Transport for London
Transport for London is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organisation of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and several other bodies in the intervening years. Since the current organisation's creation in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority, TfL has been responsible for operating multiple urban rail networks, including the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, as well as London's buses, taxis, principal road routes, cycling provision, trams, and river services. It does not control all National Rail services in London, although it is responsible for London Overground and Elizabeth line services. The underlying services are provided by a mixture of wholly owned subsidiary companies, by private-sector franchisees and by licencees. Fares are controlled by TfL, rail services fares calculated using numbered zones across the capital.
TfL has overseen various initiatives and infrastructure projects. Throughout the 2000s, a new radio communication system was implemented across its underground lines. Passenger convenience systems, such as the Oyster card and contactless payments, were also provisioned around this time. During 2008, the consumption of alcohol was banned on TfL services; this move has led to a decrease in anti-social behaviour. On 16 August 2016, TfL oversaw the launch of the Night Tube scheme, which introduced through-the-night services on both the London Underground and London Overground. Perhaps the biggest undertaking it has been responsible for, in this case shared jointly with the national Department for Transport, was the commissioning of the Crossrail Project; since its completion in 2022, TfL has been responsible for franchising its operation as the Elizabeth line.
In addition to the GLA, the central British government used to provide regular funding for TfL. However, this was tapered off during the 2010s with the aim of the organisation becoming self-sufficient. Direct central government funding for operations ceased during 2018. During 2019–2020, TfL had a budget of £10.3 billion, 47% of which came from fares; the remainder came from grants, mainly from the GLA, borrowing, congestion charging and other income. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, fare revenues dropped by 90% and TfL obtained multiple rounds of support from the British government. It also responded with various cutbacks, including a proposal for a 40% reduction in capital expenditure.
History
London's transportation system was unified in 1933, with the creation of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was succeeded by London Transport Executive, London Transport Board, London Transport Executive, and London Regional Transport. From 1933 until 2000, these bodies used the London Transport brand.Transport for London was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. The first Commissioner of TfL was Bob Kiley. The first chair was then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, and the first deputy chair was Dave Wetzel. Livingstone and Wetzel remained in office until the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor in 2008. Johnson took over as chairman, and in February 2009 fellow-Conservative Daniel Moylan was appointed as his deputy.
Transport for London Corporate Archives holds business records for TfL and its predecessor bodies and transport companies. Some early records are also held on behalf of TfL Corporate Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives.
On 17 February 2003, the London congestion charge was introduced, covering the approximate area of the London Inner Ring Road. The congestion charge had been a manifesto promise by Ken Livingstone during the 2000 London Mayoral election. It was introduced to reduce congestion in the centre of the capital as well as to make London more attractive to business investment; the resulting revenue was to be invested in London's transport system. At the time of its implementation, the scheme was the largest ever undertaken by a capital city.
During 2003, TfL took over responsibility for the London Underground, after terms for a controversial public-private partnership maintenance contract had been agreed. While the Underground trains themselves were operated by the public sector, the infrastructure were to be leased to private firms for 30 years, during which these companies would implement various improvements. The two consortiums awarded contracts were Tube Lines and Metronet. In July 2007, following financial difficulties, Metronet was placed in administration and its responsibilities were transferred back into public ownership under TfL in May 2008. During 2009, Tube Lines, having encountered a funding shortfall for its upgrades, was denied a request to TfL for an additional £1.75billion; the matter was instead referred to the PPP arbiter, who stated that £400million should be provided. On 7 May 2010, Transport for London agreed to buy out Bechtel and Amey, the shareholders of Tube Lines for £310million, formally ending the PPP.
TfL was heavily impacted by multiple bombings on the underground and bus systems on 7 July 2005. Numerous TfL staff were recognised in the 2006 New Year honours list for the actions taken on that day, including aiding survivors, removing bodies, and restoring the transport system so that millions of commuters were able to depart London at the end of the workday. The incident was heavily scrutinised, leading to various long term changes being proposed by groups such as London Assembly, including the accelerated implementation of underground radio connectivity.
On 20 February 2006, the DfT announced that TfL would take over management of services then provided by Silverlink Metro. On 5 September 2006, the London Overground branding was announced, and it was confirmed that the extended East London line would be included. On 11 November 2007, TfL took over the North London Railway routes from Silverlink Metro. At the launch, TfL undertook to revamp the routes by improving service frequencies and station facilities, staffing all stations, introducing new rolling stock and allowing Oyster pay as you go throughout the network from the outset. This launch was accompanied by a marketing campaign entitled "London's new train set", with posters and leaflets carrying an image of model railway packaging containing new Overground trains, tracks and staff.
On 1 June 2008, the drinking of alcoholic beverages was banned on Tube and London Overground trains, buses, trams, Docklands Light Railway and all stations operated by TfL across London but not those operated by other rail companies. Carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport operated by TfL. The then-Mayor of London Boris Johnson and TfL announced the ban with the intention of providing a safer and more pleasant experience for passengers. There were "Last Round on the Underground" parties on the night before the ban came into force. Passengers refusing to observe the ban may be refused travel and asked to leave the premises. The GLA reported in 2011 that assaults on London Underground staff had fallen by 15% since the introduction of the ban.
Between 2008 and 2022, TfL was engaged in the Crossrail programme to construct a new high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service across London and into its suburbs. TfL Rail took over Heathrow Connect services from Paddington to Heathrow in May 2018. In August 2018, four months before the scheduled opening of the core section of the Elizabeth line, it was announced that completion had been delayed and that the line would not open before autumn 2019. Further postponements ensued. Having an initial budget of £14.8billion, the total cost of Crossrail rose to £18.25billion by November 2019, and increased further to £18.8billion by December 2020. On 17 May 2022, the line was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in honour of her Platinum Jubilee.
TfL commissioned a survey in 2013 which showed that 15% of women using public transport in London had been the subject of some form of unwanted sexual behaviour but that 90% of incidents were not reported to the police. In an effort to reduce sexual offences and increase reporting, TfL—in conjunction with the British Transport Police, Metropolitan Police Service, and City of London Police—launched Project Guardian. In 2014, TfL launched the 100 years of women in transport campaign in partnership with the Department for Transport, Crossrail, Network Rail, the Women's Engineering Society and the Women's Transportation Seminar. The programme was a celebration of the significant role that women had played in transport over the previous 100 years, following the centennial anniversary of the First World War, when 100,000 women entered the transport industry to take on the responsibilities held by men who enlisted for military service.
As early as 2014, an Ultra–Low Emission Zone was under consideration since 2014 under London Mayor Boris Johnson. Johnson announced in 2015 that the zone covering the same areas as the congestion charge would come into operation in September 2020. Sadiq Khan, Johnson's successor, introduced an emissions surcharge, called the Toxicity Charge or "T-Charge", for non-compliant vehicles from 2017. The Toxicity Charge was replaced by the Ultra Low Emission Zone on 8 April 2019, which was introduced ahead of schedule. On 29 August 2023, the ULEZ was expanded to cover all 32 London boroughs, bringing an additional five million people into the zone.
During 2020, passenger numbers, along with associated revenue, went into a sharp downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. In response, TfL services were reduced; specifically, all Night Overground and Night Tube services, as well as all services on the Waterloo & City line, were suspended from 20 March, while 40 tube stations were closed on the same day. The Mayor of London and TfL urged people to only use public transport if absolutely essential so that it could be used by critical workers. The London Underground brought in new measures on 25 March to combat the spread of the virus; these included slowing the flow of passengers onto platforms via the imposition of queuing at ticket gates and turning off some escalators. In April, TfL trialled changes encouraging passengers to board London buses by the middle doors to lessen the risks to drivers, after the deaths of 14 TfL workers including nine drivers. This measure was extended to all routes on 20 April, and passengers were no longer required to pay, so that they did not need to use the card reader near the driver.