London mayoral election 2016: Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan square off over Transport for London (TfL) fares and services
Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith and his Labour rival Sadiq Khan will square off today over their plans for public transport in the capital, with Goldsmith vowing to protect investment in Transport for London (TfL) and Khan accusing the Richmond Park MP of planning to raise TfL fares by 17 per cent.
Goldsmith is set to unveil his transport manifesto at an event in Ilford today, vowing to expand capacity on the District, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City Lines, while delivering on Boris Johnson's plans for the Night Tube.
Goldsmith has previously committed to extending the London Overground to south London, and has also said he would look to ban lorries on London roads during rush hour.
"It’s a very clear choice at this election between Khan’s reckless experiment with London’s future and my plan to secure that future," Goldsmith will say today.
Meanwhile, Khan will deliver his own speech today on transport policy in Brixton, where he is expected to accuse his Tory opponent of planning a major hike to TfL fares.
Khan unveiled a new campaign poster yesterday claiming Goldsmith would raise fares by 17 per cent over the next four years.
"Londoners face a crystal clear choice on fares," Khan said. "A four-year fares freeze if I’m mayor, so you won’t pay a penny more in 2020 than you do today, or a 17 per cent rise under Zac Goldsmith."
Khan, a former transport minister, has vowed not to increase fares before the end of the decade.
But TfL has questioned Labour's costing of the fare freeze, saying in internal documents that Labour's analysis does not take into account the impact Crossrail will have on passenger numbers. Khan has said stopping fare increases will cost £450m over four years; TfL said the real cost will be £1.9bn.
A Goldsmith campaign spokesperson told City PM that the Tory candidate is "not looking to put fares up" but would not commit to a fares freeze pledge that would "put investment in London's transport at risk with a £1.9bn black hole".