If you live in Kingston, a yearly travelcard could set you back up to £2,344.

But, if you are a flatmate or lodger of a Transport for London (TfL) employee, you can be chosen to receive a nominee pass, which gets you free travel on London’s buses, Tube and DLR.

About 8,500 free journeys are made every year with these passes across the capital, costing some £22.2m annually.

The expensive scheme is projected to cost £111m by 2020.

Of course, bus drivers and other transport staff should be entitled to their free pass.

However, at a time when the public sector is having to make money stretch further, there is no justification for their friends, flatmates and lodgers receiving these benefits just because they happen to live at the same address.

If we scrap this perk, we would free up enough cash to fund free travelcards for our firefighters who, unlike the police, do not get free travel in London.

It is about time TfL cracked down on waste, used their common sense, and got rid of this gold plated perk.

TONY ARBOUR
Conservative London Assembly member for Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston