Sadiq Khan has said that buses cut in Central London are ‘not needed’ as new figures revealed that nearly 700,000 journeys have been cut in a year. The data, uncovered via a freedom of information request by Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, shows that TfL had 685,557 fewer scheduled bus journeys in 2023, compared with 2022.
This represents, the Evening Standard reported, a reduction of 1.9 per cent. Now, the Mayor of London has explained that some journeys in the centre of the city have been axed, but these were ‘not needed’.
Mr Khan told MyLondon on Monday, March 25 that he ‘doesn’t recognise the specific figures’ reported, but said: “There are some buses that were running on routes that weren’t needed, because we have improved public transport in Central and Inner London.
READ MORE: More Superloop London bus routes could be introduced and local services revamped
“The Elizabeth line means people have an alternative to getting around London, so people aren’t using those bus routes as frequently.” The mayor added: “We have been reducing the number of buses in Central London because many of those are duplications that aren’t needed.”
He also said that the hopper fare – whereby customers pay less for multiple bus journeys within a short time of each other – has been ‘a game changer’, and the Superloop provides four million extra kilometres of routes. Mr Khan added that City Hall has provided £25 million a year to TfL to ‘keep most of those buses running’ in Central London due to the authority’s deal with the Government.
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Mayor ‘slashing public transport with one hand and pushing people out of their cars with the other’
Ms Olney said: “The Mayor can’t keep slashing public transport with one hand and pushing people out of their cars with the other, he needs to provide a reliable alternative to those living in the outer boroughs. It’s not just Sadiq Khan though – Conservative Ministers have turned TfL’s funding into a political football, forcing cuts to essential services and delaying support until the last possible moment.”
A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson previously told MyLondon: “The Government has provided more than £6.6 billion of support to TfL since 2020 – including the most recent injection of £250 million in capital funding in December 2023. As transport is devolved, it is for the Mayor of London to deliver services in the capital and explain how his decisions are funded.”
Read our full sit down interview with Sadiq Khan ahead of the London mayoral election on May 2 here. You can also read our chat with Susan Hall here.
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Shyam Batra, independent
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Count Binface, independent
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Rob Blackie, Liberal Democrats
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Natalie Campbell, independent
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Howard Cox, Reform UK
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Amy Gallagher, SDP
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Zoe Garbett, Green Party
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Tarun Ghulati, independent
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Susan Hall, Conservative
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Sadiq Khan, Labour
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Andreas Michli, independent
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Brian Rose, London Real
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