TfL are chopping and changing two more buses in central London, specifically the 30 and 205, according to the results of a consultation released on Friday. This is despite their proposals receiving the support of less than 5% of respondents and widespread disapproval from all 22 stakeholders who responded. Stuff public opinion, let's save money.
The prime driver is a two mile curtailment of route 30 which'll now only run from Hackney Wick to Euston rather than to Marble Arch. This means the service can be operated with fewer vehicles and fewer drivers, saving a goodly few millions which can be redeployed elsewhere. Passenger numbers are down, apparently, plus both Euston Road and Baker Street are overbussed.
If only TfL's planners had stopped here the complaints would have been more muted. But they still want a bus to connect Euston to Marble Arch so the second part of their plan is to divert route 205 there instead. This would bear off near Madame Tussauds and thus no longer serve the final seven stops to Paddington, and this is what's got everyone fired up.
Old 205: Bow Church → Whitechapel → Liverpool St → King's Cross → Euston → Paddington New 205: Bow Church → Whitechapel → Liverpool St → King's Cross → Euston → Marble Arch
It's only a small tweak but it breaks 9% of journeys, i.e. around 2000 passengers a day. It also negates the original raison d'être of route 205 which was to connect mainline termini and shore up services on the edge of the upcoming Congestion Charge zone. Here's part of the original leaflet from 2002.
The 205 replaced two Stationlink services, one clockwise and one anticlockwise, along with short-lived 705 which was introduced to connect south of the river. Not everyone wants to take the tube between mainline stations, indeed some can't, so a step-free alternative which operates even during engineering works is always welcome. The leaflet also made play of the 205's links to four major London hospitals, not because patients need to travel between them but because inner London residents need to get there and back. The new diversion annoyingly chops off both Paddington station and St Mary's Hospital and that's why it's been doubly opposed.
The mitigation for folk who can no longer catch one bus to/from Paddington is to catch route 27 instead.
There are six stops on the 205/27 overlap, where 'all you have to do' is get off, wait and get on your next bus. But some people find getting on and off buses difficult, especially those who go to hospitals, so that's not ideal. Also route 205 runs every 10 minutes and route 27 every 12, so it could be a bit of a wait. Also the consultation recognises that route 27 doesn't currently meet reliability targets so you might end up waiting even longer than that. And it might be raining, and you might not get a seat on your next bus, and your Hopper fare might have expired if you boarded in Tower Hamlets so you could end up paying double. No wonder 66% of respondents said they believed the change to route 205 would have a negative impact.
Of all the responses in the consultation report, this is perhaps the most callous...
The changes to routes 30 and 205 are due to be implemented on some as yet unannounced date next month. Neither is good, more a response to reduced budgets than a desire to better serve the customer. What's particularly poor in this case is that the 205 didn't need to change, that was merely TfL's chosen mitigation for cutting route 30, and it's a great shame they didn't select a less contentious alternative tweak instead.
