A prominent Labour MP has spoken out against plans to shorten the route of one of London’s most famous bus routes.
Meg Hillier said Transport for London was heading “in the wrong direction” by proposing that the 38 bus terminates at Holborn rather than Victoria.
It came as TfL was accused of failing bus passengers by cutting key routes such as the 38 – and having more cycle lanes than bus lanes.
City Hall politicians – including Labour allies of London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan – have raised concerns that the proposed shortening or axing of bus routes is creating a “vicious circle” that will exacerbate the decline in bus passengers.
Ms Hillier, the Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch and the chair of the Commons Treasury select committee, described the 38 bus as “indispensable” and a “lifeline for generations”.
Writing in the Hackney Gazette, she said the 38 was known as the “Hackney Tube” - as the borough does not have any London Underground stations - and the main route in and out of central London for many thousands of east Londoners.
She said: "It is the bus that gets care workers to early shifts, retail workers into the West End, and theatre-goers safely home.
“And it provides a direct route with minimal fuss for families wanting a day out in central London. For many, it is the difference between a straightforward journey and a long multi-change slog.
"The 38 bus, in particular, is a workhorse route stitching Hackney into the life of central London. Shortening it might look neat on a spreadsheet but on the ground it means more changes, more waiting, and more hassle."
The capital’s network of cycle lanes has grown rapidly in recent years to more than 400km (250 miles) while only 30km of new bus lanes have been opened in the last three years – and some bus lanes have been axed – leaving the total at about 300km (186 miles).
There is growing concern at what TfL admits is a “gradual but consistent decline in bus ridership”, with the 19 and 38 bus routes among several due to be cut back.
During a London Assembly investigation into road space and congestion, concerns were raised about an apparent lack of priority for buses – despite being the best-used form of public transport, with about five million journeys on a typical weekday.
At a meeting on Wednesday, Hina Bokhari, a Lib-Dem member of the London Assembly, asked: “Just by looking at that data, it looks like TfL is more pro-cycle compared to buses?”
Labour assembly member Sem Moema said: “We have seen over years the removal or reduction of bus routes.
“If we are talking about [bus] speeds and people’s ability to get around on the bus, surely the policy… does feel like it’s having an impact on bus providers having to curtail routes, which is having an impact on reliability.
“We have got, in my constituency, two quite iconic buses that are being re-routed, the 19 and 38, and within that consultation the cutting or reducing of a couple of buses in the Stamford Hill area.
“This is a real concern. It feels really disjointed that there is not the space being prioritised for buses, and therefore bus users.”
Labour committee chair Elly Baker said: “The 38 is a big issue, but this is happening certainly in inner London and parts of outer London.”
She said it was uncertain whether TfL’s plans to improve bus reliability were likely to be a success.
“If they don’t make an impact, ridership continues to drop and then you cut the buses more – and ridership continues to drop,” she warned. “We can’t do without our buses in London.”
The TfL consultation on shortening the 38 bus route closes tomorrow - I cannot support these proposals. See my article on why we need to save it: https://t.co/nKu1QkMLAm
— Meg Hillier (@Meg_HillierMP) January 22, 2026
Cycling has increased to 1.2m journeys a day but the number of trips by bike is less than a quarter of those made by bus.
The decline in bus speeds – because buses get caught in congestion – is a key factor in the fall in bus passenger numbers.
TfL said economic problems were also to blame – suggesting that the poorest Londoners, who are most likely to use the bus, were travelling less to save money.
Christina Calderato, director of transport strategy and policy at TfL, said: “On a practical level, a bus lane requires more space and is more difficult to put in. They are not directly comparable in terms of putting in one versus the other.”
Carl Eddleston, director of streets and network operations at TfL, said cycle lanes had increased from 190km to 400km but, unlike bus lanes, many cycle routes were not on TfL’s “Red Route” network.
“Sometimes some bus lanes are removed because the general traffic congestion [caused by the bus lane] hinders the bus lane itself,” he said.
Mr Eddleston said TfL was targeting the 100 busiest of the 600 bus lanes to target poor performance and ensure services were as reliable as possible.
In addition, TfL hoped that the roll-out of “lane rental” schemes, which allow councils to charge utility firms to dig up roads, would minimise the disruption to buses that is caused by roadworks.
Key London bus routes to be cut as passenger numbers fall
How slow is your London bus? Declining bus speeds mapped as citywide average falls below 9mph
'Innovative fares and customer rewards' being considered by TfL to lure passengers back to London
15 bus routes diverted or shortened as more details of Oxford Street pedestrianisation revealed
