We’ve been banging on about the buses for more than two months now.
Transport for London (TfL) first announced the consultation on cutting sixteen bus routes back at the start of June, when we were all joyfully celebrating the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.
Three of the four Southwark bus routes that TfL is considering cutting go back as far as 1952, when Elizabeth II first ascended to the throne. The 12 bus route started in the 1850s, according to a 1970s history of London transport. The 78 and the 45 also both go back at least as far as the 1950s.
These things matter for symbolic reasons – it’s a shame to lose a part of south London’s modern history, and many of our readers will feel strong emotional attachments to these buses – but there are also practical reasons why the routes have lasted as long as they have: they work and people need them.
Passenger numbers on some Southwark bus routes facing axe are above pre-pandemic levels
We reported this week on the fact that some of the Southwark routes that TfL could be cutting have actually had more passengers in some weeks this year than before the pandemic.
That includes the N12 night bus, taking both tired night workers and partygoers home from central London to the south. Of course, the 148 route will be changed to take up some of the slack – but there will still be fewer buses than before, and vulnerable people will undoubtedly be left with a longer wait in the dark for their bus to take them home.
There is a similar argument for the BBC’s classified football results on the radio, which the corporation announced this week it was taking off air after more than 40 years. Yes, both the old bus routes and the classified results are a nice bit of heritage and nostalgia for some.
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But actually, many other people rely on them. Yes, those people may be older, poorer and generally less visible than the people who now check their results online, or who can afford to take Ubers home late at night. But their needs, and their safety, are just as important – and publicly-funded bodies like TfL and the BBC should remember that.
The consultation, having been extended, is now over and it will be up to the TfL to take on board all the comments and see how vital it is to keep our bus routes. South London has and continues to be starved of tube stations. There is no sign of the much needed Bakerloo Line Extension getting approval and places like Camberwell have had decade-long campaigns for a railway station. The decision on the bus routes will be made later this year – let’s hope they have listened to people of Southwark, from all political persuasions, who have put up great campaigns to keep them.
