London,
27
February
2018
|
15:06
Europe/London

Have your say on cuts to bus services in Hackney

Hackney Council wants to hear about residents’ experiences of using buses following a series of changes and cuts on routes in the borough.

Feedback from the new survey will be used to inform future campaigns and discussions with Transport for London about Hackney’s bus services.

Cuts to services

Most residents do not own a car and rely on public transport to get around the borough and travel to other parts of London.

In recent years, TfL has made changes to bus routes that go through Hackney. These include cutting the 242 between St Paul’s and Tottenham Court Road and the 73 between Seven Sisters and Stoke Newington and between Oxford Circus and Victoria. There are also plans to cut the 277 route between Dalston Junction and Highbury and Islington.

More recently, there has been a reduction in the frequency on a number of bus routes, meaning longer waits between buses. This includes routes: 42, 48, 106,141, 236, 242, 276, 279, 343, 349, 488, N8, N29, N35, N38 and N55.

Transport for London does not properly consult on reductions in frequency of bus routes but the Council understands that further cuts are to be introduced this year.

Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney
Buses are at the heart of Hackney’s transport infrastructure. Some of the most deprived areas of the borough are also the furthest away from train stations, with the lowest rates of car ownership. Many of our housing estates are home to thousands of people, but only served by a single bus route. While the new ‘hopper fare’ has helped to keep buses affordable, I fear that residents in these areas will be disproportionately affected by cuts to buses. I would urge all residents to share their experiences with us so we can work with TfL to secure the best possible bus services for our residents.
Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney
Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Transport and Parks
The opening of the London Overground means Hackney is more connected than it used to be, but there are still very few train and tube stations compared to other parts of London. A quarter of Hackney residents use on buses as their main mode of transport – commuters rely on them to get to work, children rely on them to get to school, and others rely on them for everyday living – be it shopping, getting to the doctor’s or visiting family and friends.

As the Cabinet Member responsible for the borough’s roads, I am particularly interested to hear about any measures residents think that we could take to make bus journeys better. There are some things we could do on our roads to try and reduce delays, like getting rid of car parking to free up road space, adding “bus gates” that mean only buses can use certain routes, or extending bus lane hours.
Cllr Feryal Demirci, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Transport and Parks

Have your say

Complete the survey before 27 April.