Transport for London secures £1.8 BILLION bailout from Government

Transport for London (TfL) has received a £1.8bn government bailout, to keep Tube and bus services running until March 2021.

The funding is to allow TfL to address its massive financial shortfall due to the loss of passengers as a result of Covid-19.

The exact amount of money involved is subject to passenger revenue in the coming months.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the deal was “not ideal” but he fought hard against the “very worst” proposals.

Khan said: “The only reason TfL needs government support is because its fares income has almost dried up since March.”

Without a bailout the network would be forced to issue a Section 114 order, the equivalent of bankruptcy for a public company.

“The agreement will enable TfL to continue to support the capital for the remainder of the financial year as discussions on longer-term sustainable funding continue.

Reaching this agreement with the government allows us to help London through this next phase of the pandemic.

We will continue to work with the mayor and the government on our longer-term funding needs.”

The government has been contacted for comment.

TfL said it would receive a “core amount of £1bn”, consisting of a £905m grant and £95m of borrowing.

However, Boris Johnson previously claimed TfL was “effectively bankrupted” before coronavirus, and proposals to hike charges were “entirely the responsibility” of Mr Khan.

The lockdown has led to a 95% cut in people using the Tube compared to this time last year.

The number of bus passengers has also dropped, by 85%, and customers no longer have to tap-in to pay for rides as part of measures to protect drivers.

Most TfL services are still running, but 7,000 staff – about 25% of the workforce – have been furloughed to cut costs.