The leader of Havering Council has described Transport for London’s decision to cancel a bus route in the area saying he is “extremely disappointed” and that the decision leaves bus services in the borough as “woefully inadequate.

Cllr Ray Morgon was responding to a decision to cut the route from Romford to Ockendon in January. It’s understood the decision was made due to lack of use.

Cllr Morgan said: “I am extremely disappointed with TfL’s decision to axe the 347 bus route from Romford to Ockendon, citing apparently low usage of the route as their primary reason.

“The Mayor of London and TfL claim ‘every journey matters’, but apparently this isn’t true for all Havering residents and their journeys, as the borough continues to be overlooked for vital improvements.

“Despite extensive lobbying, the north-to-south public transport links in Havering remain woefully inadequate.

“The lauded ‘Superloop’ bus network completely bypassed Havering, while the proposed ‘Superloop 2’ will have limited impact in improving transport connectivity in Havering.

“The 347 route may have lower usage than central London buses, but to the people that use that route to travel between Romford and Ockendon each day, it is another important connection that is being unfairly taken away.

“This part of the borough already suffered from the expansion of ULEZ, forcing residents and commuters to ditch their cars in favour of public transport – and now those transport options are dwindling.

“What are our residents supposed to do?

“Perhaps instead of wasting funds on an ultimately unnecessary rebrand of the London Overground, which saw the Havering segments of the service renamed the Liberty Line, TfL could invest in Havering and outer-London boroughs and give us the transport infrastructure we desperately need.”

(Picture courtesy of Julia Lopez MP)