Susan Hall runs for Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan has caused massive confusion over an "election gimmick" in London after it emerged he did not clear financing for his initiative.
The London Mayor announced that travellers would not pay peak-time fares on Fridays in what he claimed was an attempt to boost business at the end of the week.
But his Conservative opponent, Susan Hall, claimed that the trial period was just "an election gimmick" paid for at the expense of "underfunding the police".
Her allegation came just days after Mr Khan was blamed for an overall rise in knife crime in the UK. The country would have recorded a fall in knife crime rates had it not been for a 22 percent rise in London.
But now it has emerged that Mr Khan might not have cleared the ￡2 million a week needed to pay for his Friday cheap travel plan.
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READ MORE: Sadiq Khan 'deliberately underfunded the police' to pay for election gimmicks
Susan Hall is the Conservative candidate to take on Sadiq Khan (Image: Getty)
Speaking to LBC radio on Monday, Mr Khan said: "We are going to be paying the privatised train companies every Friday ￡2million to make sure they reduce their fares, so they are off-peak as well."
But Transport for London (TfL) said that "no agreement has been reached".
Peter Fortune, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, claimed that Mr Khan's plan was already "unravelling".
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He said: "Just 48 hours after his announcement, it's clear this pledge was an election gimmick that fails to stand up to scrutiny.
"The Mayor has merely 'asked' TfL to look into the possibility of pausing off-peak fares on Friday and has yet to say how much money will be made available to train operators."
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TfL says it has not agreed the details with the London Mayor (Image: Getty)
Overall, the 12-month trial is supposed to cost ￡24million.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: "The Friday fares trial should be a win-win for everyone, putting money back into Londoners' pockets during the cost-of-living crisis, and providing a real boost to London's businesses.
"Getting more people on public transport on Fridays will mean more people spending money in shops, cafes and cultural venues, experiencing all London has to offer."
TfL collects fares via Oyster, contactless payment and travelcards. It apportions an agreed sum to the train operators for the journeys passengers make on their services.
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