Conservatives want to scrap free travel perk for friends of TfL staff, claiming it costs £22m each year

 
Travel perk: TfL said ending the perk would almost certainly lead to industrial action
John Dunne @jhdunne26 May 2015

A free travel perk for families and even flatmates of Transport for London staff should be scrapped because the cost will hit £111 million by 2020, it was claimed today.

All 22,239 TfL workers are eligible for the “nominee passes”, which give free travel on buses, Tubes and the DLR to family, flatmates or even lodgers.

But the Conservatives in the Greater London Assembly say the perk translates to more than £22 million a year in lost revenue — and will hit an estimated £111 million by 2020.

They say the perk should be axed and some of the savings used to give firefighters free travel and buy new buses.

Conservative GLA member Andrew Boff said: “At a time in which the public sector is having to make money stretch further there is no justification for individuals who do not provide an essential role in keeping London in operation receiving these kind of benefits.

"I would argue that abolishing the perk would free up money that could be spent on providing complimentary travel cards for firefighters who unlike the police do not presently get free travel on the TfL network.”

In a report called “Free Ride”, the Conservatives calculated that 3.6 million single journeys were taken on the Tube, DLR and tram by nominee pass holders in 2014 and nearly 4.8 million single bus journeys.

They estimate that providing free travel for firefighters up until 2020 would cost £24.7 million and claim that 175 new buses could be bought at a cost of around £62 million.

The report calls on Mayor Boris Johnson to take action.

TfL has stated that providing free travel to staff nominees costs nothing because the number of journeys is insufficient to require additional services.

A TFL spokesman said: “This benefit is a long-standing part of the terms and conditions of TfL staff. Were it to be withdrawn it would result in immediate claims for increased pay and almost certainly lead to widespread industrial action for a net financial loss.

“The figures being talked about are nonsense. Any additional revenue if nominee passes were withdrawn would be no more than £5-7 million at most because average fares are far less than the assumed values used.

"There is in fact no cost to TfL, because the number of journeys is so low as a proportion of the 10m Tube and bus journeys being made per day, meaning no additional services need to be operated.

"All TfL employees and their nominees are expected to act as ambassadors for TfL, ensuring the security of the system and helping assist our customers where necessary. Compensating for the loss of this benefit would be likely to increase TfL’s employee costs considerably and by far more than any increased revenue.”

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