Funding the Tube

One of the orchestra of strings attached to the government financial bailout of TfL is that the company now has to report staff absence data to the government.

This is pretty obviously a precursor to 'improving' attendance figures by cracking the whip once we are back to 'normal' times.

But if...

When the Tory Government held a gun to the head of TfL and made them sign a bailout deal last week, one thing they had in their sights was disabled people's Freedom Passes.

Yes, in true Tory style, they declared that they would consider restricting the times at which disabled people could use...

Mayor Khan needs to brush up on his negotiation skills. Mere hours after he announced TfL was on the verge of running out of money, and services may stop running if additional funding wasn't forthcoming, he managed to secure... a package of less money than is needed, with more strings attached than...

It might have taken a global pandemic to force it from him, but Mayor Khan has finally admitted that running a major metropolitan transport system on massively reduced funding simply isn't feasible.

Khan told the media on 14 May that: "Unless the government today gives us confirmation of the...

55 Broadway is to be 'disposed of' according to an article on the TfL intranet. That is crass language for the privatisation of such an iconic LU building; funded by taxes or passenger fares.

This happening as a result of a political choice to end tube subsidies, made by the Tory party as they...

Apparently, LUL pays £1,300 a go for a Track Retrieval Device.

That might sound quite reasonable if it were actually a 'device' in the popular understanding of the word. But it is a stick with a sticky pad on the end. Hence its usual moniker among station staff - the 'sticky stick'.

Private...

Many grades in many locations are suffering under the destaffing over recent years, or are facing imminent cuts to jobs.

The unions - primarily RMT - are fighting back on several fronts. RMT has scored some successes, including on Bakerloo South stations groups and the cleaning contractor, ABM....

London Labour Party members are set to debate a resolution condemning both the Tory government's cut to TfL funding and Sadiq Khan's decision to implement rather than fight the cuts. The resolution, which has already been passed by one branch, is copied here.

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON

This...

In what appears to be a personal contract across multiple cover groups, Mariah Carey is the newest member of station staff at Waterloo, Stratford and London Bridge. Although Tubeworker hasn't spotted her on the gateline.

Perhaps the Mayor can ask for some of her reported $520m (Earning only...

Tubeworker is pleased to hear that London Underground Ltd has apparently seen sense over its disastrous plan to allow adverts to be broadcast at its stations.
We would like to take the credit for this, as the backtracking followed on the heels of Tubeworker's rant, sorry we mean, post about the...