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Transport for London (TfL) secured a government rescue of £ 1.6bn after the coronavirus pandemic caused a 90% drop in revenue.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan had been warning that tube and bus services would have to be cut if a financial injection was not agreed at the end of the day.
A source close to his office told Sky News that rates would have to rise under the terms of the deal, which would also see government officials join the TfL board.
The deal, £ 505 million of which is in the form of a loan, emerged days after Sky News revealed that TfL was facing the possibility of a £ 4 billion loss.
Orders to stay home have seen the number of TfL passengers collapse during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The transport authority has suspended 7,000 employees to access government money to subsidize their wages and save cash, and despite stopping 300 construction projects, their costs have still been running at £ 600m a month.
Any cut in metro or bus services would have threatened efforts to get key sectors of the economy back on track after seven weeks of hibernation by coronavirus.
The mayor’s source said: “The government belatedly agreed on financial support for TfL to take over COVID-19, as they have done for all other train and bus operators in the country.”
“But they have forced ordinary Londoners to pay a heavy price for doing the right thing on COVID-19 by raising TfL fares, temporarily suspending the Freedom Pass at peak times, and burdening TfL with debt than Londoners do. they will pay in the long run. ” “
The source said an additional condition was a guarantee that full services would return to London’s transport network in the future.
Another related to the visibility of government information announcements about the coronavirus crisis.
It is unclear whether the rate increases would be above or below the inflation rate.
All details are expected to be confirmed to the City on Friday morning.
