Dear supporters,

It has been over a year since our last petition update on this platform, and a great deal has happened. We are writing today with what is perhaps the most significant development yet: our campaign has now been raised on the floor of the House of Commons.

Click here to watch the video and read the press release from Dr Neil Hudson MP.

Dr Neil Hudson MP, our Member of Parliament for Epping Forest who has consistently demonstrated his support for this campaign, put the following question to the Government during Transport Oral Questions in Parliament:

"My constituents face many transport issues. We Central Line users endure delays, overcrowding and graffiti. Meanwhile, residents in Waltham Abbey have no access to the Tube at all and have been left with a limited bus network since Transport for London withdrew services. Young people are unable to get to the next stage in their education, and residents are struggling to get into London. I pay tribute to the Bring Back Red Buses Waltham Abbey campaign. Please can the Government press the Mayor of London, TfL and Essex County Council to work together to give the people of Waltham Abbey and beyond the transport services they desperately need?"

This question is now on the Hansard record. Dr Hudson has also shared a video of the exchange on his social media channels, alongside the following statement: "It is unacceptable that my constituents in Waltham Abbey have been without reliable transport for so long. With ULEZ placing additional financial pressure on local people, restoring TfL bus services is a necessity. I will continue to press the Government, TfL, the Mayor of London and Essex County Council until Waltham Abbey gets the fair, reliable and affordable transport network it deserves."

We are deeply grateful to Dr Hudson for raising this so publicly, and for his continued dedication to this cause.

WHERE THINGS STAND

Since our last update, the campaign has made significant progress on several fronts.

Our petition was relaunched earlier this year and has received an extraordinary response, with signatures surging through local community groups. We have now passed two and a half thousand signatures - the equivalent of more than one in nine residents of Waltham Abbey - with support coming from across the area.

In May 2026, Essex County Council held its long-delayed local elections and is now under new administration, with Reform UK holding full political control. A new county councillor, James Abbott, has been elected for Waltham Abbey, succeeding Sam Kane. We have been encouraged by his early engagement with residents' concerns and on our social media page, and we will soon be reaching out to him to seek his full support.

Essex County Council has now secured more than £68 million in government funding for bus services: £10.78 million per year in revenue funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29, and £36.26 million in capital investment through to 2030. This dwarfs the funding held by the previous administration, which received £4.89 million per year and did not once initiate discussions with TfL on Waltham Abbey's behalf. The money is there. The question is whether Essex County Council will use it.

Crucially, TfL has confirmed that it is willing to work with Essex County Council to restore bus services to Waltham Abbey, provided the county council - as our local transport authority - contributes. This is a significant shift from TfL's initial position, and it means that the key decision now rests entirely with Essex County Council. The door is open. It simply needs to walk through it.

Political support for this campaign continues to span parties and levels of government. Alongside Dr Hudson, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP (Chingford & Woodford Green) has backed the cause. The London Assembly voted unanimously to call on TfL to restore services - a motion proposed by Emma Best AM of the City Hall Conservatives, and seconded by Keith Prince AM of Reform UK. District councillors from multiple parties have pushed TfL directly on behalf of residents, including Waltham Abbey Labour councillor Martin Morris, who recently signed our petition.

WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR

Our demands remain unchanged:

• The extension of TfL bus routes 215 and 379 to at least Waltham Abbey Town Centre, restoring the direct link between Waltham Abbey and Chingford Station that has been completely absent since 2021, and bringing services back to the abandoned bus stops that line the A112 Sewardstone Road.
• The restoration of the Waltham Cross to Upshire section of TfL bus route 317, which served Waltham Abbey until 1994. Route 317 already runs every 20-30 minutes until after 1am, seven days a week — extending it a few minutes further would transform connectivity for our town.
• The replacement of the current inadequate commercial services between Waltham Abbey and Loughton and Epping with properly integrated TfL routes — frequent, reliable, Oyster-integrated, and running seven days a week from early mornings to late at night.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you have not yet signed, please do so now - and please share this update and the petition with anyone who lives, works, or spends time in or around Waltham Abbey. Every additional signature adds to the pressure on Essex County Council to finally act.

The new administration at Essex County Council represents a genuine opportunity for change - and with your continued support, we intend to make the most of it.

Waltham Abbey has waited long enough.

Thank you for your support.

The Bring Back Red Buses campaign team