Picture Archive Post 73

London United SLE17 on Route 27, Turnham Green, 20/01/2013
(© Aubrey)

A tad late in terms of Picture Archive posts, this one is also a tad different. As route 27 already has been covered in Picture Archive, the route section of the post will be dedicated to an issue regarding the 27, amongst general TfL policy over recent years.

The bus (SLE17) was one of the initial Scania N94UD/East Lancs OmniDekka buses ordered for the 267 initially in early 2006. Based at Fulwell (FW), these were the first new double deckers ordered by London United since TA346 in 2003. In early 2013, the new hybrid ADL Enviro 400H was ordered for Route 27, moving the (slightly) newer SLEs to Fulwell for the 267, and the older SLEs were sent to Stamford Brook (V) to see out their days on the 27. This particular example ended up at Thamesdown Transport, in Swindon.

The newest section of Route 27, between Chiswick Business Park and Hammersmith (Ravenscourt Park during the day) is under threat due to Transport for London cuts. Although this may seem to be a small cut, the section is the one mostly used by the author to travel to places for coverage for the transport blog. Also, it would sever an area close to Central London (Zone 2/3) a direct bus link into Central London. A replacement 440 rerouting would sever Chiswick Park Tube Station from a direct bus link, and eliminate some local links within Chiswick and the Bollo Lane area. TfL are, yet again, marketing the "Hopper" fare as a god send, when it really is not.
Continually being forced to change buses only means that people will be less attracted to travelling by bus. The night bus frequency cuts only helped taxi firms. In an age where we need to have people travelling more by public transport, frequency cuts, slower travel times and bus route section cuts are only making people force onto other modes of transport, which includes the rise of private transport. This ironically increases the amount of vehicles on the road, causing travel times to decrease further. The mobility of the citizens of a city by public transport determines the accessibility of jobs, and therefore income and economic impact. If the poorer citizens are being affected by poor transport, they are less able to get to jobs.

Transport for London having their government funding cut has caused cuts across the board throughout the bus network. The situation has been exaggerated by the freezing of single fares by the incumbent Mayor of London.

Until 12th August 2018, there is a consultation that is open which determines the future of Route 27 and 440, including their routing through Chiswick. However, this is more than just about the future of these routes. Transport for London want to cut more services, either by stealth (frequency cuts) or outright. This needs to be stopped before we go too far on the decline back to the 1980s.
Link: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/routes-27-and-440/