27.11.17
TfL still eyeing £700m annual savings in final 5-year business plan
TfL has published its updated five-year Business Plan, which confirms how the organisation will deliver the Mayor’s Transport Strategy to make the capital a greener, more prosperous city.
It will need to absorb £700m annually over five years following government funding cuts, with the general grant to support operating costs removed from 2018-19, meaning that London will become one of the only major cities in the world with a public transport and road network that doesn’t receive government subsidy to support operating costs.
In its draft business plan, published last December, TfL detailed its plans to make these savings.
In the last financial year, TfL reports that its operating costs were reduced by £153m, and this year it is exceeding its budgeted operating cost savings by over £138m.
The latest passenger figures suggest that the mayor’s freeze of TfL fares has encouraged people to use public transport, with London Overground seeing passenger numbers rise, compared to train operators where fares had not been frozen.
As well as frozen fares, the business plan protects all of TfL’s travel concessions, with free or discounted travel for children, people aged over 60 and those on income support.
Included in the document is the eagerly awaited Elizabeth Line, which will add an additional 10% rail capacity to central London from December 2018 and offer step-free access at every station.
From next year the first sections of the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines will run under new signalling, which is expected to provide 32 trains per hour in central London when complete, matching the digitised Tube services such as the Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines.
Work will also begin on upgrading the trains and signalling on the Piccadilly Line, increasing capacity by 60%.
The DLR and London Overground will also see new fleets of trains, and by 2021-22 there are plans to provide step-free access to over 40% of Underground stations.
Completion of the Northern Line extension to Battersea and the London Overground extension to Barking Riverside are expected to complete during this period, and plans for Crossrail 2 and the Bakerloo Line extension will continue.
TfL has said that the improvements confirmed in the plan will be achieved “despite a difficult economic backdrop and continuing uncertainty over the economic effects of Brexit.”
In order to continue to make savings, the organisation has identified some opportunities across the remaining years of the plan whilst, it claims, preserving frontline services – such as reducing management layers, the number of its office buildings and reliance on agency staff, as well as continuing the modernisation of the Underground, with a private partnership maintenance contract saving £200m.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Usage of TfL services is outperforming those elsewhere across the country, and London is leading the way showing how we can keep fares down, while still investing record amounts in creating the world-class infrastructure London needs.
“Despite £700m in government cuts every year, our extensive programme of cutting TfL waste and making TfL smarter in how it operates means we continue to make big strides making London a fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous city for everyone.”
Mike Brown, London’s transport commissioner, added: “This business plan sets out how we will deliver the Mayor’s Transport Strategy: changing the face of travel in London, reducing reliance on the car and encouraging much greater use of public transport, walking and cycling.”
The plan will be considered by TfL’s Finance Committee on 5 December.
Main Image: TfL
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