Transport for London (TfL)’’s proposed bus cuts would have a hit hardest on the poorest in the capital and the disabled, a London Assembly member has warned.
The Green Party’s Sian Berry said: “One third of all bus journeys are made by people in households earning less than £20,000 per year.
“We are also concerned about the disproportionate impact of the proposals on disabled Londoners, considering that 10% of daytime bus passengers are disabled.”
TfL ended its consultation on cutting sixteen bus routes – four of which are in Southwark – on August 3. The bus cuts are being proposed in response to pressure from the government to slash spending.
We reported last week that more people have been riding two routes through Southwark in many weeks in 2022 than at the same times in 2019, before the pandemic.
Comment: The reasons for keeping our bus routes could not be more convincing
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning, said the cuts would “take into account all public and stakeholder responses” and “the latest ridership data”.
Mr Hobbs said: “The pandemic has had a devastating impact on TfL’s finances, requiring government support to keep public transport in London operating.
“The government set a number of conditions before it would provide emergency funding, including reducing the extent of our bus network.”
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