1,000 signatures reached
To: Leon Daniels, TfL Managing Director, Surface Transport
Save the 167 Bus Route
Keep the current 167 bus route between Debden and Ilford
Why is this important?
The Transport for London (TfL) proposal to cut the 167 bus route so that it only runs between Ilford to Loughton station will significantly impact people who live in Debden or who need to get to Debden. In particular, people who don’t have cars and who depend on public transport such as school children, elderly people, people with mobility problems and parents with young children.
The carer for my disabled son relies on the 167 bus route to travel to my house in Debden twice a week to provide me with much-needed respite care. This proposal will make it much harder and longer for her to get to and from my house.
The proposed new route 677 will have just one bus in the morning and one in the afternoon and will follow the existing route of the 167 until Loughton and will then become a shuttle service from Loughton to Debden to cover the secondary schools. This plan is flawed and inadequate.
My son goes to one of the local Debden schools and with only one bus he will struggle to get on the bus along with all the other students from Davenant Foundation School, Roding Valley High School and Debden Park High School. If he can’t squeeze onto the one bus or has after-school activities or if he misses the bus then he will be left with little choice for transportation.
This proposal is not only unfair as it impacts hardest on those who are most in need of good public transport. But it is also short-sighted as:
- The Central Line is already under heavy pressure and cutting the 167 will push even more people to use an already overcrowded tube line.
- There are a number of proposed residential and commercial developments in the Debden area, this will increase demand for transport not reduce it.
One of TfL’s mottos is ‘Every Journey Matters’ and we want to say that the 167 bus route matters! It is extremely valued and well used, serving all members of the community and we appeal to you to scrap your proposals and let us keep the existing 167 route.
