City Hall is calling for a long-term London transport plan as the regions have a budget increase of 7 billion

City Hall has warned that there can be no recovery in the UK without a strong recovery in traffic in London as it has been announced that Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be allocating nearly £ 7 billion in the autumn budget next week to fund urban transport in urban areas across England .

In a move aimed at the government’s “leveling” agenda, cities will share a pot of around $ 5.7 billion as part of the plans.

The funds will be distributed among the seven mayoral metropolitan areas of England – which are mainly located in the Midlands and the north of England – but not London.

The Treasury said it was focusing on the regions to “provide Transport for London (TfL) style improvements to reduce travel times, simplify fares and increase the number of services outside the capital”.

Sunak said, “There is no reason why someone who works in the north and the Midlands should wait many times longer for their bus or train compared to a commuter in the capital.

“This transportation revolution will help to correct this imbalance,” added Sunak.

However, City Hall has urged the government to offer a similar long-term deal for London, warning that the deadline for the current TfL financing deal, which expires on December 11, is looming.

“For every £ 1 spent on the London Underground investment alone, 55p is paid to workers outside London, with TfL contracts contributing around £ 6.4 billion to the overall economy,” a Mayor spokesman said London across from City AM.

“If London is successful, the UK is successful and vice versa, and there cannot be a UK recovery from COVID-19 without a strong recovery in London to help move it forward.”

It comes after the government in 2019 consists of “4 billion new funds.

Greater Manchester, West Midlands and South Yorkshire will receive tram upgrades, Liverpool and Runcorn will receive new stations, Darlington and Middlesbrough stations will be upgraded, Manchester will get new bus corridors and the A4 near Bristol will be given funding as part of the plans improved.

Leaving London behind

London’s TfL, Mayor Sadiq Khan and transportation industry leaders have repeatedly called for a new long-term, sustainable funding model for the capital’s transport, following billions of government bailouts over the past few years using the revenue-based funding model labeled ” not suitable”.

“The government’s current TfL funding contract expires on December 11th and the Mayor has made it clear that short-term deals are unsustainable and do not allow for long-term budgeting and planning of the major projects the London transport network needs,” the Mayor’s spokesman said City AM.

“It is critical that we agree with the government on a long-term, sustainable and fair financing model for TfL that is flexible enough to take into account all of the impact of the pandemic on long-term demand.”

TfL has received three emergency funding packages from the central government since March 2020, but Commissioner Andy Byford has made it clear that he wants a sustainable, longer-term investment deal that allows the panel to plan ahead.

Sunak’s announcement comes just three weeks after TfL asked the Treasury Department for half a billion worth of assistance for the remainder of the fiscal year and an additional £ 1.2 billion next year to “ensure London’s recovery from the pandemic.”

Documents submitted by the capital’s transportation authority to the government’s spending review included TfL’s pledge to return to a financially viable return by 2023.

The body has budgeted the planned expenditures for improvements and expansions by 5.7 billion.

The London transport network was on the way to an operating surplus before the pandemic broke out.

The UK’s decentralized governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive additional funding through the Barnet formula alongside the new investment, which the Treasury Department said will be fully detailed in next week’s budget.