A ton of new bus shelters on the way for Croydon – at long last

By Harrison Galliven, Local Democracy Reporter

More than 100 bus shelters will soon return to the streets of Croydon after four years of passengers waiting in the rain.

The local authority has struck a £3.2 million deal with Transport for London (TfL), following four years in which Croydon was missing the shelters due to a failed council contract.

Unlike most parts of London, Croydon’s bus shelters were managed by the local council rather than TfL and when a 2021 deal to remove and replace a swathe of bus shelters went disastrously wrong, the borough had around 100 removed with no replacements installed.

TfL has now agreed to install, maintain, and clean new bus shelters across more than 100 locations in the borough at no cost to the council. The new shelters will be in place by March and ‘match the functionality’ of those withdrawn in 2021.

Carl Eddleston of TfL said: “We’re delighted to be installing these new shelters. London’s bus network plays a vital role in keeping the capital moving, and we hope that these new shelters will encourage more local residents to use the network.”

The new TfL deal will replace the 99 shelters removed by Croydon following its decision to explore a contract with another provider, Valo Smart City UK. In early 2021, the previous Labour administration entered into a deal with the company, which would provide 185 new bus shelters, complete with Wi-Fi and CCTV.

However, Valo had no prior experience of building shelters and never honoured its commitment. Croydon’s TfL-operated shelters were unaffected by the deal and remain in place.

The council had entered into a deal with Valo, rather than opt for TFL shelters in the hope of making money, but the authority ended its contract with them in 2023 and is now seeking damages.

Last year the council sais: “Our residents have been massively let down by this failed Valo contract, leaving them without shelters for the past four years.”

TfL subsequently brought back four shelters to Croydon’s high streets last year, but much of the borough was still left without coverage. TfL finalised the agreement to address the bus shelter shortage in Croydon after it became clear that the lack of even basic infrastructure was affecting passenger numbers on some South London routes.

The new shelters will be installed at stops that don’t already have one planned or in place. Some stops deemed unsuitable for a shelter are not included.

Around 88,000 people rely on Croydon’s bus network daily.

A bus stop at Norbury with absent bus shelter (Picture: LDRS/Harrison Galliven)