London buses: 12 million miles cut since 2016, data shows

London buses cover 12 million fewer miles across the capital than they did in 2016, according to new data from the Liberal Democrats.

The study also shows that since Sadiq Khan became London's mayor, the number of vehicles in the Transport for London (TfL) fleet has fallen by 11%.

Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney accused the mayor of "damaging communities" in order to "make savings".

City Hall said the mayor was "committed to improving" London's bus network.

The research, commissioned from the House of Commons Library, showed the total number of miles covered by all London bus services had dropped from an all-time peak of 304 million to 292 million over seven years.

It also revealed 1,165 vehicles had been taken out of operation during that time, a reduction of 11%.

The report comes amid growing debate about the mayor's plan to expand ULEZ to all London boroughs, with 11 councils expressing concerns - three of which are led by the Liberal Democrats.

Richmond, Sutton and Kingston have all called for ULEZ to be delayed and for planned cuts to bus routes in their boroughs, such as for the 213 and 57, to be called off.

The Liberal Democrat Group in City Hall tabled an amendment calling for an extra £50m to be invested in bus services on Thursday, but it was voted down.

Ms Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, said the mayor was "pushing Londoners out of their cars with one hand while slashing public transport with the other", and called for him to "look at the big picture" to make the ULEZ expansion work.

She added the blame did not solely lie with the mayor, however, as the government had "turned our trains and buses into a political football". 

In response to Ms Olney's comments, a spokesperson for the mayor of London said he had "a strong track record on prioritising bus services in London".

"Sadiq has stepped in and provided an additional £25m every year in order to save the vast majority of bus routes that were proposed to be cut due to conditions attached to the government funding deal for TfL."

They said Mr Khan had also added "one million kilometres to the bus network in outer London" which would maximise the benefits of ULEZ.

Geoff Hobbs, TfL's director of public transport planning, said as the Tube, Overground and rail services had seen an increase in passengers and since the pandemic more people were walking and cycling, it had changed bus services to match demand.

"In addition, the pandemic's effect on our finances has meant that we had to rely on a series of short-term government funding deals, which had a series of conditions and requirements," he added.

The Department for Transport has been approached for comment.

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