“Mind the gap – and say hello to our sponsors” could become the mantra on the cash-strapped London Underground if the Tory contingent on the London Assembly get their way.
The Underground is behind the curve when it comes to commercial sponsorship, they say, and is missing out on a £150 million bonanza from major brands wanting to promote their wares.
The group suggests that Knightsbridge on the Piccadilly Line could be renamed “Knightsbridge, Home of Harrods”, while Bond Street could be retagged “Burberry by Bond Street”.
Meanwhile, Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains, which already operate inter-city services to the northwest of England and Scotland from Euston, could sponsor its Underground station as “Virgin Euston”, it says.
Passengers would not be bothered, the group argues, particularly if commercial sponsorship led to a one-year freeze in fares, where the cheapest single ticket costs £1.90.
More than four in five Londoners – 82 per cent – support more sponsorship to subsidise fares, according to their poll, while one in three would accept the renaming of a station.
However, Transport for London, the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in greater London, is unimpressed.
Company executive Graeme Craig said the Tory group was “well intentioned but I don’t think it’s right to sell off Tube stations to someone waving a cheque book and offering a bad pun.
“A Tube map is to show people where a station is and renaming would bring about confusion, especially among the 30 million visitors on the network every year.”
However, the company is under pressure to find new sources of revenue, as it faces a budget cut of up to 15 per cent in the government’s next spending round, and also has to raise £400 million in revenues from areas other than tickets.
Mr Craig said one possibility would be to allow sponsors to put their names to station improvement works.
In defence of their idea, the Tory group says that Vodafone has paid €3 million to sponsor one of Madrid’s underground lines, while one of the city’s stations, Puerta del Sol, has been renamedSol Vodafone.
