Forum Topic

Busmaggeddon in west London

Although the article on the front page is probably correct to say that Chiswick has done well to avoid the worst of the bus cuts and the 272 boost is very welcome, some extra context is needed.Bus services in Chiswick were massively reduced in the run up to the pandemic including the removal of the 27 and reductions in service regularity on other routes. The number of buses going along CHR was cut by around 30% The remaining service is really struggling and reliability is down.Despite this buses still far more than any other mode of transport along Chiswick High Road including private cars and bikes. It's a significant step in the wrong direction for these services to be cut.

Mark Evans ● 1573d17 Comments

Not just West London. I see posts about reduction in bus services. Just saw this one now“So TfL want us out of our cars, but now they’re consulting to remove one of Cricklewood’s key bus routes, the No 16 and the N16 night bus. Many more routes across London being axed or reduced.”

Maggie Dodge ● 1573d

Also in Hackney “With proposals to cut three borough routes entirely (the 78, 242 and 349), and make changes to 12 daytime routes and two night routes, the proposals represent a significant reduction in the borough’s bus services.” I could go on ….

Maggie Dodge ● 1573d

Maggie, you could go on to say that the Government's refusal to adequately fund TfL is the cause of the bus service cuts.  I'd bet a dollar to a dime that you won't.

David McLoughlin ● 1573d

Can you explain your comment David. I don’t get your point? You’re obviously trying to have a dig at me, I think is safe to say

Maggie Dodge ● 1573d

Taken from Twitter, “Several years ago the London Cycling Campaign AGM passed a motion supporting less bus services in Central London. They will be thrilled their Tory chum, Andrew Gilligan, is delivering for them.”Most things seem to come back to the LCC and their strange hold over everyone.

Maggie Dodge ● 1573d

Also from the same AGM ,2014,  Ann is Ann Kenrick, wife of a High Court Judge. Not one dealing with cycling cases I hope ! 4.3 Ann noted that an important role of trustees is to focus on the long term: Politics and campaigning – the role of the Mayor is crucial. Boris and Ken “got” cycling. We won’t necessarily have that advantage with the next mayor, and we are developing a strategy to address this. Luckily they got Sadiq Khan who apparently also “gets” cycling

Maggie Dodge ● 1573d

You do realise that buses rarely take you to your door don't you?You need to look harder at the Govt.  Haven't you noticed how the Tory party has changed?  Didn't you notice the MPs who left and claimed that it wasn't them who had changed it was their party?When people use their personal and private cars all the time they don't use or need buses and that takes them away from those that do.  There certainly won't be any buses for those who are cold to travel on to keep warm in.  They often used to go to public buildings like libraries and art galleries but the cuts to Council budgets have put paid to that.  Buses routes should be reassessed every so often and Demand Responsive Transport needs more trialling (stopped because of the pandemic).

Philippa Bond ● 1573d

London buses needed a £700m subsidy to operate pre-pandemic. This was funded by surplus generated by tube fares. TfL as an integrated urban transport system was able to cross-subsidise. Passenger numbers on buses were falling pre-pandemic so subsidy was increasing. Pandemic impact on tube fares shattered TfL finances, ridership still well below pre-pandemic levels so the surplus can no longer fund buses. Government is telling TfL it must balance the books. So higher fares, taxes, road pricing, ULEZ expansion etc. or cuts to services or a combo of all of the above and more are required in absence of ongoing subsides from government. And no cutting all spending on cycling won't make much difference and it is also required to create and maintain a sustainable multi-modal integrated transport system in London.

Paul Campbell ● 1573d

That is all correct but it is the case that pre-pandemic Chiswick bus services were cut. That may partly be due to concerns about air quality because an earlier Hounslow Council air quality report showed that over half harmful emissions were coming from buses. Chiswick High Road became a low emission bus zone which meant that more expensive buses needed to be used which meant that the number had to be cut. I'm not pretending that different policy objectives can't require difficult choices but the reduction in the service in Chiswick was drastic and we were seeing the consequences before the pandemic.These latest cuts will take over two hundred of the oldest buses off the road so will help with air quality if you assume that the resulting rise in traffic is not sufficient to nullify the gains. The buses have been the Cinderella service for a while now which is disastrous particularly at the moment because they are relied up by so many key workers and low-paid workers. Andrew Gilligan has never been a particular fan of them and he is behind the 'Bus Back Better' strategy which aims to bring bus services across the country up to London standards - they appear to be trying to achieve this by reducing the quality of service in the capital.

Mark Evans ● 1573d

The use of this word by Mr Campbell struck me as odd, so I checked in my Chambers Dictionary. It's not there. Did he invent it? A vague memory stirs, that Dr Pike used it long ago, so perhaps it forms part of the private language of cyclists, as perhaps does 'modal shift', which always makes me think of Twiggy in a Mary Quant minidress.

Arnold Saxton ● 1573d

'ridership'the number of passengers using a particular form of public transport.https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/february/latest-tfl-figures-show-continued-growth-in-ridership-following-lifting-of-working-from-home-restrictions"New data shows that Tube ridership has increased by more than 25 per cent since early January, with bus ridership up by nearly 10 per cent"Perhaps your Chambers is out of date?

Ed Saper ● 1573d

Clearly the influence of the Evil Cycling Lobby extends all over the internet as googling the word “ridership” reveals it is contained within the Cambridge dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Collins and a number of others not to mention numerous news articles.

Michael Robinson ● 1572d

It may not be in the Chambers 20th Century Edition (first published 1901) and it looks like a US import.The first use on this forum was in 2005 by Jonathan Sheldrake - Tom didn't use the word until 3 years later in 2008.As the only reason to have a Chambers dictionary is to play scrabble in a remote cottage, "ridership" would score 15 if it is included in a future edition.

Ed Saper ● 1572d

It isn't correct for the article to suggest Chiswick has been completely immune to the cuts - the N11 night bus will be axed. These buses are very important for shift workers.

Anita Blake ● 1572d

Read an article online that says they are including bike racks for 2 bikes on buses in the North East. Going by the picture the bikes will stand in front of a row of seats. They really do seem to want it all . Can we assume if we put bike racks on London buses they would stop cutting buses?

Maggie Dodge ● 1572d

That isn't likely to happen in London. It makes perfect sense to provide for cyclists in this way in more rural areas where the bus service is more patchy. In London nearly everyone lives within walking distance of a bus stop.The winding down of the night bus service was inevitable with the arrival of the night tube but, as has been pointed out, this is no substitute for shift workers. Some people who live on the route of the N11 will be delighted though because it wakes them up at night.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1572d

Having now gone through the documents issued as part of the consultation I can understand how the omission of the N11 from this site's coverage occurred. TfL have split the detailed reports up into regions and designated the N11 as East London because it terminates in Liverpool Street. Not sure whether or not this is deliberate but it does serve to obfuscate the true extent of the cuts - the map showing changes in west London does not include the N11. I couldn't find any more nasty surprises lurking in the documents but they may be there. Thanks to Anita for picking up on the N11 cut.This is probably just the beginning of the process of the destruction of London's bus service if the current government policy continues. TfL has little choice but to concentrate most of the cuts in buses because you can decommission vehicles but you can't do that to tube and train lines. Just the idea of reducing headcount of tube staff by natural wastage has caused a strike to be called for tomorrow whereas it is relatively cheap to make bus drivers redundant. This is a betrayal of a workforce that suffered some of the worst fatality rates of any job during the pandemic.

Mark Evans ● 1570d