Dear supporters,

We are writing with an update that is both frustrating and, in a grim way, entirely predictable. From 27th July 2026, according to new timetables published on the Intalink website, Arriva is making significant cuts to the evening service on its commercial 'route 66' between Loughton Underground Station and Waltham Abbey.

The current 'route 66' service is already wholly inadequate. Buses failing to follow their published timetables, and cancellations without prior notice are a persistent and well-documented problem. Buses frequently skip stops when overcrowded, leaving passengers stranded at the roadside with no warning and no alternative. The service runs to no reliable pattern that residents can genuinely plan around - and the unreliability has become so well known that schools in Loughton and neighbouring areas have, in some cases, formally exempted Waltham Abbey students from detentions for lateness, a remarkable acknowledgement of just how unfit for purpose this service has become.

And yet this is the service Waltham Abbey is left depending on, sandwiched between two TfL-served areas that enjoy an entirely different standard of provision. At Loughton, passengers tap in and out with Oyster and contactless as they board frequent and reliable TfL buses at the station. At Waltham Cross, they do the same. Between the two, through Waltham Abbey, that integration and accountability vanishes entirely - replaced by a commercial service with expensive tickets, no contract, no performance standards, and, as of 27th July, fewer evening journeys than ever. These cuts are therefore not a reduction from something that was working well. They are a further deterioration of a service that was already failing the people who depend on it most.

The current last three buses from Loughton to Waltham Abbey on weekdays and Saturdays depart at 19:46, 20:53, and 22:03 - an already unacceptable timetable. From 27th July, the final two of these journeys are being cut entirely. The last bus to Waltham Abbey from Loughton will leave at just 19:46 - nearly two and a half hours earlier than it does today.

Arriva has made a commercial decision. It has no obligation to consult residents, no obligation to maintain the service at its current level, and no obligation to provide an alternative. There is no regulator to appeal to, no contract to enforce, and no recourse for the thousands of people who depend on this route to get home from work, from the tube, or to or from an evening out. The route will continue - extended in the daytime to Cheshunt and Brookfield Centre, which is a modest benefit for some passengers - but for anyone travelling home from London in the evening, the message is simple: you are on your own after 7:45 pm.

The consequences extend beyond individual passengers. Waltham Abbey's local economy - its high street, its pubs, its restaurants, its independent businesses - depends on people being able to get here in the evening and get home again afterwards. For a town whose businesses are already struggling with poor public transport links in almost every direction, these cuts represent yet another blow to an evening economy that should be thriving but cannot.

This is not an isolated incident. It is a direct consequence of leaving Waltham Abbey entirely dependent on commercial operators who exist to make money, not to serve our town properly. TfL bus routes cannot simply be cut this way. They operate under contract, with defined service levels, performance standards, and financial penalties for operators who fail to meet them. When a TfL route runs late, or is cancelled, that failure is recorded, monitored, and acted upon. When a commercial route serving Waltham Abbey is cancelled, no one is accountable. And when a commercial operator decides its evening journeys are no longer profitable enough, it simply withdraws them - as Arriva has now done.

Waltham Abbey's nearest tube station will now effectively be inaccessible by bus to anyone travelling or returning to Waltham Abbey after just 7:45pm. A taxi from Loughton to Waltham Abbey costs upwards of £12. For many residents, that is not an option.

We want to be clear: we warned that this would happen. Not because we had advance knowledge of Arriva's decision, but because this is the inevitable outcome of a town without properly contracted, publicly accountable bus services. Commercial operators will always prioritise margins. Without the protection of a TfL contract, Waltham Abbey's bus services will always be subject to decisions like this one - and there will always be another cut waiting further down the line.

We continue to urge Essex County Council, to take the action only they can take: opening formal discussions with TfL to restore properly contracted, comprehensive, and Oyster-integrated bus services to Waltham Abbey. Essex County Council holds more than £68 million in government funding for bus improvements. TfL has confirmed it is willing to work with them. The tools to fix this exist right now.

Our petition has now passed 2,650 signatures - the equivalent of more than 1 in 9 residents of Waltham Abbey. If the route 66 cuts affect you, or someone you know, please share this update and the petition as widely as possible. The more people who sign, the harder Essex County Council finds it to continue doing nothing.

Click this link to sign and share the petition.

Thank you for your continued support. We will keep pushing.

The Bring Back Red Buses campaign team