Transport for London sees journey growth lower than predicted
Transport for London have seen lower revenue growth this year than expected hitting income.
The organisation have budgeted for six per cent passenger growth this financial year though it’s currently running at four per cent according to a new Finance Report. An expected annual surpass of £161 million was expected yet currently there’s a £2 million deficit.
A number of possible reasons are given including National Rail strikes, the timing of Easter, poor service on the Central and Northern lines with sped restrictions and a lack of usable trains.
They also state the economy in London is worse than expected.
However the Elizabeth line is still doing great numbers and remains the star of the show, with annual growth of 21 per cent.
London Underground usage is up 4.6 per cent though budgeted totals are seven per cent. Bus usage is up 2.9 per cent.
Spending
Operating surpluses are partly used for capital investment and the budget there has increased this year compared to 2023/24. The report notes:
“Capital renewals are £142m in the year to date, £41m up on last year as we increase renewals investment to address the backlog of asset replacement”.
A number of improvement projects are also running late. The first new DLR train with air conditioning, plug sockets and walk-through carriages was due in service before the end of the 2023/24 financial year. The latest hope is now later this year.
in the meantime shorter trains are running due to their age and maintenance requirements.
As noted yesterday a new station entrance at Stratford has also missed another target opening date.
TfL are now involved in providing housing via joint partnerships at various sites. One such location is Kidbrooke where completion and occupation is behind schedule. A visit to the area this week showed a worksite.
Total staff numbers have grown from lows after the pandemic. New services such as the Elizabeth line, Northern line extension and Barking Riverside extension on London Overground are given are key reasons behind that trend.
TFL and Rail Companies need to get tougher on fare evasion which cost TFL and train operators millions in lost revenue each year.
A lot of people are also still working from home on certain days of the week so not travelling in to work so often.
However, the strikes have done nothing to improve things with so many days lost to strike action. This again hits the number of people able to travel on strike days and results in further loss of revenue..