Great Western E-routes

Conveniently enough, there wasn't much bus activity at the end of May apart from local changes. Living nearby makes snapping so much easier, plus being familiar with the route means sunshine locations easily come to mind, especially for one of the services which has had several first days over the past few years.

I remember struggling on a randomly hot day in April, but I still ended up spotting last week...

Being only seventeen years old, the E11 is one of Ealing's newest bus routes, replacing part of the E10 when it was re-routed via Scotch Common. It runs at a modest 20 minute frequency from Monday to Saturday, with a typical drop to half hourly on Sundays and during the evening. The termini are Ealing, Warwick Dene and Greenford Broadway, with intermediate destinations including West Ealing, Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park and Elthorne Heights. 5 buses are needed for the 5-mile route at peak times, whilst an end-to-end journey can usually be completed in around 35 minutes. Only mini single deckers can be used due to the ridiculously tight turns near Copley Close, although the smaller capacity usually isn't an issue. That said, the E11 is extremely popular around Castle Bar Park, being the only bus service remotely near the very dense housing, whilst the train now only takes people as far as West Ealing, which is no good for most. It's also pretty handy in the morning at the busy Broughton Road stop, as there's usually enough space to accommodate passengers waiting for any bus which takes them directly to Ealing Broadway - the 207 and 427 often just sail past. Even though it's predominantly residential, there are some quirky aspects, including the ridiculously steep and twisty Studland Road, delving right into the estate at Castle Bar Park, or the affluent run by Ealing Common.

The sun was shining here, but typically it decided to make itself scarce as soon as the bus arrived.

From 2007 to 2019, it seemed like three operators had attempted to run the E11, but its contract was not reassigned through the formal tendering process at any point. Transdev London United acquired the NCP Challenger operations in 2009, whilst RATP-group purchased Transdev LU in 2011. Seven 07-reg ADL Enviro 200s entered service under NCP, equipped with a very uninspiring interior, but they proved to be extremely reliable and pretty fast too. Two of them worked the E11 until the very last day, lasting for twelve years without a refurbishment, whilst one (SDE13, now known as SEN38) still survives in London, but at Go-Ahead's Northumberland Park (NP) garage. For some bizarre reason, in 2014 London United decided to replace the 07-reg examples with slightly newer 08-reg native buses, which had been at both Fulwell (FW) and Epsom (EB) garages before their move to Park Royal. The bubbles moquette found on these buses was very popular, but unlike the 07-reg they turned out to be really troublesome, so two of the older vehicles had to be reinstated. Since no other routes at Park Royal used short 8.9m vehicles, the E11 has a pretty bland history on the London Vehicle Finder, although its buses frequently made appearances on the 440, which was beyond inappropriate at school chuck-out time. Still, London United superintended the E11 very well and it was a shame to see them go, in the early hours of Saturday 25th May, after such a successful twelve years.

Sadly Abellio have ditched the 'Common' on the blinds, but it does mean the displayed destination matches the iBus message.

Abellio London have dominated the Ealing bus scene recently, picking up so many new services in such a short time frame. Given that space has always been an issue for their West London operations, the enthusiast community naturally questioned how Abellio would fit in another two services (see later). Eventually, it was revealed that a brand new depot would be opened on the Great Western Industrial Estate, with a much larger available capacity than both Hayes (WS) garage and the temporary outstation at Southall (AB). This base is strategically positioned, being just around the corner from Ealing Hospital. where several bus routes converge. Naturally, it was assumed that the E11 would operate out of the Great Western (GW) depot, but later it was revealed that this would not be ready until Saturday 13th July, a full seven weeks after they commenced operating the E11. Luckily, only six new ADL Enviro 200 MMC vehicles had to be squeezed into the Southall outstation, with some making appearances on the E5 and E7 before the E11's first day. Interestingly, they seem to have been fitted with tinted windows. Even though the garage was by no means complete, enthusiasts were greeted with a full turnout of new vehicles on day one and shortly afterwards some older 16-reg MMCs from the E5 began to sneak out onto the route. Now that the permanent depot is open, a more flexible common user policy with all the other 9.0m vehicles has been assimilated. To start with, operation was on the wobbly side, but a fairly chunky diversion which involved skipping all of Castle Bar Park and Bordars Road couldn't have helped matters. Admittedly, I was sceptical that Abellio would be able to handle this route well, especially after seeing an E11 training bus going down Bordars Road, which led to sewer works at the time, less than 24 hours before they took over. Having voith E200s with stop-start technology was also a cause for concern, since the Greenford hail and ride section is littered with speed humps and often involves a hill start, but surprisingly these vehicles seem to have coped well with the challenging road conditions. The service seems to run like clockwork and hopefully with their more appropriately sized new depot, Abellio can continue to strengthen their well-respected plethora of West London bus routes.

I would only recommend snapping along Ruislip Road East in sunny conditions, as otherwise the reflections are horrible.

Both the E10 and E11 share similar territory, so trekking to West London on two consecutive weekends must've been quite frustrating for non-local enthusiasts, especially as the routes have switched between the same operators. Usually, services are given to companies on a five year contract, with a potential two-year extension awarded for consistently good performance, so it's pretty disturbing that the E10 has been run by five, or arguably six distinct bus companies since 2013. With Metroline acquiring Greenford (G) garage after the sale of First London, an operator change here was inevitable, but upon tender the E10 was unusually awarded to Tellings Golden Miller (TGM), from Heathrow (HE) garage. They were a subsidiary of Arriva at the time. The situation regarding the E10 became much more complicated when TGM was returned to family ownership at the end of 2014, so it effectively became a fully Arriva service, with the now defunct Garston (GR) garage controlling the service, whilst Dartford (DT) were responsible for maintenance and providing spare buses. The practice of buses dead-running a distance of over 20 miles on a regular basis clearly wasn't viewed as sustainable, so eventually Arriva surrendered the service. London United, at Hounslow Heath (HH) garage, assumed operation in December 2017, but this base was still some distance away and it was evident that taking on such an unfamiliar route at the last minute was no easy job. Hopefully, this next period with Abellio can offer some stability for a theoretically peaceful back street route - no other service in London has had such a turbulent recent history.

From the outside, there really isn't much difference between the 14-reg and 12-reg E200s.

The current E10 runs between Northolt, Islip Manor and Ealing Broadway. It navigates the back streets of Smiths Farm before briefly meeting the Ruislip Road, but then takes another lengthy detour to serve the Ferrymead Estate, which is quite vast despite its low density. From my observations the E10 is well used here, especially as after Greenford Broadway it takes the quickest possible route to Ealing, via Scotch Common and Cleveland Road. Given its usefulness, the E10 is heavily oversubscribed, with buses often carrying standing loads even in the middle of the day. A much needed capacity upgrade was promised by TfL, with a proposal to increase the frequency to every 12 minutes and modify the Islip Manor terminus, so that longer vehicles could be used than at present. Infuriatingly, neither of these have been delivered. Even though the E10 is crying for help, TfL are seemingly obsessed with the notion of extending it beyond Ealing Broadway. The initial plan to send the route to Chiswick Business Park was rightfully cancelled, as creating a useful link using buses with limited capacity has disaster written all over it, yet recently a new consultation regarding the E10 was released. This time, it's proposed that the E10 will run as far as Osterley Tesco, via South Ealing Road and the Sky office complex, but with short vehicles being the indefinite allocation, this seems like another ridiculous idea. For now, 8 vehicles are required for the 4bph Monday to Saturday frequency, with typical reductions to 3bph on Sundays and 2bph during the evening. It takes around 45 minutes to complete the 6 mile journey.

London United continued to use the nine ADL Enviro 200s ordered by Tellings Golden Miller in 2014, being the first euro 6 examples to grace the streets of London, but the ridiculously long dead runs meant that these vehicles were knackered and two spare 12-reg E200s were purchased for the E10 - ironically, these came from Arriva. This meant that only the logos truly revealed that the E10 was run by London United - the interior definitely suggested otherwise to the regular passenger and ultimately they wouldn't have noticed any difference when they took over. One native 08-reg Enviro 200 from the E11 made an extremely rare appearance in January 2018, but otherwise the E10 solely used its allocated buses. Although Hounslow Heath (HH) garage clearly tried their hardest with the route, I'm sure they're grateful that it has found another new home.

Having flopped attempt#1, it was quite funny to see one driver almost turn down a dead end road on the first day...

Abellio London started their new contract on Saturday 1st June 2019, with all nine new 19-reg ADL Enviro 200 MMC vehicles being ready for day one. They are identical to the E11 buses, but the two batches could not intermingle at first, due to the aforementioned delayed opening of their new garage on the Great Western Industrial Estate. The E10 is slightly more substantial than the E11 and could not possibly fit inside Southall (AB) or Hayes (WS), so ended up starting out at Twickenham (TF) depot. Dead runs from here were probably more time-consuming than those undertaken by London United and Arriva, but it was a temporary arrangement after all and the E10, along with other outcasts like the 195, 350 and U5, have returned to their respective home garages. The first month wasn't smooth, with some pretty nasty gaps in rush hour, but each week I'm seeing an improvement and soon I don't doubt that the E10 will become more reliable than it has been in years. Now that all of Abellio's E-routes are under one roof, the similar 9.0m MMCs allocated to the E5 and E11 can frequently escape onto the E10. I should also hope that they won't be as foolish as Twickenhem depot, who decided to dump a 10.5m vehicle from the R70 onto the route on one Saturday morning, with no indication whatsoever that it was actually an E10. A paper sign wouldn't hurt. Needless to say, the bus was subbed quickly. That aside, Abellio have had a promising start on both E-routes and I wish them all the best in strengthening their West London operations even further.

This Optare Solo was incredibly rapid and sounded healthy, but was withdrawn just four days after this shot was taken.

With the E11 I couldn't really discuss any fall-out as all of its buses were simply withdrawn, but the E10's ex-Arriva E200s have quickly been redeployed. If you've read my other posts on RATP, you'll know that they've become obsessed with standardising their fleet as of late, so it's no surprise that the remaining Optare Solos became a target. They predominantly worked the K5 at Epsom (EB) garage, although the ex-E10 buses have settled in comfortably and work pretty much everything, from the busy outer-suburban S1 and 463 long-distance routes, to the more localised S3 and K5. For some reason, two of the Optare Solo vehicles are still in service, but they could disappear at any moment and I urge you catch one while you still can, especially on a route as fun as the K5.

Thanks for reading and take care!

Random Observations - July 2019

I felt like doing one of these, so here is your supposedly monthly dose of ten randomly selected pictures, straight from the album.

Even though my camera often throws a hissy fit, cloudy weather does allow more photo opportunities.

After another PVR cut, the E3 predominantly uses the 60-reg ADL Enviro400H vehicles from the 94, rather than its own newer 62-reg examples. This did result in some all-over ad buses appearing on the route, which felt quite strange as usually non-red buses are confined to the streets of Central London, especially on services like the 94. The oyster hopper bus, ADH22, lasted for considerably longer than the others before having its wrap removed, so it didn't actually escape my camera. Locals were slightly bemused whenever the blue bus trundled along Northfield Avenue, rightfully questioning why the red all over rule seemed to have gone to put. I know some enthusiasts are determined to capture every advertisement wrap, but I hadn't gone after one on purpose until that grim March afternoon. Even then, this is just TfL trying to get people back onto the buses, after tearing up the network. I'm not convinced it'll work, since having a hopper fare is useless if there isn't a second bus to hop onto...

I never ask for blind changes, but it's always great to take advantage when others do!

Offering redemption is never a bad thing, but the Dart Pointer pictured above has been given a ridiculous number of chances despite its somewhat reckless behaviour. Until a few months ago, two 51-reg AT545 Darts still survived at Bexleyheath (BX) garage, but when the gearbox of LDP206 packed up, the other one sacrificed its life in order to donate its own gearbox. This worked for a couple of months, until this one also failed. Given that the refurbishment programme at this garage is still ongoing, whilst the number of spare E200s is limited, it was a miracle for Go-Ahead that the engine of the last Marshall Capital in London, DMN1, blew up at around the same time LDP206 failed. This has resulted in the latter vehicle seeing its third gearbox in the space of a year. It's really enjoyable to ride, especially as it sports the ancient Go-Ahead moquette, but I really hope that it doesn't fail again, for the sake of being able to hear the classic AT545 whine within London. In regards to the significance of the blind display above, the B12 has been operated by Arriva for many years, but I believe this very type was used when Bexleyheath (BX) garage did house the route, from inception until 2009.

Although regulation is usually a burden, in this case I beat the bus on foot and managed to snap it here in Welling.

There's been a lot of hype surrounding this particular Go-Ahead vehicle within the enthusiast community as of late, being the last PVL-class Volvo/B7TL President still at the company, coincidentally also at Bexleyheath (BX) garage. Even though it's technically designated for school services, it seems to be very popular among drivers and regularly appears on routes like the 89, 132 and 486. More recently, the 51 transferred into this base from Orpington (MB) garage, in order to accommodate the recently acquired 227 at the latter location. Bexleyheath were very eager to reblind their vehicles for this gain and within a few days, the iconic Plaxton President strayed onto the route during one evening peak. It probably wasn't as significant as it could've been though, since a couple of months earlier a farewell tour using this very vehicle involved traversing a fair chunk of the 51, with many photos on flickr after the event. There's even a poster inside the vehicle explaining the significance of PVL284 to passengers ; it's evident that Go-Ahead are determined to have the last President in London. What will be quite funny is if Metroline, with their three remaining examples, take the crown instead...

There really is a lot of yellow in this photograph, but this was another improvised spot.

Another situation where Metroline could quite easily rob an operator of their glory, is with the remaining Trident ALX400s. Most enthusiasts naturally associate this type of bus with Stagecoach London, who ran a very large number on pretty much all of their double deck services throughout the 2000s. At the moment, a few are clinging on at Bromley (TB), Plumstead (PD), Romford (NS) and Leyton (T) garages, but there are also two remaining workhorses at Metroline's Cricklewood (W) garage, primarily on the 210 service between Finsbury Park and Brent Cross. TA648 still seems very healthy and is out and about on an almost daily basis, also having the advantage of a newer Euro 4 engine. After all these years of the Metroline ALXs being forgotten, perhaps in a few months it could be their time to shine.

Comparing the generations of Wrightbus vehicles...

Over the past month I've dedicated most of my trips out to snapping and riding the elderly London buses, given that so many types will presumably become extinct later in 2019. Go-Ahead London are now the sole operator of Wrightbus Gemini B7TLs, although the ones at Northumberland Park (NP) and Croydon (C) garages seem to have no intention of leaving any time soon. One still remains at Merton (AL) garage, with WVL119 significantly outliving the two others which survived into this calendar year. It was an enjoyable ride, but I'm left to question why this particular vehicle was granted a stay of execution, given that it's so unhealthy. Seriously, that engine does not sound happy, yet several enthusiasts commented on how competent its companions were. I'd still recommend going after it, but if you want a fast ride then expect to be disappointed.

Go-Ahead are the biggest operator in London, but they do seem to be abnormally dominant in this post.

Scania OmniCity vehicles are still relatively new in comparison to the other relics seen earlier, but I'd certainly class them as endangered. Every operator that still has them seems to want them gone as soon as possible, which is frustrating as I really like their quirkiness. London United and Stagecoach still have a long way to go, but Go-Ahead are almost there with just 6 examples remaining. Initially, they were all at Silvertown (SI) garage, staying on after the D8, which they were contractually allocated to, was lost to Tower Transit in September. However, the enforcement of the ultra low emission zone meant two of them could no longer act as spares for the 135 after its PVR increase, so a direct swap occurred at the last minute. Two compatible 'classic' ADL Enviro400Hs were sent up North, whilst the transfer of two OmniCitys reintroduced the type to Orpington (MB) garage. They seem to like the 353 more than anything, but by complete coincidence I managed to snap one on the 654 school service, which actually offers a quicker route between Addington and Orpington than the mainstream 353. One did sneak out onto the 320, but it couldn't travel beyond Downham due to a green bus corridor in Catford. For all of the bus youtubers, 969 was very fast when I rode it one month ago, but the same can't be said for its sibling.

This location was a massive risk, but I somehow didn't get bowled and could move on after my first attempt.

Unusually, for around a week at the start of July, Holloway (HT) garage started chucking out a load of Volvo/B5LH MCV EvoSeti vehicles onto the 390, a very high profile New Routemaster service between Victoria and Archway. Usually, whenever there was a shortage of the LT-class NRMs, the 91 would receive the spare conventionals, but for some reason this practise seems to have been dropped since the introduction of the ULEZ - only one EvoSeti has worked the route since the type was drafted into Holloway. Nonetheless, I feel that these buses really suit the 390 and the odd appearances can perhaps give us an insight into what this service would be allocated if the proposal to build a large number of New Routemasters wasn't acted upon. I'd really love to see one on the 24, especially as it passes to Abellio in November, but this even more significant route has somehow only seen one conventional vehicle in the six years of its New Routemaster operation, so such a working is incredibly unlikely.

For once, Metroline heavily invested in refurbishing a vehicle. Ironic, considering it's hardly used.

Those of you who know me well will be familiar with my struggle in catching this elusive vehicle - I finally managed to tick it off in July, having been at the top of my priority list since it emerged in December. Most spare buses tend to be used pretty regularly, but this one is quite literally only sent out in emergencies, often having two to three months off road at a time. Its track record on LVF is astonishingly poor, having made only six appearances since the end of March. The reason why OS68 is so important is because it has only recently been with Metroline. It used to operate the Hampstead Garden Suburb services at Arriva's Garston (GR) garage, but as the new Metroline Optare Solo SR vehicles arrived so much later than the contract date, the old OSs were temporarily assimilated by Cricklewood (W) garage. Metroline were pretty honest about their feelings towards these knackered vehicles, which would break down all the time and made operating these pretty straightforward routes immensely difficult. Despite all their nightmare experiences, the company soon realised that having only one spare vehicle was a major risk, especially as no other buses can physically fit onto the H-routes. This resulted in OS68, which was clearly their favourite, being heavily refurbished, returning to service in December 2018. It still sounds very unhealthy, with the roaring being particularly concerning, but from an enthusiast's perspective more variety can only ever be a good thing. It's also quite funny watching the bemused locals as they board the bus, recognising that it's ancient, but also having the Metroline interior, which they would see as new.

The fares for these shuttles was extortionate, but they do look very fun.

The annual Wimbledon Tennis championships are a fascinating time for enthusiasts, even for those like myself who aren't particularly interested in the sport. Go-Ahead are given the responsibility of operating the shuttle bus services which carry spectators to the event from many different locations, such as Wimbledon Station, Southfields Station and South Thames College (Park & Ride). There's even a direct service all the way from King's Cross St Pancras, but a single fare was a tenner for that one. The commercial services fleet has a plethora of different bus types, with almost all being put to use during the tennis. Brand new classic E400s run alongside open top Gemini B7TLs and even AEC Routemasters, whilst the convenience of having brand new Enviro400H MMCs for the gain of route 208 meant there were never any vehicle shortages. The main 840 service seemed to be almost always rammed, whilst the other routes were less heavily used, but their loads are still clearly seen as justifiable.

Wow, the 390 really is an attention seeker. Two pics in one post! This one didn't even make flickr as I have so many of the vehicle, at a number of locations.

Enthusiasts always rave about the Showbus event that happens in September, but until Sunday I hadn't appreciated the scale of the Alton Bus Rally. It seems like a truly spectacular event, with hundreds of vintage and modern vehicles on display, as well as rides to the stunning Hampshire countryside. I was only able to attend for 50 minutes, but in that time I took over 200 photos, with most of these taken on a rather small patch of grass which rather brilliantly allowed spotters to witness buses leaving the site, as well as those running to the stands on feeder services. I highly recommend going next year (there are even free connecting bus services to London), as this sort of variety and the number of rides seems to be pretty unique. It's quite hilarious that out of all the photos, another 390 was chosen, but I'm really glad that I managed to snap these RMLs with the skirt, as they've avoided me for ages. It's also quite a significant route in regards to Routemaster history, as it was only created in 2003 but used these vehicles from birth, albeit only for a year. It was definitely the last brand new service to commence with this London icon.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Barnes Buses, Missing Their Victorian Splendour?

Unlike Hammersmith Bridge, which banners have promised will be restored to its 'Victorian splendour', the inner London bus network is quite literally being ripped to pieces. Even in the suburbs, since the aforementioned vital road link closed to traffic over safety concerns, Barnes and Roehampton residents have had their fairly comprehensive array of bus services altered, making public transport almost unusable. There's SWR, but they've been having their own problems lately.

I wasn't happy that this wasn't in focus at the time, but at this rate the shot may not be repeatable.

Hammersmith Bridge has always been a burden to bus service planners, frequently being closed for maintenance over safety concerns, whilst the weight limit prevented routes like the 33 and 72 from using double deckers, even though they were ridiculously overcrowded. Even newer single deck vehicles were banned from travelling across the bridge, which created all sorts of problems during the tendering process. It's probably why Dart Pointers lasted so long on the 72. Restrictions were put in place a few years ago and TfL did curtail the high frequency number 283 to Hammersmith Bus Station, so it no longer crossed the Thames to serve Barnes. However, the policy which only allowed one bus to cross the bridge at a time was quickly abandoned, so five bus routes continued to use the structure into 2019, with three of them being particularly frequent. Back in December, I decided to walk across the bridge and every time a bus gingerly trundled along the whole thing started shaking. It was always enjoyable to take the bus across the Thames this way, but the indefinite closure on Thursday 11th April 2019 was somewhat inevitable, exacerbated by Transport for London and Hammersmith & Fulham council refusing to co-operate with each other.

Double whammy, as this MMC was actually rare. They were banned when Hammersmith Bridge was still open.

Initially, once the bridge closed, TfL decided to curtail every route from the Barnes direction to the South Side of Hammersmith Bridge, whilst route 72 (the only through service to beyond Hammersith) had to forfeit a lengthy diversion via Chiswick Bridge. This arrangement wasn't particularly practical and 72's were losing so much time that the section North of Shepherd's Bush was often abandoned, with the 4bph 272 soaking up the punters for East Acton. The stand by Lonsdale Road would often overflow, but arguably having four extra services terminating at a destination which was only ever used as a curtailment point was never going to work. That said, the locals didn't seem to mind simply alighting at Castelnau and walking along the bridge to reach Hammersmith, or even sitting on the 72 for a good 40 minutes on its painfully slow diversion. On Saturday 18th May though, a new set of long-term changes (for a summary of this, click here) were introduced in an attempt to make the Barnes bus network more sustainable, accompanied by a consultation which seems a tad pointless as the changes were going ahead regardless. One particularly controversial aspect of the package is the fact that the long-established and extremely popular 72 now no longer runs South of the Thames, depriving Barnes and Roehampton residents of their only bus link heading North. It's still pretty well used between East Acton and Hammersmith, still warranting the high frequency, but interestingly instead of giving up at the bus station, walking across as a method of transport has been encouraged. The 72 takes passengers one stop further to the North side of Hammersmith Bridge, with streets like Bridge View gaining a bus service, even though vehicles don't actually stop there. Generally, this change hasn't gone very well, with Roehampton residents furious that their direct bus service to Westfield and Hammersmith has been removed, but even those North of the Thames are frustrated that getting to Queen Mary's Hospital now takes so much longer. The section between Hammersmith Bus Station and Hammersmith Bridge isn't completely empty, but there's been lots of support for a full restoration of the 72 to Roehampton. As usual, information about how the arrangements for bus services has changed was not readily available on day one, with some 72's pointlessly filling up at the bus station, only for everyone to be chucked off again a stop later. TfL have promoted an alternative method for travelling between Roehampton and Hammersmith, but it requires two buses and takes much longer...

TfL usually aren't a fan of scheduled curtailments, but an exception has been made this time.

By taking a 265 from Roehampton to Putney, then changing onto the 220, destinations like Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush are still reachable, but rather atrociously getting to Queen Charlotte's Hospital and East Acton requires catching another bus, which is hardly convenient even with the hopper fare allowing unlimited changes within the 70-minute time window. Due to the predicted increase in demand, TfL decided that some extra 265's running only between Putney and Roehampton would be necessary, but interestingly these are operated out of Shepherd's Bush (S) garage rather than Tolworth, where the main service is based. They've emerged in the form of 11-reg 'classic' ADL Enviro 200s, so are much older than the MMCs they run alongside, but it's convenient (made free by the 72 cut) and the vehicles have been refurbished recently. From my observations, the extra 265s aren't rammed, but are definitely well used and a frequency increase on this section was mandatory, but giving the 220 no enhancements at all hasn't paid off. This route was already exceptionally busy and buses are now frequently leaving people behind, with displaced 265 customers resulting in vehicles reaching their capacity at Putney. It's also a nuisance that people aren't able to walk across the bridge from Roehampton, since there's no longer a direct bus service to Castelnau and getting on a number 33 at Barnes Station is virtually impossible now. People are still determined to walk across the bridge, as ultimately Hammersmith is a far superior town centre for leisure, whilst the tube station boasts four lines rather than just the one. Technically, the 33 can take double deckers now, so it'll be interesting to see if short DD workings are introduced between Richmond and Hammersmith, as even though the 265 extras are well-used, the 33 definitely needs them more.

On the 209 it's quite fun seeing if any buses have more than 5 people on board....harder than you might think.

This is probably the most controversial re-routing, with a ridiculously high number of official complaints, along with some grumblings on twitter. I believe that the 209 actually exists because of Hammersmith Bridge, as the 9 originally went as far as Mortlake but eventually double deck vehicles could no longer use the crossing. It's always been very busy, as a convenient shuttle from Mortlake to Barnes High Street and Hammersmith. Buses were still pretty well loaded even when they were curtailed to Castelnau and an end-to-end journey often took less than ten minutes, but stand space was an issue and now the 209 terminates at Putney Bridge, with buses rather stupidly turning off at Barnes Pond, not serving the main high street, and continuing along Lower Richmond Road. In theory this change was all well and good, since buses would bring Mortlake residents quickly and efficiently to a tube station, but also pretty close to the shops around Putney. In practise, this change has been a complete disaster, with the main problem being that buses hardly stop anywhere in Barnes, so not only has a link to most of the high street been lost, but people who live near the Southern end of Castelnau can't take advantage of their frequent link to Putney. Buses are carrying no more than five people in the middle of rush hour, whilst the remaining services to the South side of Hammersmith Bridge are crush loaded. The lack of passengers could also be down to Putney not offering anywhere near as many train services as Hammersmith, whilst shopping facilities also aren't great. It's also frustrating that the 209 continues to run every five minutes, being excessively frequent in comparison to almost every other Barnes bus service. To make matters worse, the 209 changes operator in just a few weeks time, so any last minute diversion would be slightly awkward. In short, the re-route to Putney is a complete flop and residents of Mortlake/Barnes would much rather have a usable service that takes them close enough to Hammersmith, which remains to be their desired destination.

Whilst Metroline quickly sorted out their blinds for the 209, RATP are still lagging behind.

In an attempt to compensate for the loss of the 209 and the frequent link from Barnes High Street to Hammersmith Bridge it used to provide, route 419 has been diverted at the South side of the Thames, down Castelnau to terminate at Barnes Pond. This means that it almost completes an entire circuit of Barnes and is by no means direct, but the round-the-corner link is an incredibly popular one and the 419 has been overwhelmed recently, with the 15 minute frequency being inadequate. I'd argue that the route is actually busier than when it reached Hammersmith, not because the absurd routeing in Barnes is convenient, but simply due to the fact there are no supporting services. The 209 is now useless, there's no point in trying to get on a 33 along Castelnau, whilst the 485 and 533 (see later) are horrendously infrequent. It's also struggling as Mortlake residents, who do still have the 209, are refusing to use it as they'd rather go to Hammersmith, so effectively a 4bph service is having to fill in for one which used to have 12bph, as well as handling its own passengers.

The 533 did actually exist before the indefinite closure of the bridge, but London United operated it on a temporary basis.

It's interesting that TfL have assigned a number in the 500-series for this potentially long-term service, which also went through the formal tendering process. Nonetheless, Metroline at Brentford (AH) garage have been successful in gaining a one-year contract for this small route, slightly offsetting the loss of route 209 in August, but ironically it uses existing ADL Enviro 200s which are no longer required by the latter service as a result of its infamous diversion. The 533 runs at a dismal 30 minute frequency and is the only route connecting the North and South sides of Hammersmith Bridge. Starting at the lower bus station, which really does feel quite desolate with the loss of four terminating services, it runs non-stop down the A4 to the Hogarth Roundabout, before serving Chiswick Bridge and Mortlake High Street. Buses then operate in a one-way loop from Barnes Bridge Station, almost identical to the incomplete circuit of the 419, serving Lonsdale Road, Castelnau and Barnes Pond, before returning to Hammersmith. It only operates every 30 minutes, as TfL assumed it'd only be used to transport the elderly (even if this was the case, it's unfair to make them wait for so long in the cold). What they failed to realise is that the 533 has many other responsibilities, offering residents of Chiswick South, where public transport services are limited, an extremely fast and useful link to Hammersmith. It also gives a half-decent alternative to the 419 if you live near Mortlake or Barnes Bridge, either for walking across the bridge from Lonsdale Road, or reaching Hammersmith itself via Chiswick Bridge. The 2bph service is completely inappropriate - at the start almost every 533 was oversubscribed, with poor Barnes residents having such high hopes that it would be a saving grace, but recently the uncomfortable travelling experience and diabolical reliability has resulted in much emptier buses. It only has a PVR of 3, but I see the route bunching on a daily basis on LVF, which just shows how much traffic chaos has been created as a result of the closure, but also emphasises how urgently the frequency needs to be upped. Legend has it that a golf buggy service will commence on Hammersmith Bridge to transport the elderly, but the 533 is still a useful route and also a very scenic one - if a bus does actually show up I don't doubt the ride will be enjoyable.

Although I haven't managed to sample the newly created N33/N72 yet, I've heard many reports that buses are carrying healthy loads. The two routes did run 24/7 before the cutback and it would be unacceptable to cut people off from Hammersmith even in the middle of the night, but the Castelnau area has lost its 24-hour service as a result of the alterations. The N33 turns off at Barnes Station to run via Putney Bridge, whilst the N72 also goes this way after starting from Roehampton.

Overall, the Hammersmith Bridge related bus changes are a shambles. The general public were clueless for several days after they were implemented due to a lack of publicity, whilst almost all of the modified routes are either over-provided (209) or under-resourced (33, 419, 533). By closing the main road link out of Barnes, residents who are trapped inside the meander will already struggle to get out and about, but having an appalling public transport system just makes the problem ten times worse. I really hope TfL take on board the advice they've been given by bus users, as at the moment the network around Barnes is such a mess, it's easier to just walk everywhere.

Thanks for reading and take care!