Transport for London bosses pocket Olympic Games bonus windfall - The Guardian

Transport for London has paid £1.5m in bonuses to senior staff for the successful delivery of the Olympics, according to its annual report.

The transport body, which operates the capital's tube and bus networks, said it would pay deferred bonuses because record passenger numbers and reliability in 2012 meant "excellent management had really delivered".

Sir Peter Hendy, the transport commissioner, led the way with a £319,000 bonus on top of his £331,000 salary. But the base pay of the commissioner and his chief officers was frozen for a fourth consecutive year.

However, salaries for several directors of Crossrail – far from operational at the time of the Games – rose above inflation. The chief executive, Andrew Wolstenholme, pocketed more than £600,000, including pension contributions and a £123,000 bonus for eight months service in 2011-12, while programme director Andy Mitchell was paid a £222,000 bonus. With Crossrail executives included, the bonus pay for TfL executives in 2012 exceeded £2m.

The general secretary of the RMT trade union, Bob Crow, said the "outrageous" bonuses would influence upcoming pay claims at TfL. "With transport taking a massive hit in the spending review, and with jobs cuts and fare increases looming large, it is outrageous that the top brass across TfL are raking in combined bonuses of £2.5m."

TfL said the tube had carried record numbers of passengers – 1.23 billion people – with services more reliable than ever, while London's bus network was packed and the taxpayer subsidy substantially reduced. Tube and bus networks operated over 97% of the scheduled service.

The transport body said it had continued to deliver substantial savings while protecting frontline services, investment and concessionary travel schemes, and claimed passenger satisfaction on the bus and tube had reached an all-time high of 82% and 83% respectively.

Paralympic champion Lady Grey-Thompson, chair of TfL's remuneration committee, said: "London's transport network had a record-breaking year, with hugely improved reliability and tremendous support for a successful London 2012 Games under the gaze of the world. The excellent management team and staff have really delivered."

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "London's transport system is carrying more people, more reliably, safely and efficiently than at any point in history. We are also delivering impressively on one of the biggest investment programmes being undertaken anywhere on the planet."