The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has announced that he would no longer be supporting the London Councils position on the Private Bill regarding the Freedom Pass. The Mayor's support for this Bill also formed part of a five-year deal on concessionary fares that were believed we have been reached with the Mayor. This included, in exchange for part-funding, the Mayor’s commitment to free travel in the AM peak and a cap on the borough contribution to the Freedom Pass. This deal no longer stands. Without the cap, costs for boroughs could increase from the capped amount of £266M to around £302.9M on current figures. This can be described as the Tory City Hall failing to honour its side of a deal – a deal which the London boroughs sought in order to protect the Freedom Pass and council taxpayers.
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