About Us
Transport for London – Background
Transport for London is one of the world's largest urban transport organisations. TfL is a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA) and has direct control or influence over transport facilities or services for the nearly 8 million customers, making almost 21 million journeys each day. TfL’s vision is to be a strong, green heartbeat for the city of London which is articulated in the TfL Business Plan.
Created in 2000, TfL's primary role is to manage transport services across the capital in a safe, integrated, efficient and economical manner for the purpose of securing the implementation of the Mayor's Transport Strategy. TfL employs approximately 28,000 people directly and it has a major infrastructure asset base. It works closely with the London boroughs and other public and private sector bodies to deliver its strategic goals in a collaborative and integrated way.
Operations
TfL is responsible for London's Buses, the London Underground, London Overground, the Docklands Light Railway, the Elizabeth Line, London Trams, Cable Car and piers on the river Thames, as well as Victoria Coach Station and provides funding to the London Transport Museum.
TfL is also responsible for London’s strategic roads with 580km of Red Routes and all of London's 6,000 traffic signals. In addition, TfL manages the Central London Congestion Charging scheme and the London wide Ultra Low Emission Zone, regulates the London's taxi and private hire vehicles, and promotes a range of sustainable travel, road safety, walking and cycling initiatives across the Capital such as Santander Cycle Hire.
To ensure greater accessibility is available to all Londoners, TfL co-ordinates schemes for transport users with impaired mobility, by running Dial-a-Ride and funding the London boroughs' Taxicard and Capital Call.
Governance
The Board is non-executive and consists of up to seventeen Members appointed by the Mayor of London (the Mayor). The TfL Board approves the budget and business plan, and other major and strategic issues, such as the Investment Programme and financial management strategies. It is accountable for appointing the Commissioner for Transport and a small number of other key senior roles.
The Mayor can chair the Board and has the power to appoint and remove Members of the Board. In making appointments to the Board, the Mayor is required to have regard to the desirability of ensuring Members between them have experience of transport, finance and commerce, national and local government, the management of organisations, management of trade unions or matters relating to workers generally.
Members of the Board must also represent those with interests in relation to the transport of women and of persons who require transport which is accessible to those with impaired mobility.
TfL is obliged to exercise its functions in accordance with the Mayor's guidance or directions, to secure the implementation of the Mayor's Transport Strategy and to facilitate the carrying out of the duty to provide safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport facilities and services to, from and within Greater London.
The decision-making framework for TfL is agreed by the TfL Board and is documented in TfL Standing Orders. Within the current agreed framework, the Board sets policy and agrees the strategic direction of TfL and oversees performance of the executive team that carries out the policies agreed by the Board. The Commissioner and their Executive Committee are responsible and accountable for the delivery of the day-to-day operations of TfL.
Under the Commissioner Andy Lord, appointed in 2023, service delivery is organised into the following functions: Customer and Strategy, Finance, Capital, Operations, People, Safety, Health and Environment, General Counsel and Pensions Review.
Funding
TfL is funded and financed through:
- Fares income – this is the largest single source of income;
- Other income, including commercial activity and proceeds from the Congestion Charge;
- Grants (including business rates retained by the Mayor);
- GLA Precept on council tax; and
- Borrowing and cash reserves.
As a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on fares income TfL was in receipt of Extraordinary Funding from Government from May 2020 onwards. This pandemic related support ended in March 2024 following TfL achieving an operating surplus in 2023/24 for the first time. TfL has achieved this through rebuilding ridership levels, diversifying its revenue sources and tight cost control.
Like other transport authorities around the world, TfL will continue to receive capital funding from Government for major projects and continues to make the case for a long-term capital funding arrangement provided to similar sectors.
Following the pandemic TfL has a backlog of investment needed to maintain both the operating capacity of the transport network, and the condition of assets used to support this network. TfL's Investment Programme focuses on both new projects and investment in London's existing transport assets, to support the strategic goals set out in the Mayor's Transport Strategy.
More information is available in TfL's Business Plan, which can be downloaded from the TfL website:
TfL Business and Finance plans and Mayor’s Transport Strategy.
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/corporate-governance/board-members
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/business-plan