Increased Tube fares and potential limitations on a London “boundary charge” were announced today as part of a new £1 billion bailout for Transport for London.
The deal also paved the way for the first “driverless” Tube trains, as well as making it difficult for Sadiq Khan to reduce the current £15 congestion charge.
Further conditions of the deal include a pay freeze for all TfL staff earning above £24,000 a year, a cost-sharing scheme to partially reopen Hammersmith Bridge by this summer, and a requirement for TfL spend more money on cycling and walking and to generate an extra £500 million to £1 billion a year in income.
Although met with opposition by Sadiq Khan - who tweeted that it was “not the deal we wanted” - Grant Shapps also stressed that the bailout would effectively block Khan’s proposal of a £3.50 daily charge for motorists entering Greater London.
Shapps said that “people living outside London should not be made to pay for the pursuit of policy choices over which they have no say,” adding that Khan should ensure “this deal is fair and reasonable to UK taxpayers.”
But do you think the new TfL deal is “fair and reasonable” to Londoners? Do you think that Londoners should have to shoulder extra costs to support TfL, or do you disagree with Shapps and think that people living outside London should also contribute via a boundary charge?
Let us know in the comments for your chance to be featured on the ES website tomorrow.
Friday’s Talking Point: What should be done to tackle gentrification in London?
Last week we asked for your thoughts on what could be done to curb some of the damaging effects of gentrification in London.
“Mayaangelouspeaks” said: “I have lived in two of the top 10 [most gentrified boroughs] in the last year. Councils should stick to their guns on affordable housing percentages when approving new blocks. Targets are too often movable and result in expensive rents. Also, build more social housing and limit right to buy eligibility on social housing. We need to put the floor back in the housing market.”
Victoria Rothwell suggested similar: “A residential structure that caps levels and encourages inner city living for all - people naturally would move out at different stages in their life for more space but it would allow a better balance of residents and therefore shops to service them.”
“Chriscotonou,” meanwhile, thought that more should be done to boost other cities. “Invest in other cities around the UK, encourage businesses for white collar jobs there. London is so overpriced because for so many careers, it’s the only place to go for the best opportunities. Unlike other countries like Germany or France where second cities can hold their own against the capital.”
But “charlotte_t_t” had a slightly simpler idea: “Stop liking IG influencer posts photographed in those neighbourhoods?”
