• Greg Hands MP met members of the senior leadership team at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea to discuss the future of the 211 bus, which is one of three bus routes Greg is campaigning to save.
• Following the publication of Transport for London’s Central London Bus Review consultation report, Greg immediately launched a new campaign to save the existing 11, 211 and N11 bus routes.
• Greg listened to the Hospital’s specific concerns about the 211 bus which connects five major hospitals in central London, therefore providing a vital transport link for patients and staff.
Greg Hands recently met with members of the senior leadership team at the Royal Brompton Hospital to discuss the future of the 211 bus route, as part of Greg’s ongoing campaign to save the number 11, 211 and N11 bus routes.
The 211 bus serves strategic locations and local services in the constituency, such as the Royal Brompton Hospital and connects this hospital with four other key hospitals: Charing Cross, Chelsea and Westminster, the Royal Marsden and St Thomas’ in central London. The N11 allows our NHS to operate 24 hours a day, for example it enables shift workers to travel to and from the hospitals.
The Royal Brompton team and Greg very much recognise that the 211 is a vital transport link. It allows staff to travel to work, and in-between hospitals, which is even more important due to the recent merger between the Royal Brompton & Harefield Foundation Trust (RBH) and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. For patients, the 211 bus route is crucial; it makes the hospitals easily accessible for disabled people, those with mobility issues and people who are unwell. Under London Mayor Khan’s proposals, people would be forced to interchange between buses which is extremely impractical for most of its users.
The Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom, and many patients are not local. People travel to the main transport hubs such as Waterloo and Victoria and then use the 211 bus which arrives right outside the Hospital. Ensuring good accessibility has to be a priority for Sadiq Khan and TfL.
The threat to the 11, 211 and N11 buses began last year, when Mayor Khan proposed cuts to bus services across London and ran a consultation titled the ‘Central London Bus Review’.
Greg and other local representatives campaigned hard and presented a huge, combined petition which received over 10,000 signatures against the cuts! Following mounting pressure, Mayor Khan u-turned on hammering London’s buses and cancelled almost all of his proposed cuts.
This was a huge campaign victory for Greg, and other local representatives! Clearly, their strongly supported petition made a massive difference and forced Khan to change his plans.
While there was welcome reprieve for many bus routes in Chelsea and Fulham, the 11, 211 and N11 remain under threat from Khan. So, without delay, Greg’s campaign to save these three key buses goes on!
The 11 bus route is as important as it is iconic. The Number 11 bus has been running for over 100 years, it was originally a horse drawn service, and it has great tradition of being a key part of the fabric of Chelsea and Fulham. It offers a vital route from the constituency into Central London.
If Mayor Khan and TfL continue with their plans, these much-needed bus routes will cease to exist on their current routes.
Greg knows how important the 11, 211 and N11 buses are to residents and local services and will continue to fight to save them!
Commenting, Greg Hands said:
“The Mayor of London and Transport for London must listen to local people and service providers. We want to see our vital bus routes remain as they are. The iconic number 11 is steeped in history, the 211 connects five major hospitals and the N11 allows people to travel at night.
Following my successful campaign last year, Khan u-turned on his other proposals for almost 80 bus routes which would have devastated London. I urge him to do the same again and save the existing 11, 211 and N11 bus routes.”
Commenting, Chief Executive of the Royal Brompton Hospital, Dr Richard Grocott-Mason, said:
“For the patients and staff at our hospital, the current path of the 211 route is a vital lifeline. It goes right past our two key front entrances at Fulham Road and Sydney Street, and – crucially – then goes on to the front entrance of St Thomas’ hospital, at the eastern end of Westminster Bridge, before ending at Waterloo.
This means it is a route used heavily by our patients and staff who travel regularly between the Royal Brompton and St Thomas’ in both directions, as well as to the major transport interchanges at Victoria and Waterloo.”
ENDS
