Articulated buses in London conductor. In August 2012, following the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, it was announced the bendy buses would be withdrawn as their five-year operating contracts expired, starting from May 2009, and completed by 2013 (or 2015 depending on contract extensions). This was brought forward to December 2011. Research by London TravelWatch indicated that such a withdrawal could prove costly to TfL. A study conducted in September 2008 found that replacing articulated vehicles on routes 38, 507, and 521, whilst maintaining overall route capacity, would cost an additional £12.6m per annum, due to the additional vehicles necessitated. Additional
Mayor of London cabinet, directs the entirety of Greater London, including the City of London (for which there is also the ceremonial Lord Mayor of the City of London). Each London Borough also has a ceremonial Mayor or, in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets, an elected Mayor. The Greater London Council, the elected government for Greater London, was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985. Strategic functions were split off to various joint arrangements. Londoners voted in a referendum in 1998 to create a new governance structure for Greater London. The directly elected Mayor of London was created by the