London bus route cuts announcement: Unite disappointed with loss of services

Unite the UK’s leading union, which represents over 20,000 bus workers in London, has reacted with disappointment to the announcement today (Wednesday) that the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) are going ahead with some of their planned bus route cuts.

Unite recognises that due to the highly motivated campaigns undertaken by drivers and local communities that 78 per cent of the cuts originally proposed will not now be implemented.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is ultimately a disappointing decision. The fact that TfL is going ahead with 22 per cent of cuts still means a reduction in jobs and will mean that passengers will have to contend with services that are less frequent, slower and more expensive.

“What is beyond a doubt is that the highly motivated campaigns led by bus workers and local communities had an enormous effect and forced TfL to rethink much of its cuts agenda.”

Unite lead officer for London buses, John Murphy, said: “The ultimate villain of the piece is the government, which is starving public transport in London and forcing Londoners to pay the price for the Covid pandemic through cuts in services.”