TfL furloughs 7,000 staff as fares revenues falls by 90 per cent

Transport for London has placed 7,000 staff whose work has been reduced or paused as a result of the coronavirus pandemic on furlough. The move follows a sharp drop in ridership in the capital and is estimated to save the organisation £15.8million every four weeks. 

Since London entered lockdown on 23 March Tube journeys have fallen by 95 per cent and journeys on buses by 85 per cent which has meant that TfL’s main source of income has almost disappeared.

“We have significantly cut our costs over recent years but nevertheless the success of encouraging the vast majority of people to stay at home has seen our main revenue, fares, reduce by 90 per cent,” says London transport commissioner Mike Brown. “We are now taking steps to use the Government’s Job Retention Scheme to further reduce our costs where work has been paused because of the virus, while at the same time supporting our staff financially.”

www.tfl.gov.uk