London’s bus budget under scrutiny

Former transport minister and Transport for London board member Steven Norris has called for cuts to the capital’s £650m bus budget

London’s bus budget is going to be squeezed

London’s bus budget is going to be squeezed

The success of London’s bus network in recent years is well known. Under former mayor Ken Livingstone, between 2000 and 2008 passenger kilometres rose by 74% to reach 7.7bn each year. However, this has come at considerable cost, with operating subsidy for the capital’s bus network rising to £653m in 2007/08, a significant increase on the annual subsidy of £41m in 1999/2000 and well up on the historic lows seen in the mid 1990s.

But London’s bus network is about to...