A six-week consultation is now underway in South West London
A bus route in South West London is at risk of being scrapped if plans put forward Transport for London (TfL) go ahead. The authority wants to permanently withdraw the 533, which runs from Hammersmith to Castelnau, in a bid to ‘formalise’ services in Barnes.
The line was first introduced to maintain step free access between the leafy neighbourhood and Hammersmith bus station following the closure of Hammersmith Bridge in 2019. The proposal to cut it insists the ‘bridge is unlikely to reopen in the near future’ and residents require ‘greater certainty about the services they use’.
As part of this, TfL will extend route 209, which would take over “the majority” of route 533, as well as make changes to routes 378 and 485. You can see the suggested routes below:
The biggest change would be to 209 currently running between Castelnau, Lonsdale Road and Mortlake and Avondale Road. The proposed plans would see passengers journey between Hammersmith and Barnes Pond via Chiswick Bridge, Lonsdale Road and Castelnau.
TfL expects the route to operate at the current frequency of the 533, with a bus every 15 minutes, except during Monday – Friday peaks when it would run about every 17 minutes. Additionally, the 378 would follow its usual path between Mortlake, Avondale Road and Putney Bridge, but would then continue on to the Lonodn Wetlands Centre.
Potential changes to bus stopping arrangements for route 378 at Putney Bridge are also being considered. Lastly, the current 485 route would no longer serve Church Road and Castelnau, and instead stop at Barnes High Street, The Terrace and Mortlake High Street before terminating at Mortlake, Avondale Road.
What impact would this have?
TfL believes the plans will improve the reliability and efficiency of the bus network in the Barnes area. Positives listed include:
- Increased access to the Wetlands Centre as buses calling per hour will double from two to four
- The addition of a direct Tube link to the Wetlands Centre via Putney Bridge station
- Faster journey times between Lower Richmond Road and the Wetlands Centre
- New links between the east of Putney and the west of Station Road via route 485
- Addiiton of anti-clockwise buses towards Hammersmith along Church Road, Castelnau and Lonsdale Road via route 209.
However, a number of customers would be left unable to complete journeys in some cases. Bus routes would no longer operate from Church Road to Station Road/Mill Hill Road, leading to a bus change or 10-minute walk.
This is also true between Queen Elizabeth Walk/The Wetlands Centre and Castelnau. Journey times between Mortlake and Castelnau would also increase by around five minutes on route 209
Plus, there would be a total frequency reduction of 4 buses per hour on the following roads:
- Barnes High Street
- Church Road
- Castelnau
- Lonsdale Road between the junctions with Verdun Road and Castelnau
- Kilmington Road, Howsman Road and Verdun Road
TfL is running a consultation period on the plans until Wednesday, October 22. For more information, or to share your views, visit the Have Your Say website.
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