The Labour Group in the London Assembly today voted against a Conservative call for Sadiq Khan to scrap a multi-million-pound Transport for London staff perk.
The motion called on the Mayor to work with Transport for London to abolish the nominee passes scheme. The perk allows TfL staff to nominate a person they live with, including flatmates and lodgers, to receive free travel in London. Last year, the lost fare revenue from the perk reached an estimated record of £44 million and there was more than 52,000 nominee pass holders.
City Hall Tories tabled the motion to encourage the Mayor to cut his waste instead of pushing ahead with his plan to slash London's police budget by nearly £110 million in the next two years. By failing to back the motion, the Labour Group has chosen to continue wasting money on a TfL staff perk worth the equivalent of 677 police officers.
Susan Hall AM, Leader of GLA Conservatives, commented: "At a time when City Hall is looking to save money, it's unacceptable that Transport for London is wasting millions of pounds on this profligate staff perk.
"Last year, nominee passes cost London a record £44 million in lost fare revenue. There is no reason why London taxpayers' should be paying for a perk which lets TfL staff's flatmates and lodgers travel for free.
"Sadiq Khan and his supporters in the London Assembly have shown their true colours by rejecting our call for this wasteful perk to end. Instead of cutting waste at TfL and City Hall, they have chosen to plough on with their plan to cut the Metropolitan Police by nearly £110 million."
"If the Mayor had Londoners' priorities at heart, he would scrap this disgraceful TfL perk which is worth the equivalent of 677 police officers. Sadly, today's vote shows Khan and his supporters in the London Assembly can't be trusted to keep Londoners safe."
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