Sadiq Khan U-Turns on Bus Cuts after Southwark Liberal Democrat Campaign

Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced today a partial rolling back of his controversial plans to cut numerous bus routes.

The Central London Bus Review was proposing 16 routes be entirely axed, including 4 that serve Southwark.

Today, the Mayor has announced that only 3 routes will be cut entirely, with 3 of the 4 threatened routes serving Southwark now set to remain unchanged including the historic number 12.

However, the 521 which serves the north of the borough is still set to be axed and planned changes to other routes serving Southwark will still go ahead.

The Southwark Liberal Democrats led the campaign from the start to save the bus routes that are relied on by Southwark residents.

Commenting, Leader of the Southwark Lib Dems Cllr Victor Chamberlain said: “We are thrilled that Sadiq Khan has U-Turned and saved the buses from himself. We always said these cuts were damaging and could be avoided. It is a huge relief that our Labour Mayor has seen sense and woken up to the thousands of Londoners who were opposing these reckless plans. The residents of Southwark rely disproportionately on buses so the fact that the 12, the 78 and the 45 will not be cut is fantastic news for them.

However, the changes that remain will still be hugely damaging for the people of Southwark and some of our most vulnerable residents. The 521, which was supposed to replace the electric RV1 bus, will still be axed and the changes to the 133 hinder residents travelling north. We welcome the news, Southwark Liberal Democrat group will continue to campaign to maintain our vital bus network and for more sustainable transport.”