The Government is not giving Transport for London (TfL) enough funds to run the transport system that London needs.
So TfL have worked out that they have to cut 4% from their budget for buses. They’ve published proposals that they have put out for consultation and I will be strongly objecting to them on behalf of people of Camberwell and Peckham.
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They plan to withdraw the 12, 45 and 78 routes and change the routes of the 59, 148, 171 and 388. It would mean fewer buses, longer waits at bus stops and needing to change more often.
25% of the London Bus cuts they are proposing fall in Southwark, just one London borough out of 32 served by TfL. And people here need the buses. Most people don’t have cars or can’t afford the petrol to drive to work. We don’t have a tube in Camberwell and Peckham for people to use as an alternative. And though many people here, especially young people, cycle, jumping on a bike is not possible for a mum with a couple of kids, a frail elderly person or a wheelchair user.
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The cuts will mean people having to change buses or “more interchanges” as TfL put it. For an elderly person who can do one journey might not be able to do two. For a young woman or girl on her own waiting at a bus stop in the dark could make them feel unsafe. For a disabled person, getting on a crowded bus might feel impossible.
TfL don’t want to make these cuts. They know we need more buses, not fewer. But in view of the fact they feel forced to cut, they should make those cuts in a way which is least harmful to those who will be worst hit. I’ve spoken to TfL and I’m working with Southwark’s two other MPs Helen Hayes and Neil Coyle on this. I’ve said to TfL that they should completely redo their planned cuts. They should start with a map showing the greatest concentrations of low income and make sure the cuts avoid those areas. TfL acknowledge in their “impact statement” that any cuts to buses hit hardest at the elderly, women and girls, those with disabilities and those on low incomes. So it makes no sense that they plan to hit Southwark so hard.
Please get in touch with me to give me your views about the buses in your area that you use so I can include what you say in my strong protests to TfL. You can email me at harriet.harman.mp@parliament.uk.
TfL have tough choices to make. But they shouldn’t make life tougher for those who can least afford it.