London Mayoral hopeful Ivan Massow: Give spare cash from Oyster cards to charity

Mayoral candidate Ivan Massow wants £75m of unused Oyster card money to be put towards a fund devoted to increasing social mobility in the capital, he told City A.M..

 

 

Massow also said London would benefit from encouraging a depot system, where warehouses are moved outside of central London. This would free up space for housing and also reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles driving through central London, making the roads safer for cyclists. 

 

The Mayor’s Fund currently provides 4,500 children with breakfast each morning and helps children with literacy and numeracy. It also provides mentoring, training and work placements to help young people.

 

Transport for London is holding £100m of Oyster card money that has been left unclaimed for more than two years. Massow believes 75 per cent of it could be used as an endowment for the fund. 

 

“It’s all about social mobility. It has the remit to distribute, in any way it sees fit, to charities,” he said. 

 

“It means everything from feeding kids to getting them into work. The fund’s short-term target is to raise £50m and this would more than clear that.”