More buses on the way for C10 route

Transport for London will be putting more buses on the C10 route through Rotherhithe and Bermondsey this month after a long-running campaign by local residents supported by Caroline Pidgeon AM and by Liberal Democrat campaigners.

Passengers have complained for years about long waits, overcrowding and journeys being terminated before their final destination to ‘improve frequency’. Their concerns were backed by local Liberal Democrats on the Council, at City Hall and by former MP Simon Hughes.

After years of pressure and questions to the Mayor of London and Transport for London, TfL bosses announced recently that from 10 October there will be more buses serving the C10 route during both the morning and afternoon rush hours and Monday-Friday daytimes, as well as on Sundays.

A new timetable was introduced in January but there have been continuing problems with C10 buses being turned back at the Rotherhithe Tunnel roundabout instead of going round the Surrey Docks peninsula to Canada Water station.

Former Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Simon Hughes led the campaign with local residents to ensure the C10 route was extended from Elephant & Castle to Canada Water in 2006. The route provided a vital new link for the growing Rotherhithe population to nearby tube stations as well as to Bermondsey and Elephant & Castle.

Riverside Liberal Democrat councillor Eliza Mann said:

“As the population in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe started to boom more than twenty years ago, residents were left waiting for the local transport services to catch up.

“That’s why it has been so good to see big transport improvements in the local area such as the Jubilee Line extension, the new Overground service and the C10 bus round the peninsula. Current residents owe a big thank you to local campaigners and Simon Hughes for their efforts to ensure we weren’t left off the London transport map.

“The C10 was once the second most complained about bus route in London. These extra buses on the C10 route will hopefully make life easier and more comfortable for local residents. But the battles to improve traffic flows around the Rotherhithe Tunnel roundabout and Jamaica Road are the next vital steps.”