TfL sets out timetable for publicly owned London bus operator
Buses for London is due to take over route 6 from late 2027, with four more routes to follow in 2028. TfL’s expected benefits remain untested.
Transport for London plans to establish Buses for London, a publicly owned operator that will begin taking over a small number of the capital’s nearly 700 bus routes from late 2027. Route 6, between Willesden and Victoria, is due to transfer first.
TfL says four further routes will move to the company from 2028, but has not yet named them. The authority currently contracts bus services to eight private operators.
TfL says public ownership would give it greater control over service delivery and could improve reliability and safety, while allowing profits to be reinvested in the transport network. Those benefits are aims, not demonstrated outcomes.
Unions welcomed the plan. Unite said it expected the new operator to lead on workers’ pay and conditions, and said it would hold TfL and the mayor to account.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus firms, argued that changing ownership would not by itself fix congestion or improve journeys. It said investment should focus on bus priority and congestion, and warned that uncertainty could make continued private investment harder.
The announcement comes as London’s buses have become slower and passenger numbers have fallen over the past decade, according to the report. The plan forms part of wider changes to bus ownership and franchising in England.
