Sign of the times: the 160th anniversary Tube roundel at Baker Street station
(Picture: Ross Lydall)Transport for London spent just over £23,000 on a campaign to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Tube, it has revealed.
The centrepiece of the event was the unveiling of a new heart-shaped Tube roundel by Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL commissioner Andy Lord.
The roundel, which reads “Love the Tube”, went on display at Baker Street – one of the original seven stations on the Underground’s first line, the Metropolitan railway that linked Paddington with Farringdon.
New Tube roundel unveiled by @SadiqKhan and TfL commissioner Andy Lord at Baker Street station to mark the 160th anniversary of the London Underground pic.twitter.com/zzbp3nx61H
— Ross Lydall (@RossLydall) January 10, 2023
A freedom of information request by the TaxPayers’ Alliance found that TfL spent £6,135 designing the roundel – which was done in-house – and creating poster-size replicas, to use in 11 Tube stations for a year.
It also spent £16,684 on 2,000 “goodie bags” for staff and people attending anniversary events, including pens, water bottles, Moleskine notebooks and Tube-branded bunting.
A further £210 was spent on prizes for a social media competition, including mugs, coasters, tea towels, pin badges and wooden train sets.
TfL said the 160th anniversary celebrations were a “central part” of rebuilding post-pandemic passenger numbers and restoring its finances.
It said: “The anniversary, which attracted widespread positive media and stakeholder support, is also being used to re-engage our staff and build morale after some of the toughest years in Transport for London’s history and to remind all of TfL’s stakeholders of the vital role that the London Underground plays in the success of the capital.”
In addition, some of the anniversary merchandise would boost sales at the London Transport Museum.
“Expenditure on the anniversary is modest by any comparable standard and all comes from long-standing communications and marketing budgets,” TfL said.
“All materials have been sourced in the most efficient, low cost and sustainable ways. We are also exploring opportunities for sponsorship to cover our wider programme where appropriate.”
But Elliot Keck, investigations campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said claims of a morale boost were an “insult” to passengers hit by a series of Tube strikes last year.
He said: "This needless expenditure will only add to the anger of taxpayers. Transport bosses should crackdown on unnecessary waste."
