What are the new transport priorities and how can TfL’s financial sustainability be secured? London doesn't function without public transport. And our pre-pandemic public transport funding models don't function without passengers. Nowhere is this more acute than for Transport for London. Revenues for the capital's transport authority were nearly twice as dependent on passenger fares as comparable cities. Now, of course, the network is reliant on hand-to-mouth handouts from central government. This is not a recipe for long term economic success, nor for hitting our net zero targets in the capital. London First has argued that a new funding model must be built for the city we want to see in the 2030s, but what does this city look like? And what is the role of an integrated transport authority in it? And how do we make the sums add up in a way that is both fair and sustainable?

There has been a lot of focus on carbon reduction, but less on the growth and jobs opportunities from doubling the size of the green economy by the Mayor’s stated target of 2030. London has a strong track record on decarbonisation as a C40 city – with CO2 emissions down 40% in 2017 vs. 2000 – but has a long way to go to achieve net zero (or intermediary targets). At the same time the capital has many distinctive competitive advantages that could lend it to being a first mover both in the UK, and globally – a world leading financial hub; the world’s largest hub of aviation activity; over 3.6 million dwellings and a centre of research expertise. Eyes are increasingly on London to see if it can maintain its global relevance post-Brexit, therefore the capital needs to rapid action if it is to capitalize on the window of opportunity.  

This session will focus on a set of quantified ‘provocations’ and no-regret next steps to illustrate how a low carbon London can also be prosperous for the UK. In detailing the economic benefits of these decarbonization opportunities with near term actions this will hopefully draw further attention to the economic merits of immediate action, as well as the environmental.

The infrastructure sector employs a significant proportion of London’s workforce and it’s important that it represents the Londoners it serves, but some groups remain underrepresented. Britain Thinks published a report for the GLA in 2020 examining diversity and inclusion in the sector. It highlighted the significant under-representation of diverse groups across the workforce and in the infrastructure sector particularly. These organisations have a lower-than-average representation of women, ethnicity and are also less likely to implement initiatives that support the LGBTQ+ community. 

This session will explore how to help promote an inclusive recovery in London; What are the barriers to underrepresented groups entering the infrastructure sector? What more could be done to foster an inclusive environment? and will aim to shine the light on examples of best practise in overcoming barriers to recruit, support and develop a more diverse workforce.

Covid-19 has challenged fundamental assumptions about the world’s largest cities. Cities across the world have seen an unprecedented level of change: initially this was in response to massive, enforced, changes to behaviour, but as Covid recedes, cities across the world have become creative in their recoveries. Urban life is coming back with innovations in transport pricing, new designs for street usage, and fundamental questions about long-term demand for all forms of urban infrastructure. By bringing together voices from major cities around the world, we hope to spark discussions about how global cities continue to reinvent themselves post-Covid. 

Sustaining TfL’s operations has dominated discussions around funding for London’s transport network, but delivering new transport projects will be critical for the capital’s future. Post-covid, case-making for transport projects will need to centre on placemaking opportunities and Mayor Sadiq Khan stated in his manifesto that he would prioritise delivering the DLR extension to Thamesmead, which has the potential to help promote tens of thousands of new homes for Londoners and transform Thamesmead in the London Borough of Bexley into a thriving new quarter of London. While progress is being made on feasibility work for the proposed DLR extension, there is more work to do about how it will be funded. This session will bring together the key public and private sector stakeholders to set out the vision for the Thamesmead

Delivery of EV charging infrastructure is vital to the transition to a zero emission and zero carbon economy. Access to charging infrastructure is often described as the primary barrier to fleet owners achieving their zero emission targets. Roll-out of EV infrastructure is complicated by overlapping factors: land availability, planning policy, traffic demand, power demand, competing user needs (on-street versus fast charging hubs), multiple ownership models (i.e. private and publicly owned). No single party has access to all the information necessary to optimise and accelerate roll-out therefore there is considerable incentives for public and private collaboration.

This session will look at a major new public private data collaboration on EV initiated by London First under the new Data Charter.