Transport for London

The overview

Transport for London (TfL) is a public body. It was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority, which oversees the provision of public transport in London. This includes:

• Bus and tube systems
• Local rail services around London
• The Croydon tram
• The Docklands Light Railway networks
• Congestion charging
• Taxis
• Cycle provision (Boris’ bikes)
• River services
• Victoria coach station
• The promotion of walking around London.

TfL is also responsible for the planning and maintenance of the core road network around London – known as Red Routes.

The majority of TfL’s revenue comes from bus and tube fares; in 2010/11, these contributed 82.3% of overall revenue, at £1,257m and £1,758m, respectively.

An expansive clientele

All businesses in London need staff and customers to survive, and they need their goods to be moved around, so it could be said that every London-based business is a customer of TfL. More obviously, it serves the public - be they commuters, locals or tourists. The organisation will face enormous challenges over the course of the coming year in planning for and dealing with the huge influx of visitors into the city for the 2012 Olympics.

Rankings and awards

• Included in the 2011 Guardian UK 300 list of most popular graduate employers.
• Ranked 78 on the 2011 Times top 100 graduate employers.
• Ranked 16 in Stonewall’s list of the top 100 employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) staff.
• The ‘Boris Bikes’ scheme won the passenger transport category at the 2011 Chartered Institute of Logistics (CILT) Annual Excellence awards.

Salary and benefits

Graduates joining TfL will earn £25,000 in the first year. This will increase in the second year, depending on performance.

Perks

• 30 days’ holiday, in addition to public holidays
• Free Oyster cards for use on all TfL services for employees and their partners
• 75 per cent off annual travel tickets for travel beyond the TfL network
• Interest-free loan for buying annual travel tickets beyond the Tfl network, to be paid back over 10 months directly from wages
• Final-salary pension scheme
• Optional private medical insurance
• Discounts on gym and health-club memberships, plus leisure discounts

Culture and values

TfL is a government-controlled organisation, so employees are effectively working in the public sector. At the top of the management structure sits the mayor of London, who is said to influence how the company operates. Some employees say that this leads to a very ‘political’ working environment which might not be to everyone’s taste, although some people may relish this type of atmosphere.

Celebrating diversity

TfL serves one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country.

The organisation serves one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country – more than 27 per cent of London’s population was born outside of the UK. The organisation considers itself an integral part of this culture and its recruitment procedure reflects this. While all firms are governed by laws that prevent discriminatory behaviour, TfL asks graduate applicants to demonstrate how they can work with groups of people who culturally different from themselves. Evidence of a commitment to diversity is one of the competences that TfL sometimes seeks in interviews.

State-sector stability

Despite proposed changes to state-sector pensions, employees seem to enjoy more stability in this area than their counterparts in the private sector, especially in recent years. Because TfL is a public company, it still offers new starters to the graduate scheme final salary pensions.