Update 29 April
For almost a year, Nickie Aiken, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster has campaigned with local people, as well as our London Assembly Member Tony Devenish and neighbouring MP Greg Hands to Save Our Buses from the Mayor's cuts.
11 months later, Nickie, alongside local people, saved so many of our local buses, including the 4, 16, and 24, and forced the Mayor to abandon almost all of his disastrous plan. They also secured a temporary reprieve for the 211, our hospital bus, but the threat of the Mayor's axe remains for the 211. But on 29 April, the Mayor ignored the overwhelming voice of local people and scrapped route 11 from the City and most of Westminster.
Jointly, Greg and Nickie's petitions received 15,000 signatures. The Mayor's own consultation showed 85% of respondents opposed his plan. But the Mayor of London has ignored local people and pushed ahead with his appalling plan.
The Mayor has the money. Transport for London received over £6 billion of support from the Government throughout the pandemic and continues to be supported with a long-term funding settlement from Government. It's the Mayor's choice to cut our buses.
Nickie is determined to ensure simple, easy and convenient journeys on public transport for local people. And she will continue to campaign with you to save our hospital bus.
Every journey matters. And Nickie and Greg's bid to give the route UNESCO world heritage status continues.
Nickie thanks everyone who backed the campaign.
Update ends
Nickie Aiken, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster, welcomes the Mayor of London’s common sense decision to cancel almost all of his proposed cuts to bus routes across the Cities of London and Westminster.
Following Nickie’s local campaign and working with neighbouring MPs Greg Hands, Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham, and Felicity Buchan, Member of Parliament for Kensington, as well as London Assembly Member for West Central, Tony Devenish, more than 10,000 people had their say, signed their petitions and voiced their opposition to the Mayor’s bus cuts.
The Mayor will now no longer push ahead with cuts to London’s oldest continuous bus route, bus route 24. Nickie warmly welcomes that the route will continue to serve neighbourhoods between Pimlico and Hampstead Heath.
Route 14, another pivotal route to Chelsea and Westminster, Royal Brompton, and Royal Marsden hospitals, has been saved, albeit having had its timetable previously cut.
Route 4, which connects the City of London to Whittington Hospital is another essential route that no longer faces the Mayor’s axe because of your immense support.
Routes across the Cities of London and Westminster which will now be unchanged include 4, 12, 14, 15, 24, 43, 47, 74, 78, 88, 98, 113, 189, 205, 242, 343, N74, N98, N133, and N242.
Despite the Mayor’s u-turn, the campaign to save the 11 and 211 continues.
The Mayor of London is pushing ahead with his plan to alter route 211. The route will now start at Battersea Power Station, cutting off local people living in Pimlico, Victoria and St James’s from the pivotal hospital bus route which previously linked them to Chelsea and Westminster, Royal Brompton, Royal Marsden, St Thomas’ and Charing Cross hospitals.
Route 11, serving the Cities of London and Westminster since 1906, is being rerouted, cutting off the City of London. The route will now terminate at Waterloo. Nickie is working with local people to reinstate the City of London to this crucial route.
Bus route 507, which ran between Victoria Station and Waterloo Station has also been scrapped entirely.
Bus routes across the Cities of London and Westminster which have changed because of the Mayor of London’s decision include 3, 6, 11, 16, 23, 133, 211, C10, N11, N16, and N205.
The Mayor claims this is about money. It isn’t. Transport for London has already received support throughout the pandemic totalling over £6 billion, the largest single recipient of pandemic support across the transport sector. The Government also confirmed in the Summer longer-term funding support for TfL totalling over £1.1 billion, as well as unlocking over £3.6 billion of critical infrastructure investment.
