Campaigners are fighting to save a 'vital' London bus route that Transport for London (TfL) plans to partially axe to save money. On Friday, July 24, TfL announced plans to change the northern terminus of the 149 bus from Edmonton Green to Wood Green. Transport bosses would also withdraw the 67 route between Dalston and Wood Green as part of the proposal. London Bridge will remain the southern terminus of the 149, but TfL wants to reduce weekday peak frequencies from a bus every seven minutes to a bus every eight minutes.
Petition launched against cuts
Passengers in Edmonton and other parts of Enfield have launched a petition calling on TfL to rethink its plans. Denzel's World, who started the campaign, said most residents in the North London borough rely on buses as their main mode of transport due to the lack of London Underground links. 'Route 149 is one of London's busiest bus routes carrying approximately 12 million passengers annually, it is also the only bus route in the Enfield borough that takes you the furthest into central London from Edmonton Green to London Bridge,' he added.
Losing this vital link to Edmonton Green will mean passengers will have to forcefully change on multiple buses to complete their journey, considering the 349 is getting withdrawn soon. This means routes 259 and 279 will be the only routes travelling through the A1010 corridor if the changes were to proceed.
Community impact and response
The petition adds: 'A bus withdrawal in Enfield heavily impacts other services making travelling insufferable during peak hour times. Communities across North London will be cut off and worse off under these proposals. The government need to properly fund TfL to provide affordable and sustainable public transport, and TfL needs to protect these vital services.'
TfL said there is currently a higher level of bus service than needed on the A10 and A1010 between Edmonton Green and Stamford Hill. As a result, some services are underused and there is surplus capacity along the corridor, it added.
Consultation deadline
Residents affected by the changes have until Sunday, September 20 to respond to TfL's consultation.
