common denominator. So, the time has come for transport secretary Grant Shapps and former London Mayor Boris Johnson to step up and provide the long term funding that TFL requires.