London - West End/Oxford Street

[Robertj21a]

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Consultation documents published for significant changes to well known London routes in the West End.

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/west-end-bus-changes

 

[Zoidberg]

.
Consultation documents published for significant changes to well known London routes in the West End.

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/west-end-bus-changes

And for the benefit of those who have difficulty accessing links, an extract:

Overview

London is growing, with an estimated 10 million people expected to live here by the early 2030s. Transport is an essential part of life in London and we’re investing so that as the city grows, everyone who lives, works or visits London has the transport they need. The impact of a growing London will be felt most acutely in central London and the West End, where bus and Tube services are concentrated.

The Mayor has committed to improving life in London, by tackling air quality, transforming Oxford Street and introducing the bus hopper ticket and freezing public transport fares. In addition we are encouraging growth in cycling and walking, and establishing measures to help buses get to and through central London quickly and reliably. Ensuring that we have the right level of bus provision is crucial in ensuring central London works well. This consultation sets out our proposals to change the bus network in central London, so that it can continue to support London as a world leading cultural and economic centre.

Recent investment in upgrading the Tube network has made it much more reliable and attractive for many to use. Over four million journeys are made each day on the Tube network and this number is rising. The Victoria and Northern lines are now among the highest frequency services in Europe, with a train every two minutes at the busiest times. Night Tube services are now running on the Central, Victoria and Jubilee lines with the Northern line commencing in November and the Piccadilly line later in 2016.

These improvements mean that demand for some bus routes has reduced. The 73, for example, which closely follows the route of the Victoria Line, has seen up to eleven per cent reduction in demand since 2011. By operating slightly fewer services, we will be able to operate them faster and more reliably.

The opening of the Elizabeth line from 2018 will further transform how people move about in central London. The line will provide a key east-west link across central London and beyond. Many people will choose to use this faster journey than take a bus. We need to ensure that the right number of buses serve each station on the new line, both in central London and at other stations.

The Elizabeth line is particularly significant for bus services on Oxford Street, with the two new stations at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street set to further reduce bus demand on the street. The Mayor is also working with City of Westminster to make Oxford Street more pedestrian friendly. Our proposals for changes to bus services in central London are therefore also designed to start reducing the number of buses running along Oxford Street. The proposals in this consultation would reduce the number of buses going along Oxford Street by around 40 per cent.

In this context we have carried out a review of routes to and from the West End including routes 3, 6, 8, 15, 22, 25, 23, 46, 73, 137, 172, 242, 332, 390, 425, 452, C2, N2, N3, N8, N15, N22 and N73. Our proposals range in scale depending on the route to help us better match future demand with space available on the bus. We welcome your views on any or all of the details as set out on the following pages. More information on our longer term plans to transform Oxford Street will be available in the near future, and is not in the scope of these proposals.

 

[Busaholic]

I'm not surprised by the proposals, just profoundly disappointed. TfL seem to be jumping the gun in relation to Crossrail's effect on passenger habits which, I would suggest, are not going to make the average bus passenger in the West End/Holborn area want to change their mode of transport save for certain specific corridors e.g. Bond Street or Tottenham Court Road to Paddington. Some of the proposals will adversely affect bus passengers on a basic north-south trajectory which Crossrail doesn't impinge upon, and of these some have no (or very limited) tube alternatives.

This all seems to have been fed by the obsession to rid Oxford Street of the socially desirable bus while still allowing full access to the less socially desirable black cab. A knock-on effect is that Regent Street services will also be cut by about 40%. I'm only going to make some generalised comments at this stage, but I have noticed some factual errors on individual routes and I'm very suspicious of some of the figures given for the numbers of passengers affected by those individual proposals, given there is no touch-out on buses with the flat fare system. Two things from the covering statement I will mention though; could the 11% decline in passengers on the 73 since 2011 be a reflection on the fact that the 73 is now scheduled to cover its journey from Victoria to Stoke Newington in the peaks in twice the time it took in 2005? Also, mention of 'hopper' fares ignores that many of the displaced bus passengers would not be able to transfer within the hour, on inward journeys at least, so their fares could in effect rise by 50%, coupled with the inconvenience.

 

[deltic]

As Busaholic points out traffic congestion has increased journey times on many London bus routes leading to a reduction in usage while increasing costs. Given budget constraints TfL are under pressure to reduce bus operating costs and hence the desire to take out buses on many over bused routes in central London. The concern with Crossrail is that it wont lead as Busaholic notes to much of a switch from buses but a large increase in pedestrians on Oxford Street leading to further problems for buses trying to negotiate the street.

 

[johnnychips]

73 -

By operating slightly fewer services, we will be able to operate them faster and more reliably.

Eh? How?

 

[deltic]

73 -

Eh? How?

Because its the volume of buses that causes congestion in the first place

 

[Busaholic]

As Busaholic points out traffic congestion has increased journey times on many London bus routes leading to a reduction in usage while increasing costs. Given budget constraints TfL are under pressure to reduce bus operating costs and hence the desire to take out buses on many over bused routes in central London. The concern with Crossrail is that it wont lead as Busaholic notes to much of a switch from buses but a large increase in pedestrians on Oxford Street leading to further problems for buses trying to negotiate the street.

I do wonder about the 'large increase in pedestrians' that Crossrail will bring to Oxford Street. Workers in the area switching from the Central or Bakerloo lines will, on the whole, already walk along parts of Oxford Street: it may lead to slight increases in, say, the case of Marble Arch Central Line users switching to Bond Street Crossrail, but it ought to lead to a decrease in the number of Central and Bakerloo Line passengers at Oxford Circus, which is the main pinchpoint at present and might even mean that station's entrances don't have to get closed so often in the p.m. peak. I'm sure it's the profound hope of the Oxford Street Association that Crossrail will bring a lot of extra shoppers to the street, for instance West Londoners and Berkshireites switching from Westfield White City and East Londoners/Essexites from Westfield Stratford, but it all remains to be seen. Denying direct bus services from many areas that currently get them will definitely see a decrease in the sort of casual user who meets up with their friends in the top floor restaurant at John Lewis and, while there, probably spend a fair bit. When that stretch of Oxford Street was closed to buses for over a year at the end of the last century the Oxford Street Association complained vociferously and claimed that shop takings went down by a double figure percentage as a direct result.