London bus cuts: Sadiq Khan pulls handbrake on planned changes

London Assembly's transport committee had expressed concerns about the impact of the cuts on the poorest Londoners

Sadiq Khan has pulled back on controversial plans to axe numerous bus routes across London after a massive backlash by passengers.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced it will only get rid of three bus routes following a consultation which saw more than 20,000 replies.

The strength of feeling across London had been made clear, the mayor said.

But various routes will be altered to "ensure a continued reliable bus network in central and inner London".

In June, TfL warned central London buses could be reduced by a fifth as it tried to balance the books following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number 12 bus route between Oxford Circus and Dulwich Library is one of the services saved

As a result of the consultation, 17 routes which had been proposed to be cut will be saved and kept as they currently operate. Another 40 services will also no longer be changed as initially planned.

Only three routes will be removed entirely - the 521 between Waterloo and London Bridge, the 507 between Victoria and Waterloo, and the 332 between Brent Park and Paddington - while alterations will be made to another 11 services.

Of the plans consulted on:

• Routes 4, 12, 14, 24, 31, 45, 72, 74, 78, 242, 349, C3, D7, N31, N72, N74 and N242 will be saved and kept as they are

• Planned tweaks to routes 15, 19, 27, 43, 47, 49, 53, 56, 88, 98, 100, 113, 135, 148, 171, 189, 205, 214, 236, 254, 259, 277, 279, 283, 328, 343, 388, 414, 430, 476, D3, D8, N15, N19, N27, N98, N133, N205, N414 and N430 will no longer happen

• Proposed changes to routes 3, 6, 11, 23, 26, 59, 77, 133, 211, C10 and N26 will still go ahead

TfL said the consultation had raised issues with the plans and as a result the mayor of London had been able to find extra funding to ensure the cuts did not happen on such a large scale.

Analysis

By BBC London's transport correspondent Tom Edwards

This is a partial U-turn brought about due to a huge reaction from local MPs, bus workers and passengers.

It shows the financial hangover from the pandemic and the government's TfL deal is still causing headaches.

Don't forget some of the cuts still go through - but £25m will be paid each year from "unallocated GLA reserves" from the council tax and business rates.

What that means is in the future, projects we don't know about perhaps in youth, crime prevention or the environment won't happen. That will mean "tough decisions" in the future, says the mayor.

This is a political choice. The mayor is the son of a bus driver and reducing cuts to the service in this instance at any rate take priority.

Mr Khan said the consultation had showed "the strength of feeling across the capital... and I was adamant that I would explore every avenue available to me to save as many buses as possible".

He added that not cutting as many services "will mean tough decisions elsewhere, but I am very pleased that the vast majority of bus routes proposed to be cut due to the government's funding conditions can now be saved".

However, the prime minister's transport advisor Andrew Gilligan said the government appears to have "called the mayor's bluff".

Mr Gilligan added: "As he in effect admitted today, Sadiq Khan's threats to cut the bus service were always about politics, not about money."

TfL said 22% of the service changes consulted on would go ahead still but only in those areas which have "numerous alternative public transport options".

Geoff Hobbs, director of public transport service planning, said: "This new funding, alongside our detailed analysis of the extensive consultation feedback and emerging travel patterns, has allowed us to significantly reduce the scope of the changes.

"The proposals that we will be taking forward are those that have a minimal impact on Londoners, as they are areas with much higher provision of buses than there is demand."