Four MPs call for more buses on overcrowded Sutton route

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 10 Nov, 14:32 · Archive

Four MPs have called for additional buses on the 213 service between Sutton and Kingston after schoolchildren are reportedly left stranded and punished for lateness.

Four MPs have written to London Mayor Sadiq Khan calling for additional 213 buses between Sutton and Kingston during school travel times. The intervention follows a petition signed by over 1,000 people, with families claiming that buses are too crowded and pass stops without picking up children.

Sutton and Cheam MP Luke Taylor has led the campaign alongside Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler, Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney and Kingston and Surbiton MP Sir Ed Davey. The MPs said pupils at Coombe Girls' School are among those affected, with morning buses frequently full by the time they reach the school's stops. They wrote: 'Since the cut, morning buses have frequently been full by the time they reach the school's stops, and buses pass by without picking students up.'

Parents have claimed children can wait more than an hour for the service, with buses sometimes changing to 'out of service' when running late, leaving children 'stranded'. The MPs said pupils face 'two unfair choices': catching an earlier bus and waiting outside school 'in the dark and cold through the winter months', or risking arriving late and missing lessons. Some pupils have reportedly received detentions for arriving late because of disruption outside their control.

Four MPs call for more buses on overcrowded Sutton route — Image: Croydon Guardian

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How it is being reported

MPs call for more Sutton buses as pupils ‘left stranded & punished' for latenessFour MPs have called for more buses on a Sutton route where schoolchildren are reportedly being ‘left stranded’ and punished for arriving late.Croydon Guardian · 10 Nov, 14:00
MPs call for more Sutton buses as pupils ‘left stranded & punished' for latenessFour MPs have called for more buses on a Sutton route where schoolchildren are reportedly being ‘left stranded’ and punished for arriving late.Wandsworth Guardian · 10 Nov, 14:00
MPs call for more Sutton buses as pupils ‘left stranded & punished' for latenessFour MPs have called for more buses on a Sutton route where schoolchildren are reportedly being ‘left stranded’ and punished for arriving late.This Is Local London · 10 Nov, 14:00

In this story: Luke Taylor · Paul Kohler · Sarah Olney · Ed Davey · Sadiq Khan · Coombe Girls' School · Sutton · Kingston

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log