• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MayorWatch

London News and Comment

  • NEWS

Tory AMs: Axe TfL travel perk to fund council tax savings

February 7, 2013 by Martin Hoscik

Tory AMs have proposed axing free passes to staff nominees. Image: TfL
Tory AMs have proposed axing free passes to staff nominees. Image: TfL
Free travel passes for partners of transport staff should be scrapped, Conservative members of the London Assembly have said.

According to the Conservative Assembly group, providing free travel to nominees of Transport for London staff costs £35.8m in lost fare revenue, money they say could fund a cut in City Hall’s share of the council tax.

The proposal is contained in an amendment to Mayor’s Boris Johnson’s 2014/14 budget which will be debated at City Hall on Friday.

There are currently 21,788 staff nominee passes in use according to official City Hall figures.

The Mayor’s budget includes a cut in the precept equal to 7p per week and the Mayor has committed himself to a 10% cut over the course of his second term, however Tory AMs want to see the precept reduced at a faster rate.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Our amendment reduces the Band D precept amount by 3.5%, to £295.95. This is the first time since 2006 that the precept has come below £300, making good progress towards the Mayor’s 10% reduction over his term.

“We consider it reasonable to budget for only half the value of the nominee passes as not all the current pass holders will pay for travel instead, representing an increased income from fares of £17.8 million for TfL. This money should be used to fund a precept cut.”

Mayor Johnson has previously defended the nominee pass scheme and in November claimed “the cost of providing free travel to nominees of TfL staff is nil as the amount of travel is insufficient to require additional services to be operated to cope with it.”

The amendment also includes a proposal to cut the Assembly’s budget by £300,000, money that would be spent on initiatives to help homeless veterans.

The Assembly will question the Mayor on his budget from 10am on Friday 8th February. The meeting takes place at City Hall and is open to the public. A webcast will also be available.

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: News

RECENT UPDATES

Tube and rail users to benefit from Oyster weekly fares cap

Mayor and TfL call on ministers to help plug funding gap

Tube to get full mobile phone coverage from 2024

TfL says Direct Vision Standard is already making HGVs safer for London road users




POPULAR

City Hall to move to Docklands as Mayor seeks to raise £55m for frontline services

‘Concern’ over TfL’s ability to deliver major projects in wake of Crossrail cost overruns

City Hall halts London Overground ticket office closures but many will still see opening hours reduced

Transport for London confirms bus cuts will go ahead despite passenger opposition

Copyright © 2025 · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy