Thursday 08 December 2016 9:20 am

TfL plans to save £800m as it sheds management layers and cuts jobs to deliver mayor’s spending ambitions

By: Francesca Washtell and Rebecca Smith

Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled its five-year business plan to achieve the big investments Sadiq Khan has been announcing – and it involves trimming jobs to save £800m a year.

The mayor has unveiled funding for a range of issues from £770m on London's cyclists to £200m on step-free access on the Underground, along with saying transport fares will be frozen. And to deliver all this, Khan said "a flabby TfL" needed to shape up fast.

It is cutting management layers, and has implemented an exit programme with 49 senior managers leaving, which TfL said will save it £40m over the next five years. It also intends to chop spending on consultancy and non-permanent labour.

"The previous mayor refused to do it, but in reorganising a flabby TfL and finding major efficiency savings within the organisation, we’re securing this record investment without burdening Londoners with further hikes in TfL fares," said Khan.

The mayor hailed the draft plan, which will be considered by the TfL board next week, for its emphasis on creating "modern and affordable" transport as well as achieving significant cost savings.

"The new TfL business plan being presented today sets out an ambitious and wide-reaching programme that allows us to both freeze TfL fares, and invest record amounts modernising London’s transport’s infrastructure," he added.

The plan includes modernising several major Underground stations, bringing forward plans to extend the Bakerloo line and investing "record amounts" in cycling and cleaning up London's air.

It aims to initiate the biggest Tube capacity growth that London has ever seen by introducing the Elizabeth line, installing new signalling on the Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and District and Circles Lines.

Further upgrades on the Jubilee and Northern lines will boost their capacity by 17 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

TfL also said it will explore the option of rolling out the Night Tube onto additional lines and will progress with new east London river crossings including the Silvertown Tunnel and a new pedestrian and cycling bridge linking Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf, easing congestion on the Rotherhithe Tunnel and the Jubilee line connection.

John Dickie, Policy and Strategy Director at London First, said:

The mayor’s focus on creating a more efficient TfL is critical to fund the investment needed to upgrade Tube capacity and meet the demands of London’s growing population.

We’re delighted the Mayor has sped up plans to extend the Bakerloo line which, alongside better river crossings, will help unlock the economic potential of East and South East London.

The organisation added that it will take a "fundamentally different approach" to raising non-fares income by "fully realising its enormous advertising estate and maximising its land and retail estate in support of the mayor's housing strategy".

The draft plan sets out aims to £3.4bn for reinvestment in the transport network by 2023 through property development, advertising and consultancy opportunities. This work includes putting spare land to better use by building 10,000 homes.