PRE-COVID, Transport for London (TfL) was riding the crest of a subdued financial wave. Ridership levels meant a healthy income and, despite Crossrail’s delayed opening, the organisation predicted it would be financially sustainable by the early-2020s.
TfL lost its annual subsidy by 2015/16, which had been as high as £2.17 billion in 2010/11, representing more than 20% of its income. Cancelling or curtailing some projects, TfL reduced its operational deficit to £968 million by 2017/18, which fell further to £494m in the 2018/19 financial year. By this time TfL was generating more than £10bn from income and other funding annually. Most of its £4.82bn ticket revenue came from London Underground (LU), with 1.4 billion annual journeys undertaken, almost 2.5%
