tfl

Boris Johnson faced challenges at City Hall yesterday over the TFL employee perk that extends free travel across the network to a family member or nominated partner.

The Evening Standard reports that the cost of supporting these plus-one freebies potentially runs to £30m, without factoring in people working for Tube Lines and the bus companies. And we’re not surprised. Who in their right mind would opt not to take up free travel for their nearest and/or dearest, when the cost of a monthly 1-4 Travelcard has pushed through £150? TFL staff’s entitlement to free travel is not in question but the extension of the employee reward to a ‘nominated partner’ who must merely live at the same address, perhaps seems overly generous, although this clearly covers live-in partners who wouldn’t qualify as ‘family’ as well as flatmates. Scrapping the benefit may well redirect much needed funds back to TFL but would it be worth the inevitable disgruntlement of the workforce and likely strike action that would follow? Let us know in the comments.