Newham Mayor Forhad Hussain has welcomed Sadiq Khan’s plan for a publicly owned London bus operator, saying reliable and safe buses are a lifeline for working-class Londoners. The first service is due to begin in late 2027.
In a social media post, Hussain praised the Mayor of London for working with Unite on Buses for London, the new operator being established by Transport for London. Newham Council confirms that Hussain was elected Mayor of Newham in May 2026.
“Buses are a lifeline for working-class Londoners, including in Newham,” Hussain said. “It’s important services are reliable and safe.”
His welcome came after TfL announced that route 6, between Willesden and Victoria station, will be the first service run by Buses for London. Four more routes are expected to be announced over the next year and brought into the operation from 2028. The initial base will be a depot at Park Royal in west London.
A first step for the bus network
The announcement marks a change in who will operate a small part of London’s bus network. TfL already plans routes, sets fares and contracts companies to run services. At present, eight private operators run almost 700 routes under those contracts. Buses for London will give TfL direct control of the routes it operates, beginning with route 6.
That means London’s buses have not all returned to public ownership. Nor has the first Buses for London service started carrying passengers: its launch is planned for late 2027. TfL intends to use the new operator to test approaches to reliability, safety, efficiency and driver welfare before its role expands.
The first depot is expected to house around 100 zero-emission buses. TfL is developing the Park Royal site with the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation and plans to find a permanent base before the depot’s lease ends in 2033.
Unite presses for better conditions
Unite welcomed the plan, saying it had worked with TfL and Khan’s office on the proposal. General secretary Sharon Graham called it a positive step and said the union would press for well-paid, unionised jobs with strong conditions. Unite wants public operation to extend further across the network.
Khan said the new company offered an opportunity to seek better value for money and improve the network for passengers and drivers. Those benefits will depend on how the operator performs once services begin.
For Hussain, the announcement speaks to the importance of buses for residents travelling across London for work and everyday journeys, even though the first five routes have yet to be confirmed as serving Newham. The next practical test will come when TfL names the additional routes and prepares route 6 for public operation next year.
