Mayor ringfences £20m to get people back on the buses

TFL TASKED TO LOOK AT INNOVATIVE IDEAS

- By KUMAl JAFFER Local democracy reporter [e-mail]

SIR Sadiq Khan has ringfenced £20 million in next year's budget for 'fares innovation' to get Londoners back onto the city's buses.

Passenger numbers on the capital's iconic vehicles fell last year for the first time since the pandemic, dropping from 1.869 billion journeys to 1.842 billion, with the London Assembly told that sluggish bus speeds were to blame.

The Mayor of London has now announced that £20m of extra funding, discovered between the Draft and Final Budgets, will be given to Transport for London (TfL) for "fares innovation" and will aim to boost numbers.

This could include reducing fares for a limited period of time - such as the short-lived trial where all Tube travel on Friday was counted as off-peak - or even making some services free when they first launch.

"We're a city with a remarkable public transport system which is getting better all the time," he told the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee on Wednesday, February 25.

"Ridership and revenues are two things we need to focus on and what we can do to increase both.

"We recognise we need to try new things - the Hopper Fare was innovation.