Tuesday, October 06, 2026
Yesterday TfL's Chief Undertaker sounded the death knell for three more London buses, the 415, the C3 and the D7.
RIP 415
The 415 was introduced in 2008 and runs between Tulse Hill and the Tesco on the Old Kent Road. It's shadowed by at least two other bus routes along every road it covers, so arguably superfluous. It will thus die, with the 333 extended from Elephant & Castle to the aforementioned Tesco to retain connections north of Brixton. South of Brixton bus frequency will drop by 30% which isn't great, but arguably nobody loses out too badly. [consultation] [map] [routes before] [routes after]
RIP C3
The C3 was introduced in 1987, initially as a minibus, now a double decker. It runs from Earl's Court to Clapham Junction via Chelsea Harbour and at 5 miles is one of London's shorter routes. It dies because there are currently too many buses between South Kensington and Putney, and apparently the best way to sort that is to divert the 74 to take over the C3 completely. The worst affected passengers are shoppers at Earl's Court's Tesco who may now have to walk over 500m to catch a 74, also those in central London aiming for Fulham who'll now need to change buses. [consultation] [map]
RIP D7
The D7 was introduced in 1989 and runs from Mile End to Poplar around the edge of the Isle of Dogs. It's already had its frequency chopped from 8 buses an hour to 5 and the latest proposal is to extinguish it altogether. In mitigation three other buses will be tweaked to maintain a comprehensive network on the Isle of Dogs, Specifically the 135 and 277 will switch routes and the D6 will go a longer way round to Asda. The biggest losers are those along Westferry Road who'll now have 45% fewer buses, should they still be travelling which apparently fewer and fewer people on the island are. [consultation] [map] [routes before] [routes after]
It's all about cutting excess capacity, reducing duplication and saving money, but as a consequence breaking connections, increasing reliance on the Hopper fare and making people wait longer.
"We will simplify routes in central and inner London, running a smaller number of high frequency, more reliable routes, so that we can deliver an attractive service which is still comprehensive and frequent, but has less duplication and excess capacity."Consultations are underway and the end result may not be precisely as anticipated. But expect more of this kind of thing going forward.
Dead Buses Since 2023
2023: 271, 332, 507, 521, 168
2024: 455, 549
2025: 347, 497, 118, 414, R6, 283
2026: 472, 533, 349
proposed: 67, 254, 415, C3, D7New Buses Since 2023
2023: SL10, SL1
2024: SL5, SL3, SL2, S2, 439, 310
2025: BL1, SL4
2026: SL11, SL12, 10
proposed: 454, SL13, SL14, SL15
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