We had the bendy bus, we wanted the Boris bus, we've got no bus at all now!

One of the key features of the campaign Boris ran for mayor was to bring in the Boris bus. This was going to be a shiny bright new bus, specially designed for Londons winding roads and slow traffic. Boris argued that bendy buses were too cumbersome for the capitals streets. It's fair to say that the promise of a decent bus service was one of the things which got Boris elected.

Sadly, it hasn't worked out like that at all. The Boris budget didn't add up. Too many promises to too many special interests. Now the chickens have come home to roost. Services have been cut, routes have been diverted. Who suffers? Mainly the elderly who use the freedom pass to get out and about. Mill Hill has seen two of it's iconic routes tampered with. The 186 has been diverted through Graham Park, leaving hundreds of pensioners in the Watford Way area with no direct service to the doors of Brent Cross. The 113 has also been diverted. Wheras it used to go all the way to Oxford Circus, now it goes to Marble Arch. For many pensioners who like a day out shopping in town, this has been a nightmare. Often elderly people will specifically move to an address with a convenient bus service. Boris Johnson's TFL do not take this into account. Not only are the elderly stuck in their flats, but the value is diminished by the withdrawal of bus services.

In central London, we have a nightmare scenario. Crossrail and Thameslink are resulting in huge works, station closures etc. We need an efficient bus service, but Boris has replaced the bendy buses. Has congestion eased? No of course it hasn't. There are more buses to replace the big bendies. These stop and slow the traffic even more.

All over London this picture has been repeated. My story about the 186 bus earlier this week has attracted much attention. Val Shawcross twittered it, resulting in a huge spike in hits on the blog. I got several emails from pensioners all over London saying "please say something about my route". There are just too many cuts for a blogger such as me to cover. The situation is nicely summed up by one old boy who emailed "We had the bendy bus, we wanted the Boris bus, we've got no bus at all now".