April 1997 - 55 bus restored to Lea Bridge Road, East London after a relentless Save Our Buses campaign. SOB's fight for better public transport continues....
- Tweets8.5K
- Following155
- Followers217
- Likes12.2K
ALT A comprehensive route map displaying daytime bus services operating from Oxford Street alongside a detailed destination finder and key.
ALT A detailed route map illustrating night bus services departing from Oxford Street complete with a destination finder and usage guide.
ALT A summary map and table detailing the traffic-free Oxford Street area alongside route changes and bus stop updates.
ALT A street map highlighting the traffic-free zone of Oxford Street along with nearby underground stations, taxi ranks, and cycle hire locations.
ALT Clipping from LT News, No. 399 - October 24 1991: Lowdown on friendly buses
ALT 38 and 55 Bus Routes in London EDM (Early Day Motion) 630: tabled on 28 February 1990 Tabled in the 1989-90 session. Motion text That this House condemns London Regional Transport for cutting the 38 and 55 bus routes from Leyton; notes that this not only means a reduced service to the public enforcing upon them bus changes, longer waits, extra cost and less safety but also a threat to the jobs at Leyton Bus Garage; and is further angry at the unaccountable way in which London Regional Transport made this decision effectively ignoring hundreds of letters and a thousand plus signed petition opposing the cuts. Signatures (15)
ALT Mr. Thorne The hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) was the only Member to approach me about this Bill. He has expressed two anxieties. The first concerns bus services to his constituency, in particular bus routes 38 and 55, which were significantly altered on 24 February last year. The changes were made to improve the reliability of the services. Lea Bridge road suffers from bad traffic congestion, which led to severe disruption of services into the west end. Most passengers using services in Lea Bridge road did so only as far as Islington. Most people using the 38 and 55 bus routes into central London started their journeys in Islington. Only 8 per cent. of travellers used the service from Leyton through to central London. By changing the structure of the bus network, LRT has been able greatly to improve reliability, which has brought benefits to far more passengers than those affected by having their links broken. Following the changes, Lea Bridge road is served by routes 48 and 56
ALT Mr. Cohen I accept that, but the hon. Member for Ilford, South was not ruled out of order. However, his brief comments on the bus routes were wrong. He said that the No. 38 and No. 55 buses no longer stopped on Lea Bridge road because of traffic congestion. That is the line put out by LT, but when has it been its policy not to run public transport because of traffic congestion? Surely the object is to get cars off heavily congested roads. Surely that means that LT should run more buses on the roads instead of cutting services. Only yesterday, I received a letter from LT about the Bill, which mentioned the No. 38 and No. 55 buses. Therefore it should be legitimate to mention those routes in this debate. According to LT figures, 8 per cent. of people in the catchment area use those buses to get to central London. That is a heck of a lot of people—it runs into thousands—and they are now denied those routes. I accept that those bus routes do not represent the central point of the Bill,
ALT Mr. Cohen I wish that we could cost the delay and that we had some decent figures. If the hon. Gentleman had been here at the start of the debate, indeed throughout the debate, he would know that one of the points that has been made over and over again is that we have not had any decent substantiated figures throughout the Bill's progress. However, hundreds of my constituents have suffered as a result of the cuts on the 38 and 55 bus routes down the Lea Bridge road. That has been substantiated by the Save our Buses Committee. If London Transport had done a deal on that, whatever costs had been incurred would not have been incurred. The fault lies at the door of inept management appointed by the Government.
ALT An information poster at a London bus stop titled "Traffic-free Oxford Street" detailing upcoming bus route changes starting Saturday 24 October 2026. The red and yellow poster explains that Oxford Street is becoming traffic-free between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street. It details two phases of changes affecting routes 7, 94, 98, 139, 390, and several night buses, including closures of stops BC, BX, OF, OH, and OR. Two schematic transit maps in the centre illustrate the revised routing, while the bottom of the poster provides TfL website links, a travel helpline number, and logos for the Mayor of London and Transport for London.
ALT A modern glass London bus shelter on a paved pavement on Oxford Street, featuring a bright red bench and a large information display panel. The shelter stands open to a wide pavement lined with retail shops, including a "POP MART" storefront visible in the background where a few pedestrians are walking past. On the left, a black pole displays the classic red and white Transport for London roundel sign for Oxford Circus Station. Inside the shelter, a large white panel displays transit maps, route descriptions, and a yellow information poster similar to the traffic-free Oxford Street notice.
ALT A red Royal Mail postbox decorated with a crochet flyover complete with toy-like knitted cars, a 'HOORAH' banner, and bunting reading 'FINALLY' to celebrate the reopening of Gallows Corner.
