- The Mayoral precept is set to increase by £31.59 per year at band D – a 9.5% increase in total.
- This includes maximising the policing precept increase to £15, an additional £15 to part-fund concessionary fares, and the remaining £1.59 the Mayor has already committed to the LFB. The £15 portion for concessionary fares should raise around £43m.
- The remainder of the cost of concessionary fares will be met by keeping the extended congestion charge in place for at least the first 6 months of 2021-22, raising around £70-90m. So, in effect, he is splitting the burden for funding the concessions between the two specific options set out in the funding agreement – rather than going all-in on one or the other.
Keith Prince, London Assembly Member for Havering & Redbridge and London Conservative Transport Spokesman, commented:
After wrecking Transport for London's finances for the past five years, Sadiq Khan is passing the bill onto Londoners. With many people struggling during this crisis, the Mayor’s choice will hurt the poorest Londoners the most.
The Mayor is misleading Londoners by claiming he had no choice but to increase his share of their council tax bill. Sadiq Khan refused to consider cutting waste at TfL and more creative ways to raise money like Tube sponsorship to help pay for these concessions.
Coronavirus is not the sole reason for TfL's money woes. The Mayor has lost our city's transport network billions of pounds from failing to deliver Crossrail to protecting TfL staff's extortionate perks, bonuses and trade union facility time. Instead of taking responsibility for cleaning up his mess, he wants London to pay his bill.
Sadiq Khan's decision to continue his Congestion Charge hike is a hammer blow for central London's struggling businesses. After lockdown, it's the Mayor's duty to get London moving to kickstart our economic recovery. Khan's decision today shows he will be ducking that responsibility as well.
