TfL proposes enhancements to bus services in outer London

Credit: Transport for London

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that it has launched four consultations that propose improvements to bus services in the Brent Cross, Harold Wood/Upminster, Stonebridge Park and Tooting areas. 

Buses play a crucial role in making London a more connected city, connecting Londoners to their workplaces, education, families, friends, shopping and leisure. They are the most affordable, accessible and available forms of public transport in London and offer the main sustainable alternative to cars for journeys that cannot be easily walked or cycled.

Increased and improved bus services will help encourage more people to use public transport ahead of the ULEZ expansion in August 2023 and maximise the benefits of the scheme. These proposals, which will be followed by more enhancements across London, will improve TfL’s extensive bus network in outer London.

TfL has launched public consultations on improving buses in outer London by:

• Extending the route 79 to serve Stonebridge Park station and beyond. This will ensure that new homes and communities along Mount Pleasant and Beresford Avenue are served by enough buses and create new direct links for people in the Stonebridge Park, Beresford Avenue and Mount Pleasant areas to and from Ealing Road, Wembley, Wembley Park, Queensbury, Canons Park and Edgware
• Changing eight routes in the Brent Cross Cricklewood area to prepare the network to serve the new Brent Cross West rail station, the growing Brent Cross Town community and other developments around Edgware Road
• Extending route 497 from Harold Wood to Upminster to create a direct link between these town centres, replacing the indirect link that two less frequent routes currently offer and responding to local demand
• Extending route 315 from Balham station to the new housing, medical and retail centre, and 32-acre park at Springfield University Hospital in Tooting.

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Further enhancements are planned for Brent, with proposals to re-design bus routes around Wembley Park and Stadium to support new development in the area due to be published in the coming weeks. TfL is also continuing work on plans for further expansion across outer London, including in Southall and Haringey.

These will complement previously announced enhancements, which include three new routes in the Sutton and Croydon areas, with improved services to the new Cancer Hub at the Royal Marsden Hospital. New zero-emission cross-river services will also be introduced in East London, subject to consultation.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I really encourage Londoners to share their views on how TfL can further improve bus services in their area. These exciting improvements will strengthen the alternatives to private car use, and make it much easier to get around key parts of outer London by public transport. Buses sit at the heart of the capital’s transport network and these improvements to the network will help us to continue building a better, greener and fairer city for all Londoners.”

Geoff Hobbs, Director of Public Transport Service Planning at TfL, said: “Access to public transport is vital to encourage sustainable growth in London and allow everyone to make the most of the city. Buses play a fundamental role in that, which is why we’re pleased to be launching consultations on improving buses in outer London.”