As well as a route being cut from service, Transport for London will also be re-routing two other routes which will increase journey times
Transport for London (TfL) has announced it will be removing a bus route connecting Hammersmith and East Acton, despite overwhelming opposition to the plans. The changes, which will see the 72 and N72 re-routed to serve the White City Estate alongside the withdrawal of the 283, are to be implemented from December 13.
Three-quarters of respondents to a consultation held over the summer were negative about the proposals, with just 4 per cent positive. Key concerns raised included the impact on those travelling to and from Hammersmith Hospital, the loss of some direct links to White City and Wood Lane stations and the effects on older and vulnerable passengers.
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s Director of Public Transport Service Planning, said the changes “are necessary in reflecting the changing usage of routes by customers”, though added the network will continue to be monitored to ensure a comprehensive offering is delivered. On its consultation webpage TfL had stated the proposed changes would ‘simplify’ the bus network and reduce costs.
The re-routing of the 72 and N72 would ensure no stops are missed, though TfL acknowledged some journey times would increase as a result. One resident the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to said the proposed changes would make certain trips “almost untenable”, though others said as long as all stops are serviced they would be largely unaffected.
According to TfL’s consultation both the 72 and 283 operate at a “high frequency” of six buses an hour, with passengers tending not to look at the timetable before getting to the stop. The proposed changes would help match capacity to demand, TfL claimed, and would “rationalise and simplify the network while making savings to help meet financial targets”.
In a report detailing the consultation feedback and its decision TfL wrote it received 709 responses, 698 from the public and 11 from stakeholders. Of those 75 per cent were negative, 13 per cent neutral, eight per cent mixed and just four per cent positive.
Local politicians, Hammersmith and Fulham Council and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust were among the stakeholders to make representations. The Trust, which runs Hammersmith Hospital, warned that withdrawing the 283 “would drastically reduce accessibility to the hospital, especially given its distance from any Underground station and limited parking”.
To address some of the points raised during consultation TfL said the 272 will run more frequently in the evenings and the 72 in the mornings, plus all day on Sundays. The changes are to be implemented from December 13 with the increased frequency of the 272 to follow in February.
Following the publication of TfL’s decision, Cllr Florian Chevoppe-Verdier, Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Realm, told the LDRS: “This is very disappointing news from TfL. We’ve received a significant amount of feedback from residents who are deeply concerned about the impact of losing the 283 bus route.
“The council remains strongly opposed to its withdrawal, which will significantly reduce public transport access to and from Old Oak – an area already poorly connected to the rest of the borough and physically cut off by the Westway. This includes vital access to Hammersmith Hospital in Du Cane Road. We will be campaigning for TfL to reconsider this decision, which risks leaving many residents more isolated and less able to reach essential services.”
Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, said: “I am disappointed by the decision to go ahead with these changes as both the 283 and 72 provide valuable and accessible public transport routes between White City and Hammersmith.”
Mr Slaughter added he will ask TfL to monitor the effect of the changes, “and if these are less reliable, make improvements to the number and regularity of buses on the new routes”. A spokesperson for Imperial said the Trust is “very disappointed” by the decision to withdraw the 283 and is concerned about the impact on patients, visitors and staff who rely on buses to get to Hammersmith Hospital.
“Our hospital is a significant distance from any tube stations and we have very limited on site parking due to site constraints,” they said. “As outlined in our response to the consultation, we believe these changes will both reduce access and create capacity issues for the alternative bus route. We will follow up with TfL directly.”
Mr Hobbs said: “We are committed to providing the best bus network possible for Londoners and we regularly review our services according to current customer demand. After careful consideration, following a public consultation, adjustments to bus routes 283, 72 and N72 will go ahead allowing us to operate a more efficient bus service.
“Route 283 will be withdrawn and routes 72 and N72 will be re-rerouted to serve White City Estate along the current routeing of the 283. We understand the concerns raised in the consultation and have taken mitigations to address them including making routes in the area more frequent.
“These changes are necessary in reflecting the changing usage of routes by customers. As with all changes, we will continue to monitor the bus network to make sure we deliver a comprehensive public transport offering as well as it being value for money.”
Last year TfL announced it would be cutting the 414 bus route between Marble Arch and Putney Bridge and instead delivering an ‘enhanced’ 14 service. This was despite a majority of responses received during consultation claiming the proposal would have a “negative impact”. Ben Coleman, Labour MP for Chelsea and Fulham, told the LDRS the decision was ‘disappointing’.
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