The health and safety charges, brought by the HSE, come nearly three years after Grace Mecaley, 74, was fatally struck by a route 212 bus at the station in December 2023, reports Marco Marcelline
Transport for London (TfL) will be prosecuted over alleged safety failures at Walthamstow Bus Station spanning a period of two decades.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) alleges that between 1st January 2004 and 15th December 2023, TfL failed to ensure traffic routes at the northern crossing of the bus station were suitable for pedestrians and the vehicles using them.
The health and safety charges come nearly three years after a retired nurse was fatally struck by a route 212 bus at the station in December 2023.
74-year-old Grace Mecaley’s death prompted the installation of new permanent pedestrian crossings on its northern and western sides in December 2024.
The crossings came after new “temporary signals” were added to the station in May that year in response to a HSE contravention notice that was filed in March 2024.
A fresh contravention notice was issued in March 2025 after unannounced HSE inspectors found bus drivers were failing to give pedestrians priority to cross to and from the bus station’s “central island”, where passengers board and alight from buses.
A sentencing hearing regarding the health and safety charges brought against TfL will take place at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 25th September.
Grace had taken up several positions in local civil society groups including the Waltham Forest Race Equality Council (WSREC), where she was an executive member from the 1980s until her death.
Tributes paid to Grace by WSREC described her as “very warm and charitable” and praised her “dedication to helping others”.
Through her WSREC role, Grace became a trustee at the Walthamstow and Chingford Almshouse, a social housing charity providing self-contained accommodation for elderly people.
She held the trustee role from 2014 until she stepped down at the end of a four-year term in 2018.
Lorna Murphy, TfL’s director of buses, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Grace Mecaley. Everyddeath on the transport network is devastating, and we’re determined to end the trauma caused by loss of life and injury.
“We treat bus station safety as part of our wider Vision Zero and Bus Safety Programme, combining operational controls, infrastructure measures and operator assurance to reduce risk to customers, pedestrians and staff in bus station environments. In December 2024, we completed works to permanently improve pedestrian safety at Walthamstow Bus Station.
“We care deeply about the safety and security of everyone who uses or works on our transport network and continue to work closely with all bus operators to improve driver monitoring, driver communication and enforcement.”
Read more: Tributes paid to retired nurse fatally injured in Walthamstow Bus Station crash
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