Passengers using Battersea's 344 bus have been promised improved services by Mayor Ken Livingstone when he joined them for a rush-hour journey.

After complaints about the Clapham Junction to Liverpool Street service, commuters were delighted to hear his Mayplans to replace the single-storey buses with a fleet of double-deckers.

The Mayor took a trip on the 344 with Battersea MP Martin Linton and Greater London Assembly (GLA) and former Wandsworth councillor Samantha Heath who has spearheaded the campaign to improve the route.

At a recent meeting of more than 150 angry bus users, she heard complaints of overcrowding, long waits between buses, driver incompetence and a poor Countdown service.

Mayor Livingstone has now pledged to improve the service by introducing 17 new buses and new schedules.

Elderly bus user Margaret Coke said: "The badly driven, single-decker 344s meant that children and the elderly were being thrown around. It's great the Mayor is changing this and we are going to get the proper double-deckers because of Samantha's campaigning."

Welcoming the move, Ms Heath said: "Today marks a real victory for 344 bus users. Passengers were delighted to have been given the opportunity to speak to the Mayor directly about their concerns about overcrowding, lack of frequency and safety."

"We are looking forward to the improvements following a long campaign to get the Mayor to listen.

Mr Linton added: "Running double-deckers on this route will help to deal with overcrowding, but we need to be sure that they will run punctually and that we have digital countdown display screens at all the bus stops.

"I believe the 344 could become a Battersea-City express route for commuters once congestion charging has started to thin out the traffic jams which cause of most of its problems at the moment. "