Would bring in less than 5% of government required budget reduction
Some concerned that cuts could lead to overcrowding on bus network
The proposed cuts to bus services in London will only lead to savings of £35 million per year for Transport for London (TfL), it has been revealed.
TfL is currently holding a public consultation on plans to axe up to 16 bus routes entirely and make amendments to 78 more in order to meet savings targets imposed by the Government as part of an emergency funding deal. The consultation has been extended until August 7 to allow Londoners more time to have their say.
Under the terms of the Government bailout, TfL is required to make savings of £730 million per year to achieve financial sustainability.
Speaking at a meeting of the London Assembly transport committee at City Hall on Wednesday (28 June), TfL Chief Operating Officer Andy Lord revealed that the proposed bus cuts would contribute £35 million per year towards that savings target.
TfL’s proposals would lead to as many as 100 bus services per hour being slashed across London, with 16 routes axed entirely – the biggest cuts in over a decade.
Mr Lord said the potential £35 million of savings was “not an insubstantial amount in the context of savings we’ve got to make”.
He said, “This is a condition as part of our funding with the Government. The reductions are primarily focused on central London in areas where we think it will be least impactful and the least worst option, and where there are mitigating options for us in terms of increasing routes elsewhere and ensuring financial sustainability.”
Mr Lord told the London Assembly that the “vast majority” of the £730 million of savings “don’t come from service reductions” and reiterated that what TfL was proposing was the “least worst” option.
Following a question from Conservative Assembly Member Keith Prince, Mr Lord ruled out the potential for TfL to scrap nominee passes, a staff benefit that grants free travel to a partner or relative of a TfL employee.
The City Hall Conservatives have previously estimated that scrapping nominee passes would save TfL around £40 million per year, though TfL’s Chief Operating Officer said he “doesn’t recognise that figure”.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has previously said that nominee passes come at “no cost” to TfL.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
June 29, 2022