Sadiq Khan: ‘Strength of feeling across the capital was clear to me’

THE Mayor of London has been urged to rethink plans to cut vital buses and routes through Westminster.

The No 16, which runs through Queen’s Park, Maida Vale, Paddington and Victoria, will be ­re­directed along with the No 11, which runs through St James’s, Victoria and Covent Garden.

The announcement came on a day when politicians said they had “saved” several routes that they had been threatening with the axe earlier in the year.

BBC DJ Edward Adoo, who went to St George’s school in Maida Vale and still uses the 16 bus, urged Sadiq Khan to reconsider and consult on the cut. He said: “The 16 bus is vital to the community. He should rethink his plans and consult with passengers who use it regularly.”

The 23, 12, 14, and the 74 had also been earmarked for the chop in a major scare triggered earlier this year when Transport for London, answerable to the mayor, announced a consultation on a money-saving plan. The transport authority and the government have been in a long-running funding dispute since losses suffered from passengers not using services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 21,000 responded to a consultation on the cuts.

Drivers, customers, disability campaigners and key workers had lobbied to save the 24 Pimlico and West End route.

Sadiq Khan said on Wednesday he had now “identified” additional TfL funding of £25million a year from Greater London Authority res­erves of unallocated business rates and council tax that helped save the routes.

And Westminster City Council leader, Labour’s Adam Hug, welcomed the announcement.

He said: “It is great news that, working with the Mayor of London and TfL, we have been able to secure a significant number of the main bus routes serving Westminster.

“Buses are a vital lifeline for so many of the people who live and work here, whether getting to the office, hospital, or other appointments, they make our lives work.

“We urged local people to make their views known during the consultation and it’s clear that our collective voice has been clearly heard, so a big thanks to everyone who got involved.”

The Conservatives in London have also claimed the TfL U-turn had been down to their campaign­ing against the cuts.

Cities of London and Westminster Conservative MP Nickie Aiken said: “I welcome the mayor’s decision to U-turn on his plan to cut several routes across the Two Cities. Bus routes 4, 14 and 24 have been saved.

“But the mayor is pushing ahead with cuts to our hospital route, route 211. Bus route 211 will no longer connect Westminster to five hospitals.

“And route 11, which has connected the Two Cities since 1906, now serves one city, cutting out the City of London.”

Sadiq Khan said: “I was furious on behalf of Londoners that TfL was having to consider reducing the bus network due to conditions attached by the government to the funding deal.

“The strength of feeling across the capital was clear to me, and I was adamant that I would explore every avenue available to me to save as many buses as possible.”

Views on the No 24 received the third highest number of comments (1,609) out of all the consultations.

Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning, said: “This new funding, alongside our detailed analysis of the extensive consultation feedback and emerging travel patterns, has allowed us to significantly reduce the scope of the changes.

“The proposals that we will be taking forward are those that have a minimal impact on Londoners, as they are areas with much higher provision of buses than there is demand.”