No 24: its route is seen as ‘particularly significant’

FURIOUS bus drivers and passengers will march the route of the No 24 bus to Trafalgar Square in protest against cuts to services.

The demonstration, leaving Mornington Crescent at 11am on Saturday, is being organised by the union Unite.

The 24 from Pimlico to Hampstead is one of the key bus routes in Westminster facing cuts in what union reps say is authorities putting “politics over the old lady in the street”.

Routes 12 and the 31 are also affected.

Jim Hart, a Unite shop steward at the 24 bus garage, said: “There are 16 routes that will be cut across London. But the 24 is particularly significant. It’s what people use for everything, their shopping, doctors’ appointments, trips to the West End, first dates, good times and bad.

“We had a meeting in parliament and I told MPs that if the 24 was a building it would be listed and preserved for history. Instead Transport for London are talking about stopping it altogether. It’s part of London’s fabric and London’s history.”

Mr Hart, 61, added: “We had 150,000 people sign our petition to save services, and I have spent time on the 24 giving leaflets out and it’s clear how much people love it.

“This isn’t about drivers. We have a driver shortage, as it is, so we won’t lose staff. It’s about our passengers.

Jim Hart: ‘This isn’t about drivers… it’s about our passengers’

“I spoke to one old lady who uses it to get to Sainsbury’s in Pimlico, but there will be others like her.

“This is a decision being taken because of politics over the old lady in the street.

“In Pimlico the new service won’t run on the same route, so she will have to walk further with her shopping. Without her bus, how will she get her shopping?”

TfL says it has been forced into making savings as wranglings continue over its funding from the Department for Transport.

TfL suffered huge losses during the Covid-19 pandemic when passenger numbers collapsed.

A consultation has closed on the changes and if current plans go ahead, the 24 route would be replaced by a rerouted 88 service.

The new service would be less regular than the 24. The 31 could be replaced with the 189.

Other groups to raise concerns about the loss of the 24 includes a body that represents West End theatres and the AgeUK charity for the elderly.

Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug has said: “We don’t want to see any bus cuts in Westminster.

“Buses are a vital mode of transport, particularly during this unprecedented squeeze on the cost of living. I am deeply concerned by the government’s failure to properly fund Transport for London while we continue to recover from the pandemic and call on them to resolve this urgently.

“This is absolutely the wrong time to be revising services and, although we accept TfL’s hand is being forced, these are also the wrong cuts.”