Bus service to help Jewish Londoners feel safe

The mayor of London has launched a trial bus route in north London to help Jewish Londoners feel "safe when they travel".

The 310 bus runs every 20 minutes between Stamford Hill in Hackney and Golders Green in Barnet.

It was launched in response to longstanding requests from the Jewish community for a service connecting the neighbourhoods, the mayor's office said.

Sadiq Khan said that creating the route, which operates from 07:00 to 19:00 daily, was one of his re-election pledges.

Mr Khan told BBC London: "For 16 years now the Jewish communities in Stamford Hill and Golders Green have been lobbying for a direct link between those two communities.

"I was struck by the conversations I've had in recent months with the Jewish community.

"They were frightened because of a massive increase of antisemitism since October 7 last year.

"I was told stories by families who, where they changed buses from Stamford Hill to Golders Green at Finsbury Park, they were frightened about the abuse they had received."

The Met Police recorded 2,065 antisemitic hate crime incidents between October and July.

Of the 2,065 reports, 390 took place in Barnet, 277 in Westminster, 250 in Hackney and 190 in Camden.

Mr Khan said the new bus route "connects communities, connects congregations" and would reassure Jewish Londoners they would be "safe when they travel between these two communities".

"We have heard stories of Jewish Londoners receiving verbal abuse," Mr Khan added.

"We've also heard stories about Jewish Londoners not leaving their homes... because they're worried about their safety.

"I don't want any Londoner to be scared to leave their home because they're worried about public transport.

"I think we've got to recognise the fear that Londoners feel who are Jewish, we've got to recognise the tremors of hate that are felt by Jewish people across the country.

"We've got to be good allies to our Jewish friends and neighbours."

Antisemitic hate crimes rose by 278.9% - with 2,068 offences recorded - in the 12 months to July, compared with the preceding year, according to Met Police data.

In the same time frame, according to the force's data, it recorded a total of 3,869 faith-related hate crime incidents, including 1,370 Islamophobic hate crime incidents. There were also 2,642 homophobic-related hate crime offences in that period.

According to the data, in total the Met Police dealt with just under 21,000 offences treated as hate crime incidents.

The London Jewish Forum and the Board of Deputies of British Jews said they were "delighted" with the bus route.

"This bus provides a significant enhancement for our strictly Orthodox community," they said in a statement.

The 310 trial is the first direct bus service connecting Stamford Hill and Golders Green and has cost Transport for London (TfL) more than £3,160,000.

It runs parallel to the 253 between Stamford Hill and Finsbury Park station, and the 210 between Finsbury Park station and Golders Green.

TfL is running a public consultation on the route over the next 12 months.

Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning, urged passengers to provide feedback on the service via its consultation.

Route 310 includes stops at Highgate Village, Whittington Hospital and Finsbury Park.

05/09/2024: This story has been updated to reflect the latest Metropolitan Police data on levels of hate crime in London.

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