Buses for London aims for ‘greener, safer and better-value’ service but private operators say move will not fix problems.
Why public transport is slowing to a crawl – visualised.
A publicly owned company, Buses for London, will start running services in the capital next year, Transport for London has announced.
TfL said the launch was a “major milestone” in its plans to improve buses for drivers and passengers.
The new public company will take over a handful of London’s bus routes from late 2027, starting with route 6, which runs between Willesden and Victoria station.
A further four routes to be run by the public company from 2028 are to be announced.
TfL said the creation of a publicly owned bus company would give it greater control over how services were run, allowing it to make buses more reliable and safe, and to reinvest profits into improving the transport network.
At present, TfL contracts bus services to eight privately owned operators.
London’s buses have been getting gradually slower and passenger numbers have fallen over the past decade, as they battle with congestion and demands on road space in the capital.
The Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Unite has long been calling for London’s bus services to be returned to public ownership.”
The Confederation of Passenger Transport, representing bus firms, said it would not fix London’s buses. Graham Vidler, chief executive of CPT, said: “Passengers don’t need a new public bus operator.”