Transport for London has struggled as most big city transit systems do, and that has been a lack of funding. TFL had stated their annual income was 11.5bn but on the actual report it was only 10.4bn. These numbers are expected to continue to decline for a number of reasons.
The government is phasing out a grant that TFL utilizes, and by 2018/2019 will phase it out. This will drop their expected budget by 9% as well as less revenue from TFL land that the mayor wants used to build affordable housing on for Londoners. This will also decrease the amount of funds they receive through this land as well.
There is also the effect of Brexit, as there has already been a drop in property values, which can result in decreased revenue. There is a continuously growing population, which is expected to grow from 8.6 million to 10 million by 2030. Mayor Khan’s freeze on fares will definitely have an effect on income too.
There are the small grants they receive from the EU, which will no longer be provided, and lastly, post-Brexit, there could be a fall in economic activity. The latter, along with the weaker pound could end up reducing demand for services and therefore decreasing fare revenue.
According to the budget and finance report, TFL is losing large amounts of government funding, and losing out as well due to Brexit. With plans to improve and become more efficient, how are they to do so with so many reductions and no recourse to try and bridge the gap?
What should they do?