SPECULATION - TfL Finances

[Eastlondoner62]

Oct 24, 2020 11:09:06 GMT greenboy said:

Oct 24, 2020 11:00:54 GMT Eastlondoner62 said:

This has got to be the funniest comment I've seen in a long time.

Do you really think that your opinion is going to outweighs years worth of data?

I am sure you have observed every single route in London day in and day out.

Oh dear........that isn't what I said.

It certainly did come across that way. What were you suggesting in that case?

[Deleted]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but funding is now being extended until Christmas for the school services.

[​galwhv69]

Now that Boris's speech has ended, let's focus on TfL's funding which is due to run out tonight.
Still nothing regarding it

[redbus]

Oct 31, 2020 19:38:59 GMT ​galwhv69 said:

Now that Boris's speech has ended, let's focus on TfL's funding which is due to run out tonight.
Still nothing regarding it

With today's lockdown, TfL probably has not been the government's highest priority. I am sure though negotiations are taking place and finances probably won't come to a head until next week, TfL can probably keep going for another couple of days. One press report (can't remember where) spoke of a six month deal. I can see the advantage of that to the government, in six months time they can 'turn the screws' just before the Mayoral election.

Another possibility is that the new lockdown could change matters and there maybe another short term deal on the same terms as the current deal for a month until the lockdown ends.

One has to wonder who really is the effective Mayor of London in respect of TfL, the elected Mayor or the ex-Mayor, now Prime Minister!!! It is interesting to see how many Business organisations are saying the two need to bury the hatchet for the sake of London and Country, something I wholeheartedly agree with.

[​galwhv69]

Does anyone know if TfL have filed for a Section 114 notice?

[danorak]

Nov 1, 2020 0:11:47 GMT ​galwhv69 said:

Does anyone know if TfL have filed for a Section 114 notice?

Not heard a thing, it's all gone quiet over there. I expect the lockdown has led to the can being kicked down the road but it's curious that people I would have expected to comment have not done so.

[​galwhv69]

Nov 1, 2020 0:25:02 GMT danorak said:

Nov 1, 2020 0:11:47 GMT ​galwhv69 said:

Does anyone know if TfL have filed for a Section 114 notice?

Not heard a thing, it's all gone quiet over there. I expect the lockdown has led to the can being kicked down the road but it's curious that people I would have expected to comment have not done so.

Same, was expecting some info from the likes of Tom Edward etc.
Apparently there's been no info to staff internally either

[ServerKing]

Surely it will be the death knell for TfL now, the perfect storm of a drastic slump in passenger numbers after Wednesday, yet still holding out the begging bowl for another bit of cash for another two months or so. Expect the government to take control of TfL, and cut out the dead wood. I assume bus frequency will halve initially to convince people to stay at home if not travelling to work.

As said, not a priority compared to recent news announcements. I doubt central government will top up the finances like a proverbial Oyster card

[​galwhv69]

So turns out that funding was agreed 15 MINUTES before a section 114 notice (funding agreed at 23:45)

[Deleted]

Nov 1, 2020 5:44:24 GMT ServerKing said:

Surely it will be the death knell for TfL now, the perfect storm of a drastic slump in passenger numbers after Wednesday, yet still holding out the begging bowl for another bit of cash for another two months or so. Expect the government to take control of TfL, and cut out the dead wood. I assume bus frequency will halve initially to convince people to stay at home if not travelling to work.

As said, not a priority compared to recent news announcements. I doubt central government will top up the finances like a proverbial Oyster card

I think there must be some scope to scale services back a bit especially after 8pm and maybe cut the X68 for next 4 weeks.

[southlondonbus]

We could even go back to the Sunday service provided before with suitable enhancements at school times like now with the variety of extra vehicles currently running.

[redbus]

Nov 1, 2020 9:55:18 GMT ​galwhv69 said:

So turns out that funding was agreed 15 MINUTES before a section 114 notice (funding agreed at 23:45)

I am not surprised there was a deal, the alternative would have been the a government takeover of TfL because ultimately no one wants bus and tube services to cease.

The deal itself as I understand is interesting. Over 60s and kids travel will need to be funded by London, eg fares or council tax. With governments 'levelling up' agenda they don't want  to be seen to be favouring London by paying for things which aren't available in the rest of the country. Although superficially this appears fair, it ignores other factors unique to London such as the dependency on the bus and tube and congestion charge. Be careful what you wish for, do you want kids driven to school or over 60s going around more in their cars? 

Anyway at least there's a deal, albeit for only six months. In six months it will be interesting as the Mayoral election will soon be upon us!

EDIT - I'll just add I am not sure there will now be any across the board reduction in frequency due to the new lockdown, the funding deal means that isn't needed. Many people will still need to get to work, for example construction workers as well as essential services and essential retail. Schools will also stay open, so demand for buses and tubes is likely to be higher than the first lockdown.

[MetrolineGA1511]

Nov 1, 2020 13:09:58 GMT southlondonbus said:

We could even go back to the Sunday service provided before with suitable enhancements at school times like now with the variety of extra vehicles currently running.

If many buses are Sunday service plus Schools extras, these extras could come from the normal Mon-Fri allocations without necessarily requiring the current top-up varieties.

[southlondonbus]

Again with concessions no one is really saying it should be totally removed but more scaled back to bus passes after 9am rather tube and mainline aswell for free. I for one would be totally against paying more council tax for that.

[Paul]

For what it’s worth, my understanding via the company I work for is that there is no intention to scale back bus services in the same way as happened in the first lockdown. Obviously, it’s a fluid situation and could change but certainly there won’t be any wholesale changes on Thursday