Funding sources

Our activities are funded from a range of sources.

These include:

  • Passenger income and other operating income
  • Grants and third party funding
  • Prudential borrowing

Passenger income and other operating income

Our passenger income is a significant portion of our revenue base. 

We also receive other operating income from road user charging (including the Congestion Charge and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)) and commercial activities. We generate revenue from our large media and property estates.

Grant income

We receive grants from the Government and the Greater London Authority. These grants are used to fund both operating costs and investments. In line with the Government's devolution strategy, a proportion of our grant funding comes from local business rates raised under the business rates retention scheme.

Read a copy of the latest funding agreement letter and other Government correspondence.

Our grant funding includes additional grants for specific projects such as Crossrail and the Northern line extension. We also receive contributions from third parties for some projects.

Prudential borrowing

Our diverse portfolio of borrowing is governed by the Local Government Prudential Borrowing Regime. Incremental borrowing limits are set by the Mayor of London every year and are agreed with the Government as part of the Spending Review.

Our borrowing portfolio includes debt from the Public Works Loan Board, European Investment Bank and Export Development Canada as well as amounts outstanding under our Commercial Paper and Medium Term Note programmes.

See more about our borrowing programme on the Borrowing programme page.