Fears over impact of bus service cuts in Haringey

Councillors in Haringey have called for a halt to bus service cuts amid fears over their potential impact on residents.

Transport for London (TfL) proposed changes to four routes serving the borough under plans for a 4% reduction in bus kilometres drawn up following a collapse in revenue caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It came after the government told TfL to make significant financial savings as part of an emergency funding deal with the transport operator.

If the plans go ahead, the 349 route between Ponders End and Stamford Hill will be scrapped, with a rerouting of the 279 service from Waltham Cross designed to compensate for its loss. It means the 279 would terminate at Stamford Hill and would no longer run between Seven Sisters and Manor House Station.

In addition, the 259 would no longer run between Kings Cross and Holloway Nag’s Head, and the 214 would run between Highgate Village and Pimlico instead of between Highgate Village and Moorgate.

Mike Hakata, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action, environment, and transport, called for the cuts to be halted in a motion presented to a full council meeting on Monday.

He said “We need more buses, not less buses, and the cynical actions of the government are making TfL’s job almost impossible. We need to support this motion in order to push the government to act responsibly and fully fund and support TfL.”

Cllr Hakata said it was impossible to cut emissions from cars and tackle climate change without alternatives such as buses.

His motion warned that under TfL’s own impact assessment, those most affected by the cuts would be women, older people, low-income groups, and members of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Disabled people, pregnant women, and those travelling with small children are also likely to be negatively impacted by the proposed changes, the motion added.

Councillors called on the government to agree a long-term funding deal with TfL that would protect public transport and active travel investment.

In an earlier debate, councillors resolved to declare a “cost-of-living emergency” as households come under increasing pressure from price hikes and soaring energy bills.

The motion, proposed by Liberal Democrats and amended by Labour, claimed the government was not doing enough to support ordinary people and that it needed to take a “long-term approach to lowering energy bills”.

It called for the council to convene a cost-of-living emergency summit with food banks, trades unions and other groups, and for the council leader and opposition leader to lobby the government to cut VAT and restore the previous Universal Credit supplement of £20.

Further measures included making the household support fund a long-term grant, dealing with the five-month Personal Independence Payment backlog, and avoiding any further cuts to council funding.

Both motions won cross-party support from the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups during the full council meeting, which was cut short due to the extreme hot weather.