London's Transport Commissioner Mike Brown MVO said:
"I welcome this support from Government which will help us
continue to get London moving and working again, safely and
sustainably.
"London’s transport network is absolutely fundamental to the
economic, social and environmental health of the Capital.
Throughout the pandemic, transport workers have played a heroic
role in the response to the virus –ensuring NHS and care staff
have been able to get to work and save lives.
"We have worked closely with the Government and Mayor as part of
the national effort to fight the virus, rapidly reducing
passenger numbers to levels not seen for 100 years. This has
meant that our fare and other revenue has fallen by 90 per cent.
"We now need to help London recover as restrictions on movement
are gradually eased, with public health and more active forms of
travel at the forefront of our thinking.
"We have been operating up to 70 per cent of peak Tube services
and over 80 percent of bus services with many of our staff ill,
shielding or in self isolation. From next week we will further
increase services beyond this as we progressively build towards
restoring services to pre-covid levels.
"To maintain social distancing wherever possible, the transport
network needs to operate differently during this extraordinary
period. In line with advice from the Government and Mayor we are
encouraging people who can work from home to continue to do so to
enable the people who must travel to do so safely. We are asking
everyone to try and avoid the busiest times to support social
distancing wherever possible, to wear non-medical face coverings
when they do need to use public transport, and to walk and cycle
whenever possible. We are providing extensive new cycling and
walking facilities to support journeys by these means.
"Enormous challenges remain, including agreeing longer term
sustainable funding for transport in the Capital. In the
meantime, we will continue to do everything in our power to help
deliver a successful recovery for our great city."
