The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, writes: 

"We are at a critical moment in our fight against COVID-19. Cases are rapidly rising in every corner of our city. Evidence suggests that without further action, tens of thousands of people will tragically lose their lives and our city will face yet more economic damage. 

That is why it’s absolutely critical that the Government provides London with the funding it needs to survive as we face more restrictions. 

This includes our transport network, which helps millions of Londoners get to work, but has been severely hit by COVID-19. I am sorely disappointed that instead of supporting our transport network, the Government is proposing to hike the cost of travel for all Londoners by:

• extending the £15 congestion charge to the North and South Circular
• increasing fares in London by more than inflation
• seeking to make council tax more expensive for Londoners to pay for public transport

This will hurt businesses and families at a time when so many are already facing real hardship.

I will not accept this triple whammy of high costs.

I want to be clear: the only reason that TfL needs Government support is because of the virus. Londoners are continuing to do the right thing by following the rules and reducing the number of journeys they make - Tube usage is down 70% compared to last year and has already fallen by 5% since London moved to Tier 2. Without fares income, we need government funding to keep our transport services running. 

These proposals are the latest in a series of measures which will damage our city. The Government wants to radically increase the size of the congestion charge zone, increase fares by more than inflation and strip away support for older and younger Londoners.  London deserves its fair share - our city already contributes nearly £40 billion a year more in taxes than it gets back. The Government’s proposal demands that Londoners pay twice in order to get the emergency funding TfL desperately needs – while we continue to support the rest of the country.

I want to thank TfL’s dedicated workforce who have kept our city running during this difficult period. I will do all I can to get our transport network the funding it needs to provide essential journeys for our key workers and serve as a lifeline for businesses in central London."