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Coronavirus: Transport for London secures emergency £1.6bn bailout | Coronavirus: Transport for London secures emergency £1.6bn bailout |
(32 minutes later) | |
Transport for London (TfL) has secured £1.6bn in emergency funding to keep Tube and bus services running until September. | Transport for London (TfL) has secured £1.6bn in emergency funding to keep Tube and bus services running until September. |
Under the bailout's terms, London mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to restore a full Underground service as soon as possible. | |
He is also understood to have offered a 1% above-inflation fare rise in future. | |
Mr Khan had urged the government to provide support or risk TfL running out of money. | |
BBC London Political Editor Tim Donovan said other measures agreed include: | |
The BBC has been told a £500m loan agreed with the Department for Transport forms part of the total. | The BBC has been told a £500m loan agreed with the Department for Transport forms part of the total. |
Speaking at Thursday's Downing Street press briefing before the deal was announced, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he was "optimistic" of finding a solution. | |
"We don't know what the long-term will be. | |
"But in the short-term trains and buses will continue to run." | "But in the short-term trains and buses will continue to run." |
TfL had said it would have been forced to issue a Section 114 notice - the equivalent of a public body going bust - if no deal had been reached. | |
It costs £600m a month to keep the network running on its current reduced service. | |
The lockdown has led to a 95% cut in people using the Tube compared to this time last year. | |
The number of bus passengers has also dropped, by 85%, and customers no longer have to tap-in to pay for rides as part of measures to protect drivers. | |
Most TfL services are still running, but 7,000 staff - about 25% of the workforce - have been furloughed to cut costs. | |