Labour London Mayor would cut consultancy and “vanity projects” to fund fare freeze

Sadiq Khan, Labour candidate for London Mayor, has pledged to “make fares more affordable while modernising our public transport system”.

He told Londoners in the Evening Standard that they would not a penny more for travelling in 2020 than they do now, and would cut the cost of bus travel with a 'hopper'bus ticket that would allow multiple changes within one hour for the cost of a single fare. He declared that London could afford to freeze fares if “difficult decisions” were made.

He has run a business, he says, so has made tough decisions to keep it afloat. He would stop public funding for the cable car even if this forces its closure, stop buying 'new Routemaster' buses, which he says have batteries too expensive to replace, cut in half the £383m spent on consultants and agency staff last year, and merge TfL's engineering departments, currently split between the Underground and surface transport.

But he said cuts alone would not deliver the savings, which is why he would set up a TfL bidding team so it, rather than  “companies from France, Germany and Holland,” could run bus services.

Thursday 6th Jan update: both the Lib Dems and Green Party have also promised to cut fares: the Lib Dems have outlined more targeted fare cuts for those working unsocial hours, while the Green Party has promised 'one zone' fares, it has been reported.