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Thursday, 24 November 2022

TfL Publishes Consultation Outcome For Central London Bus Review With The Majority Of Routes Retained, But Some Restructured!

This is a follow-up to my previous article back in June 2022 regarding TfL’s proposal on reshaping Central London bus routes.

From TfL press release

Substantial cuts to the central and inner London bus network were proposed due to the government's Covid funding deal 

Additional funding provided by the Mayor has allowed Transport for London (TfL) to reassess its proposals for the bus network and cancel the changes Londoners were most concerned about.

The pandemic's effect on TfL's finances meant that it had to rely on a series of short-term government funding deals, which had a series of conditions and requirements. The government required TfL to make savings equivalent to four per cent of the bus network, and the package of changes were proposed to help achieve this.

To support TfL in responding to the issues raised in the response to the consultation, the Mayor has been able to identify additional funding for TfL averaging around £25m per year. This is in addition to a £500m City Hall financing facility, which is still required for TfL to maintain a balanced budget. 

TfL will still go ahead with 22 per cent of the service changes consulted on, which are all in areas with numerous alternative public transport options and in areas where following the changes there will be enough capacity on buses to meet demand. Passengers will still be able to make the same journeys, with additional interchanges in some instances, in which case they will benefit from the Mayor's Hopper Fare. By going ahead with the remaining proposals, TfL is able to improve the reliability of buses in central London, while allowing for investment in bus provision in outer London.

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "I was furious on behalf of Londoners that TfL was having to consider reducing the bus network due to conditions attached by the Government to the funding deal. The strength of feeling across the capital was clear to me, and I was adamant that I would explore every avenue available to me to save as many buses as possible.

"This will mean tough decisions elsewhere, but I am very pleased that the vast majority of bus routes proposed to be cut due to the Government's funding conditions can now be saved. TfL has looked carefully at the small amount of routes still affected in order to reduce the impact on passengers as much as possible.

"Buses sit at the heart of the capital's transport network and have a key role to play as we continue building a better, greener and fairer city for all Londoners."

Geoff Hobbs, TfL's Director of Public Transport Service Planning, said: "This new funding, alongside our detailed analysis of the extensive consultation feedback and emerging travel patterns, has allowed us to significantly reduce the scope of the changes.

"The proposals that we will be taking forward are those that have a minimal impact on Londoners, as they are areas with much higher provision of buses than there is demand.

"Buses have a vital role to play in a sustainable and growing London. We have been able to protect investment in our zero emission bus fleet, ensuring we are supporting the capital's economic recovery and encouraging people to make environmentally friendly travel choices."

Cllr Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said: "It is great news that the Mayor of London and TfL have listened to the case we have been making to them. We've been able to secure a significant number of the main bus routes serving Westminster.

"Buses are a vital lifeline for so many of the people who live and work here - whether getting to the office, hospital, or other appointments, they make our lives work. We urged local people to make their views known during the consultation and it's clear that our collective voice has been clearly heard - so a big thanks to everyone who got involved."

The consultation saw a significant response with more than 21,500 people sharing their feedback. This has helped TfL shape the changes to save the buses that Londoners were most concerned about and ensure any impacts will be minimised, particularly the extent to which passengers have to interchange. Currently around 19 per cent of bus journeys in London involve an interchange. These new plans will only see 20 per cent of people having to use a different bus to complete their journey. Passengers will still be able to travel between the same destinations by bus that they do today, with the Mayor's Hopper fare allowing unlimited bus travel within an hour for £1.65.

TfL structured the consultation around 16 neighbourhood areas, in which changes were proposed. Only four of the neighbourhoods now will be implemented. These are the plans for Horseferry Road, Fleet Street, Edgware Road and Waterloo. This means that TfL will deliver 11 out of 57 day or 24-hour route changes and three route withdrawals out of the originally proposed 22. There will also be changes to four night bus routes.

While ridership has fallen on some bus routes in central and inner London due to improved walking and cycling facilities and opening of the Elizabeth Line, it is clear that there are further opportunities to reduce car dependency and boost the number of people using the bus in outer London. TfL will now be able to focus its planning resources on supporting growth in outer London, including new housing developments and areas of potential economic development, in addition to greater provision for groups hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.

Greening the bus network is essential in the face of the triple threat of toxic pollution, congestion and the climate crisis. TfL has set out its long-term vision in its Bus Action Plan of an attractive, green bus service for all Londoners. The savings made will protect the investment needed to make all the capital's buses zero emission by 2034, which could be brought forward to 2030 subject to Government funding. Carrying up to 80 times the number of passengers as a car, in just three times the space, these buses also help cut congestion. Catering to the shifting landscape in outer London will also help achieve the target of 80 per cent of journeys being made by sustainable transport modes by 2041.

Notes to editors

• More than 70 routes were originally proposed to be affected, while the plans being taken forward will impact 18 routes. There are more than 620 bus routes in London

• Route 507 will be extended towards Fulham, and will be renumbered 11, and route 521 will be withdrawn, with the night service N11 restructured

• Route 16 will run on route 332 between Brent Park and Paddington. The night route N16 will be renumbered N32

• Routes 4, 12, 14, 24, 31, 45, 72, 74, 78, 242, 349, C3, D7, N31, N72, N74 and N242 will be saved and kept as they currently operate

• The proposed changes to routes 3, 6, 11, 23, 26, 59, 77, 133, 211, C10 and N26 will still go ahead to minimise the impact of withdrawn routes and ensure a continued reliable bus network in central and inner London

• Proposed changes to routes 15, 19, 27, 43, 47, 49, 53, 56, 88, 98, 100, 113, 135, 148, 171, 189, 205, 214, 236, 254, 259, 277, 279, 283, 328, 343, 388, 414, 430, 476, D3, N15, N19, N27, N98, N133, N205, will not be taken forward.

You can read detailed information of the bus route changes in the ‘decision summary and next steps’ document.

I’ve also tweeted the costs per annum on the routes which are planned to be withdrawn.

Overall, I’ve taken a look on social media and not everyone is happy with the outcome as certain bus routes will proceed with restructuring, including withdrawals. The campaign to save the affected London Bus routes continues for them.

I’ve been looking through the consultation report of the Central London Bus Review and it’s a huge document with nearly 370 pages.

I know this is quite large, but here’s a few interesting points from the document:

• 80.8% of the respondents believe their journey would become less convenient.
• 74.0% of respondents find the length of waiting time between buses to be very important.
• 67.6% of respondents find time until next bus/digital displays at bus stops to be very important.

The following also caught my attention. On paragraph 4.5.2.4 in the consultation report, they have listed an overview of suggestions. 475 of the respondents suggested retaining/introducing Routemaster bus services, and 287 respondents suggested considering using low emission/electric buses. I guess they are referring to the three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus named New Routemaster.

Some of my readers might have already seen the Freedom of Information requests from my previous articles of people commenting about the design of the high-spec electric buses (Alexander Dennis-BYD Enviro400EV City) on routes 63 & U5, Wrightbus Electroliner on route 119 and Wrightbus Hydroliner on route 7.

I won’t go too in-depth with ideas on this because I have already discussed them in my previous article.

I would point out though that bus users in neighbouring Kent are quite unlucky as their supported bus services are set to be withdrawn, despite Government funding of up to £130 million to protect bus services across England.

Kent County Council - Consultation on Bus Funding Reduction

Following a meeting of KCC’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the end of August, the decision to withdraw the subsidy for 38 bus contracts was referred back to Full Council(External link) on 20 October for further consideration. After a debate, councillors voted in favour of supporting the withdrawal with the exception of Kent Karrier services, the 208 East Peckham, Tonbridge to Pembury and the S4 Wrotham to Sevenoaks schools. Services and journeys relating to the 38 contracts being withdrawn are expected to cease from 12 February 2023.

However, in recognition of the importance local communities have placed on bus services, we have significantly boosted the money available for local community organisations to set up or expand their own community transport schemes, increasing the fund this year from £100,000 to £450,000. The decision to find the funding to protect the Kent Karriers also acknowledged the role that these services play particularly when other bus services are struggling to survive and in some instances are being withdrawn or reduced by operators.

We also made a commitment to work collaboratively across political parties to develop our future bus policy.

Our decision to withdraw bus funding from 38 bus contracts is entirely separate from many of the proposed cuts to bus services that residents have been concerned about, particularly those affecting journeys to and from school. These cuts, affecting more than 100 services, were announced by private bus operators who, like many other bus operators in the country, have been struggling to operate under the weight of continuing financial pressures.

In recognition of the impact these bus operator cuts would have on pupils and their families, we worked closely with them during the summer to protect as many of these services as possible or provide a range of different measures to enable as many pupils as possible to get to school at least for the rest of the current school year. This work resulted in a much better position for passengers than was thought possible earlier in the summer.

The Council is facing serious financial challenges this year. However, we continue to support residents by subsidising more than 80 bus routes at a cost of almost £4 million and spend £6 million subsidising the costs of bus travel for students through the Kent Travel Saver and 16+ schemes.

I’ll wrap up the article by showing you the tweet of the London Transport News clipping and a report from Thames News on Central London Bus Route changes in the year 1992.


Link to video

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.

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