London’s Mayor has clashed with the Government over a plan to grant more Covid-19 funding to Transport for London in exchange for extending the capital’s congestion charge zone and increasing fares for travellers.

TfL and the Department for Transport are currently negotiating a new financial settlement to help support London’s transport network through the pandemic, which has seen sharp declines in bus, Tube and rail use.

But Mayor Sadiq Khan has told Ministers to rethink “ill advised and draconian” proposals which would require the expansion of the £15 congestion charge to the capital’s north and south circular routes.

This came as latest data from transport watchdog London Travelwatch revealed that 37% of Londoners expect to drive more in the capital once the virus no longer poses a significant risk. Meanwhile 53% of London residents who regularly used public transport before the pandemic say they are now avoiding it due to social distancing fears.

Government’s proposals for a funding agreement with TfL also included requirements to increase fares above the rate of inflation and introduce a new tax on Londoners to pay for public transport.

Sadiq Khan said: “I simply cannot accept this Government plan, which would hit Londoners with a triple whammy of higher costs at a time when so many people are already facing hardship.

“It is clear that difficult choices lie ahead to plug the huge gap the pandemic left in TfL’s finances,” he added, but continued: “I urge Ministers to come back to the table with a revised proposal which does not punish Londoners for doing the right thing to tackle Covid-19.”

Wrangling over the terms of a new settlement follows an initial £1.6Bn, six month funding deal in May, which included a condition that TfL must urgently bring forward proposals to increase the cost and hours of the congestion charge, as well as fare increases and curtailing free travel for under 18 year olds.

A DfT spokesman said that discussions on a new settlement “will ensure London has a safe, reliable network”, but added: “It would be inappropriate to disclose further details at this stage.”

The Mayor said earlier this month that TfL now needs at least £5.65Bn over the next 18 months to fill the gap in its finances left by lower public transport use during the pandemic and costs to complete the Crossrail project.

He also refuted a suggestion that new charges on travellers were necessary to ensure taxpayers in the rest of the country do not subsidise transport in London, and claimed that prior to Covid, TfL was making strong progress to improve its financial resilience.

Last week, the Government struck a deal worth up to £68M to protect tram services across the north of England and the Midlands, including services in Manchester, Sheffield and the West Midlands. This brought total funding for trams to over £160M since the start of the pandemic.

(Photograph: David Hawgood and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)