Transport for London (TfL) has published its five-year Business Plan covering the period from 2020/21 to 2024/25, which estimates a GBP 1 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) reduction of the net annual cost of operations, compared to 2015/16.
The draft plan sets out how transport will support sustainable growth, making the city a safer, greener and better place to live, work and visit.
TfL remains on track to generate an operating surplus by 2022/23, which will cover the cost of financing, maintaining, operating and renewing its transport network. This will help ensure it can manage debt and reduce borrowing levels. Throughout the plan period, significant investment will continue providing better, more frequent and accessible transport options. The investment is structured in nine schemes which includes, among others, the completion of the signalling upgrade on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and District lines, the delivery of refurbished trains on the Central and Piccadilly lines, the support to Crossrail Ltd to allow the opening of the Elizabeth line (which recently was delayed for 2021), the introduction of new services on the London Overground.
The plan encourages greater use of public transport, walking and cycling and will significantly improve the environment and air quality. In October 2020 and 2021, TfL intends to tighten the Low Emission Zone standards, expanding the successful central London ULEZ, to cover the area within the North and South Circular Roads.
TfL will also continue to make the case for future transport infrastructure to support the growth of London and support the wider South East region and the UK overall, such as Crossrail 2 and the Bakerloo line extension. Delivering the proposed schemes would unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes and lead to cleaner air, better health, a more prosperous economy and real progress towards carbon neutrality, as well as better transport links.
Relating to the state funding, while London has benefited from additional third-party funding for transport projects, such as being successful in bids from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, TfL did not see any commitment in the 2019 Government spending round. This is materially limiting long-term investment in the transport network. Following the General Election, the Mayor and London’s Transport Commissioner will be writing to the new Government to press the need to confirm the steady and sustained funding London needs to the benefit of the UK as a whole.
“I am hugely proud of what we have achieved improving transport across London, this is despite the ongoing economic uncertainty and the average reduction of £700m [EUR 838.7 million] per year in TfL’s funding from central Government. But London also needs a Government that recognises the importance of continued investment in new infrastructure for the future of our economy, and it is essential the new Government commits to working with us to deliver vital projects such as Crossrail 2 and the Bakerloo Line extension,” Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said.
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