Mayor Boris Johnson has been urged to publish a full account of the funding for his flagship bike hire scheme.
The scheme is sponsored by Barlcays Bank which agreed to provide £25m towards the first two phases in return for exclusive naming rights until 2015.
In July 2011 the Mayor, Barclays and TfL announced the bank would provide a further £25m to extend its sponsorship until 2018 and pay towards the scheme’s third phase expansion into South West London.
However in December 2013 it emerged that no contract had been signed to secure the additional funding and that Barclays would quit as sponsor in 2015.
Last week MayorWatch revealed how the bank had been granted naming rights to the third phase despite not agreeing the contract extension or making further payment.
Following media coverage TfL issued a number of contradictory statements, initially insisting the bank would pay only the £25m due under its original 2010 contract before later suggesting it was in talks to secure more money.
On Friday Barclays told BBC London it had provided “a written commitment to pay on a pro-rata basis for the phase three expansion.”
However on Wednesday Mayor Johnson told Assembly Members the bank was only paying the £25m due under the original contract but insisted this included contributions for the third phase.
Assembly Members questioned the Mayor’s claims on the grounds that the 2010 contract makes no mention of the funds going towards phase three.
While the bank has its logo across the bikes in the South West phase without making payment, TfL has failed to make mention of the £4m of funding provided by local councils.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, says the Mayor should now publish “the complete schedule of funding” confirming how much TfL has received from London Boroughs, Barclays and others over the last four years.
Assembly Member Pidgeon said: “Getting to the bottom of how the cycle hire scheme has actually been funded has been a continual battle. Over the last four years there has been far too much confusion and secrecy over the sponsorship deal.
“The bike hire scheme is a brilliant development but from day one it is has been hindered by a poor sponsorship contract.
“The Mayor must now publish the full details of every source of funding that the bike hire scheme has received and ensure future sponsorship deals do not repeat the mistakes of the haphazard deal that was struck with Barclays.”
