Ruth Cadbury MP has written to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to call for a fair funding deal for Transport for London, with the current funding program set to end on Friday 18th February.
In her letter Ruth warned that the Government’s refusal to give a long-term sustainable deal means that services that Londoners depend on will have to be cut. Her letter also mentioned the need for support for TFL investment to ensure that local improvements such the long overdue Piccadilly Line upgrade can go ahead, to increase capacity and ensure trains can stop at Turnham Green.
Speaking in full Ruth said,
‘It’s unacceptable that Grant Shapps and the Government are refusing to give TFL and Londoners a fair long-term deal. This refusal is putting key services such as bus routes and tubes at risk.
TFL’s financial situation has been made worse by the previous decision by the then Mayor of London Boris Johnson to scrap the £500 million grant TFL receives from the Government. Without this grant TfL was reliant on ticket sales for funding, and the huge decline in footfall because of covid-19 has put a strain on their finances. While the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had increased TFLs cash reserves and cut its financial deficit the Government have refused to give TFL a fair deal.
This means that vital projects such as the upgrades to the Piccadilly line signalling cannot go ahead without support from the Government, meaning that trains won’t be able to stop at Turnham Green Station.
At a time when the Government are talking about the climate crisis and encouraging people to use public transport more it does not make sense to put TFL into a state of managed decline. I will continue to campaign to urge the Government to give TFL the fair deal that London deserves.’’