🚨 UPDATE - 22ND APRIL 2025: Our campaign brought Waltham Abbey so close to the change it desperately needs. Before closing this petition last January, we gained over 1.5k signatures, and over the past year have received incredible support across various levels of government.

The Mayor of Waltham Abbey, Cllr Shane Yerrell, went above and beyond last February, volunteering to have this petition submitted at the London Assembly in his name, which undoubtedly helped to secure a unanimous vote supporting Cllr Emma Best AM's motion calling on TfL to reinstate bus services to Waltham Abbey.

Dr Neil Hudson MP, our Member of Parliament for Epping Forest, gave his full support, stating: "I am very happy to support this campaign and believe it is a very important one...residents of Waltham Abbey are no different and deserve access to the same services as others across London... you can be assured of my support for this vital campaign."

Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Member of Parliament for Chingford and Woodford Green, backed our call for TfL to reinstate services between Waltham Abbey and Chingford, and pushed for TfL to take action.

The London Assembly unanimously backed a motion proposed by Assembly Member and Waltham Forest councillor Cllr Emma Best AM, seconded by Keith Prince AM (Havering and Redbridge), calling on TfL to reinstate services between Waltham Abbey and Chingford by extending routes 215 and/or 379.

In October, at the Epping Forest District Council Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting with TfL, Waltham Abbey councillors pushed for reinstated TfL bus services.

And thanks to all of the above, Transport for London have on several occasions welcomed talks with Essex County Council on reinstating/extending TfL bus routes to serve Waltham Abbey, despite an initial negative response from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

However, TfL made clear that they would seek a financial contribution from Essex County Council. And Essex County Council has been allocated £17.8 million in government funding for bus service improvements.

But, since then? Silence.

Our local councillors have gone silent, despite acknowledging the need for this to be pursued at county level.

Waltham Abbey's county councillor, Cllr Sam Kane, who last year described the London Assembly motion as a "massive boost for Waltham Abbey", has also gone silent.

All while Waltham Abbey's public transport provision continues to decline. Local people struggle to make simple journeys. Our businesses are suffering, and our town centre is dying.

The people of this area deserve transparency and action—not silence and inaction.

The transition from comprehensive and properly integrated London bus services to a mainly unsubsidised commercial service has failed our town, putting us at an unfair disadvantage to neighbouring areas both within and outside the adjoining GLA boundary.

For many decades, this town had frequent, reliable, and integrated London bus services, and there is no justifiable reason why we shouldn’t have them now. The funding exists, TfL has shown willingness to engage, and other areas (many of which are much further from the GLA boundary than Waltham Abbey) continue to receive TfL bus services without issue.

🚨 We have now REOPENED this petition. If you believe Waltham Abbey deserves the comprehensive, properly integrated and affordable public transport service it once had, sign and share the petition now.

👇 Scroll down to read the original petition and our demands in full. It's time to turn up the volume — don't let them ignore Waltham Abbey.

 

 

Public transport options in Waltham Abbey are a far cry from decades ago, when the town formed an integral part of the London bus network. Today, Waltham Abbey is disadvantaged by a service that is unfit for purpose, whilst neighbouring areas – including Loughton and Waltham Cross – remain well-served by TfL routes.

Locals, visitors and businesses in the area were once well-connected. Red buses provided Waltham Abbey with direct links to Chingford, South Woodford, Enfield Town, Loughton, Cheshunt, Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill, Waltham Cross, Potters Bar and Epping, amongst other areas. Night buses to and from Trafalgar Square would even serve the town, terminating in Upshire.

The London Transport roundel logo, until relatively recently, featured on almost every bus stop in the town. The 250 ran from Waltham Cross to South Woodford via Loughton tube station; the 317 ran from Upshire to Enfield Town; and generations of locals used route 242 to access Chingford, Cheshunt and beyond – that’s just to name a few former London Transport routes. The iconic Routemaster bus once dominated the town’s roads, unmissable whether on Sun Street, Honey Lane or the Ninefields Estate.

 

 

Today, things are much different. People travelling to and from Waltham Abbey are reliant on cars for journeys that should easily and affordably be made on public transport, contributing to the town’s traffic problem. The town is less accessible to visitors, and neighbouring areas are less accessible from Waltham Abbey. What should be both a thriving London suburb and an attractive tourist destination is constricted by unreliable buses. Our local businesses are suffering, and local people are isolated.

Waltham Abbey is a commuter town without a train or tube station – buses are therefore essential. The expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) by Transport for London, threatens drivers with a £12.50 daily charge for driving locally within Greater London, fuelling an increased need for the restoration of services. Waltham Abbey is more desperate than ever for an adequate public transport service, yet has been neglected and disconnected from the wider network.

In March, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan stated, “When I made the tough decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide, one of my key commitments was to improve transport links in outer London.”

At present, not a single bus provides a service between Waltham Abbey and Chingford – this is simply unacceptable, especially with the imminent extension of ULEZ to the Waltham Forest boundary. We call on Transport for London to restore a frequent, daily London Buses link between Waltham Abbey and neighbouring Chingford by extending route 215 (which currently terminates at the Lea Valley Camp Site on Sewardstone Road – just within the Waltham Abbey boundary), and route 379 (which also terminates on Sewardstone Road), to at least Waltham Abbey Town Centre.

The stretch between Waltham Abbey and Chingford was once frequently served 7 days a week by London bus route 242, with buses every 10 to 30 minutes from early mornings to late evenings. Even on a Sunday, the final bus from Chingford Station to Waltham Abbey would leave as late as 00:10. Just compare this with the situation Waltham Abbey finds itself in today – at a time this service is needed more than ever, not a single bus serves this stretch whatsoever. Since the ULEZ expansion in August, many drivers are now required to pay a £12.50 daily charge to enter Chingford, whilst all bus stops on Sewardstone Road towards Chingford (except the Lea Valley Camp Site) have no public transport service whatsoever.

Extending route 379 would restore the much-needed link between Waltham Abbey and Chingford Station, and route 215 would restore the long-lost link to Chingford Mount and Walthamstow Central. The restoration of services between Chingford and Waltham Abbey would also provide the Premier Inn hotel, as well as the Bakers Arms and Plough pubs, with public transport links, benefitting both visitors and the local economy. Waltham Forest is currently cut off from Waltham Abbey, and vice versa. Chingford Station should be easily accessible from Waltham Abbey – it is a nearby station providing important public transport connections. Today, not a single bus takes you from Chingford Bus Station to neighbouring Waltham Abbey.

(UPDATE: This petition has received endorsements from several businesses along the A112 Sewardstone Road, including the care homes at Ashbrook Court and 1 Sewardstone Close, where workers, residents and families are desperately seeking restored public transport between Waltham Abbey and Chingford)

 

 

 

Fares on buses that do serve the town are expensive and complex, varying between commercial operators. Despite all nearby train/tube stations being within TfL fare zones 5, 6 and 7, accepting TfL Oyster and contactless, our local buses are not integrated with TfL’s payment methods and fare caps – this is especially detrimental to tourists and visitors, and results in more expensive journeys for locals. On TfL services, an adult fare to any stop is £1.75. This £1.75 fare also provides unlimited journeys on any TfL bus service within the hour. 11-15 year olds receive free bus travel with the Zip Oyster photocard, and 5-10 year olds travel free. Most bus services in neighbouring Loughton and Waltham Cross benefit from this, but Waltham Abbey is now disconnected from the wider network. In Waltham Abbey, a single adult ticket to Loughton Station costs around £4, and around £3 to Waltham Cross.

Making this fare structure available to those in Waltham Abbey would encourage use of public transport, and inevitably increase ridership. Those changing buses would benefit from the Hopper fare, and families and school students travelling to and from Waltham Abbey would benefit from much cheaper travel, an especially important benefit bearing in mind the town has one secondary school and no sixth form. Passengers would be able to use the same TfL Oyster/contactless payment system for buses in Waltham Abbey as they do for trains at all nearby stations, and the TfL buses serving neighbouring areas.

On weekdays, the last three buses from Loughton tube station to Waltham Abbey leave at 19:41, 20:52 and 22:02. The situation is similar at Waltham Cross, with the last three buses from Waltham Cross station to Waltham Abbey leaving at 19:46, 20:21 and 21:31. This is an unacceptable frequency and curfew for services from our nearest train/tube/bus stations, restricting local people, harming access to/from employment (especially those working late, and commuters returning from central London), and harming our local businesses, particularly pubs, restaurants and bars. Meanwhile, neighbouring areas remain frequently served into the early hours by TfL buses.

On Sundays and bank holidays, the "66A" is the only bus running anywhere in Waltham Abbey (with the exception of the Lea Valley Campsite bus stop, which continues to receive a frequent TfL service until late at night), running at a frequency of just once an hour. The last bus to Loughton leaves Waltham Cross at just 7PM.

(UPDATE: The Sunday service is now known as route "16C". The last bus to Loughton departs Waltham Cross at just 18:45)

 

 

 

Fifty years ago, the idea that Waltham Abbey would no longer receive red buses, or a bus to Chingford, was unimaginable. This is the twenty-first century – Waltham Abbey is bigger than ever, and the town continues to grow. At a time residents are encouraged to use public transport, whether it be for traffic or the environment; we are subject to extremely poor public transport options. Those without access to cars, or cannot afford to take minicabs (which cost around £12 from Loughton to Waltham Abbey), have limited access to employment, leisure and services. Our town needs London buses more than it ever did, and deserves better.

 

We the undersigned call on Transport for London, Essex County Council and the Mayor of London to support:

- The extension of London Buses route 215 (which currently terminates at the Lea Valley Campsite on Sewardstone Road – just within the Waltham Abbey boundary, but in an inaccessible location on the edge of the town boundary), and London Buses route 379 (which also terminates on Sewardstone Road), to at least Waltham Abbey Town Centre, to restore public transport between Waltham Abbey and neighbouring Chingford, including a restored link to Chingford Station.

- The restoration of the Waltham Cross to Upshire section of London Buses route 317, which would restore the direct link between Waltham Abbey and Enfield, and thereby create a frequent, TfL-operated bus link between Waltham Abbey and its nearest station (Waltham Cross), serving the area until late at night, 7 days a week.

- The restoration of London bus services between Waltham Abbey and Loughton tube station. The current '66' and '66A' services are unfit for purpose.

- The restoration of London bus services between Waltham Abbey and Epping. The level of service provided by Central Connect's route 13 is beyond inadequate. A frequent, 7-day-a-week, TfL-integrated service would ensure seamless access to St Margaret's Hospital, Central Line services, and local amenities.

- The extension or creation of other London Buses routes to serve Waltham Abbey – sufficient public transport links to other areas, including Cheshunt and Epping (both previously linked to Waltham Abbey with London Buses), as well as Harlow, are vital.