I won’t hike council tax and congestion charges to fund cash-strapped TfL, says Sadiq Khan

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Transport Reporter

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Sadiq Khan said he would pedestrianise Oxford Street in an announcement earlier this week
Sadiq Khan said he would pedestrianise Oxford Street in an announcement earlier this week

Sadiq Khan has said he will not hike council tax or congestion charges to find more funding for cash-strapped Transport for London (TfL).

In an interview with Morning Wire, London’s Mayor explained he had “no plans” to raise either, despite no mention of a government support package for the embattled transport operator in the Spring Budget.

TfL was floored after the pandemic wiped out passenger numbers, and it was forced to seek government support. Since then, it has been propped up by some £6.6bn in government funding.

Despite the bail-outs and an anticipated first-ever operating surplus this year, TfL is still looking for a long-term capital funding agreement for a slew of critical upgrades on the Tube network. It received £250m at the tail end of last year, but that was only half of what it had requested.

In the past, Khan has looked to council tax hikes to cover TfL funding. In December, he announced that due to “the government’s refusal to provide enough funding for the Metropolitan Police Service, the London Fire Brigade and Transport for London,” council tax would be going up by £37.26 for an average Band D household.

The comments come as both the Central and Bakerloo Lines face ongoing disruption due to ageing and deteriorating rolling stock.

Khan said £500m refurbishments to Central Line trains and a new timetable should improve the service “over the next few years,” despite the lack of government cash to buy new trains.

However, on the Bakerloo Line, which campaigners have warned is at risk of critical failure, he said there were “no plans in place yet to address the issues.”

“We simply haven’t got the £500m to refurbish the Bakerloo Line trains, which is why I’m really concerned about the service those on the Line will receive because those are very old trains,” he warned.

“You can’t buy the parts anymore because they’ve stopped making them, so we’re reliant upon great engineers keeping these trains going. But there’s only so long they can keep the trains going for.”

The Bakerloo Line rolling stock is more than 50 years old and over a decade past its intended sell-by-date.

“If it’s the case, that TfL have no confidence that we can run trains they’ll have to stop running trains,” Khan said.

“That’s why it’s really important that the government gives us the long-term capital deal, which means we could order the new rolling stock for the Bakerloo Line.”

Passenger numbers have recovered to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels across TfL’s network, boosted in large part by the Elizabeth Line. In November, the tube operator warned it would need around £500m to £600m annually to invest in maintenance and future upgrades.