Croydon could get back its missing bus shelters in deal with TfL

Croydon Council has put forward plans to work with TfL to supply, install, maintain and clean the new bus shelters in the borough.

This comes after three years of Croydon being without shelters due to a failed Council contract.

Plans for TfL to replace the missing shelters were revealed in a report published by the Council’s streets and environment scrutiny sub-committee last week.

These plans, subject to cabinet approval on 24 July 2024, would buy Croydon in line with the rest of London, where TfL provides the shelters.

The reason for the missing shelters is due to a contractual dispute between Croydon and an offshore company called Valo.

In early 2021, the previous Labor administration struck a deal with the company, which will provide 185 new bus shelters, with Wi-Fi and CCTV.

However, it was found that Valo had no previous experience in building shelters and never honored his commitment.

Croydon’s current TfL-operated shelters were not affected by the deal and remain in place.

According to Councilor Scott Roache, Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment: “Council officers have since taken a number of actions to try to get Valo to perform the contract, including issuing two default notices earlier this year, but without result”.

In December, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited Norbury, where homelessness was particularly acute due to the area’s position near the Croydon and Lambeth border, where there were shelters.

Local resident and member of the Love Norbury group, Ann Creighton told LDRS how the community had been let down by the local authority on the issue.

Ann said: “There are 14,000 bus shelters in London, of which 12,500 are managed by TfL. The other 1,500 are in Camden and Croydon.

“They are the only councils that run their own shelters. I wrote to the former deputy mayor for transport to ask if she had any idea why this disparity exists and she didn’t know and didn’t know who to ask.”

When asked why Croydon entered into the Valo deal instead of accepting the standard TfL shelters built by JC Decaux, Ann said: “Their first excuse for not building the shelters was COVID, then it turned out that the council’s department in charge with sorting. the new shelters were digital services, not regular street services.

“Digital Services never did a contract for the bus shelters, but it was thought they would make a lot of money because they would put electronic advertising. The council hoped they would be able to make a profit.”

The council terminated Valo Smart City UK’s contract in 2023 and is currently pursuing damages from them.

While the Council set up four shelters in Croydon in December, large parts of the borough were still homeless.

Norbury bus user Ibrahim told LDRS: “It’s not bad now but when it rains we have nowhere to go. We’ll all get wet just waiting for the bus to come. It’s not fair, especially at this time of year.”

While the return of the shelters will be welcomed by many, concerns remain over whether they will be delivered before the start of winter.

LDRS caught up with Ann, who believes time is of the essence when it comes to getting shelters back on Croydon’s streets.

She said: “In the Council’s announcement they say the shelters are expected to go live this financial year but they have to guarantee they will be here before winter. Otherwise, it will be the fourth winter without shelter.”

In their statement released last Friday, Croydon Council said: “Buses are the most used form of sustainable transport in the borough.

“Bus stops and shelters are a vital part of the public transport network and the proposal would allow the borough to work with TfL to provide residents with the best possible public transport experience.

“The new deal would encourage even more people in the borough to use London’s iconic bus network, boosting the economy and making the transport network cleaner and more sustainable.

“If agreed in cabinet, under the new proposal with TfL, the shelters will be installed at no capital or ongoing cost to the council.

“If the proposal is agreed by the cabinet and TfL, it is anticipated that the rollout will begin this financial year.”

Executive mayor Jason Perry said: “When I became mayor I promised to solve this problem for our residents and bring much-needed bus shelters back to the streets of Croydon. Unfortunately, it took longer than I would have liked due to contractual considerations.

“Our residents have been massively let down by this failed Valo contract, leaving them homeless for the past four years. We will continue to pursue all options, including taking legal action against Valo to recover losses.

“This potential partnership with TfL, who have experience in this area, will ensure that bus shelters are returned to our streets much more quickly.”