Keep the 42 bus to Liverpool Street — do not cut it back to Tooley Street
Keep the 42 bus to Liverpool Street — do not cut it back to Tooley Street
The Issue
TfL opened a consultation on 24 July 2026 to cut the 42 back south of Tower Bridge. Passengers heading to Aldgate or Liverpool Street would have to get off and change to the 78. The consultation closes on 20 September 2026.
The 42 is the ONLY direct bus from East Dulwich, Denmark Hill, Camberwell Green and Albany Road through to the City. A change at Tower Bridge Road is not a like-for-like replacement.
We oppose the cut because:
1. It breaks a through journey that people actually use. Residents, hospital staff and students travelling from East Dulwich, King’s College Hospital and Camberwell to Liverpool Street, Aldgate and Shoreditch would lose a one-bus ride. The 78 does not start in Dulwich or Camberwell. Changing with shopping, children, luggage or a mobility impairment is not a small inconvenience.
2. Reliability should be fixed on the road, not by deleting the destination. Congestion around Tower Bridge is real. The answer is bus priority, better control of the existing service and holding the 78 and 42 to time — not removing the only direct link from this part of Southwark into the City.
3. The 78 is not “the same bus”. It is a different route, from Nunhead and Peckham. Sharing stops on Tower Bridge Road does not replace a through service from Dog Kennel Hill or Albany Road. TfL already cut the 42’s frequency in 2017 and 2021. Cutting the route itself is a further reduction, not an improvement.
4. Interchange at a congested stop is a poor deal. Tower Bridge Road is not a simple, sheltered interchange. Extra waiting, missed connections and crowding on the 78 will fall on the same passengers TfL says it wants to help.
5. Southwark has already lost City links. The 343 was cut back from Aldgate to Tower Gateway in March 2025. Taking the 42 out of Liverpool Street would leave still fewer direct buses from inner Southwark into the City.
What we want TfL to do
• Keep route 42 running between East Dulwich Sainsbury’s and Liverpool Street.
• If reliability is the problem, publish the data by section of route and put bus priority and schedule recovery on the Tower Bridge approaches instead of withdrawing the service.
• Do not treat a change onto the 78 as an acceptable substitute for a direct 42.
Sign this petition if you use the 42, live or work along the route, or want Southwark to keep a direct bus into the City.
Also respond to TfL’s official consultation (this is what they count):
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/42-bus-tooley-street
Deadline: Sunday 20 September 2026
1
The Issue
TfL opened a consultation on 24 July 2026 to cut the 42 back south of Tower Bridge. Passengers heading to Aldgate or Liverpool Street would have to get off and change to the 78. The consultation closes on 20 September 2026.
The 42 is the ONLY direct bus from East Dulwich, Denmark Hill, Camberwell Green and Albany Road through to the City. A change at Tower Bridge Road is not a like-for-like replacement.
We oppose the cut because:
1. It breaks a through journey that people actually use. Residents, hospital staff and students travelling from East Dulwich, King’s College Hospital and Camberwell to Liverpool Street, Aldgate and Shoreditch would lose a one-bus ride. The 78 does not start in Dulwich or Camberwell. Changing with shopping, children, luggage or a mobility impairment is not a small inconvenience.
2. Reliability should be fixed on the road, not by deleting the destination. Congestion around Tower Bridge is real. The answer is bus priority, better control of the existing service and holding the 78 and 42 to time — not removing the only direct link from this part of Southwark into the City.
3. The 78 is not “the same bus”. It is a different route, from Nunhead and Peckham. Sharing stops on Tower Bridge Road does not replace a through service from Dog Kennel Hill or Albany Road. TfL already cut the 42’s frequency in 2017 and 2021. Cutting the route itself is a further reduction, not an improvement.
4. Interchange at a congested stop is a poor deal. Tower Bridge Road is not a simple, sheltered interchange. Extra waiting, missed connections and crowding on the 78 will fall on the same passengers TfL says it wants to help.
5. Southwark has already lost City links. The 343 was cut back from Aldgate to Tower Gateway in March 2025. Taking the 42 out of Liverpool Street would leave still fewer direct buses from inner Southwark into the City.
What we want TfL to do
• Keep route 42 running between East Dulwich Sainsbury’s and Liverpool Street.
• If reliability is the problem, publish the data by section of route and put bus priority and schedule recovery on the Tower Bridge approaches instead of withdrawing the service.
• Do not treat a change onto the 78 as an acceptable substitute for a direct 42.
Sign this petition if you use the 42, live or work along the route, or want Southwark to keep a direct bus into the City.
Also respond to TfL’s official consultation (this is what they count):
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/42-bus-tooley-street
Deadline: Sunday 20 September 2026
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 5 September 2026