Bus cuts to Bluewater from London postponed

Plans to shorten some bus routes from London to Bluewater have been postponed and will not be introduced in January 2020.

Back in August 2018 this site revealed plans to cut back the 428 from Bluewater, Darenth Valley Hospital and Dartford and place the terminus in Crayford which would mean a very short trip from Erith, where the route begins.

The 428 would terminate in Crayford if plans proceed

Route 492 would stop in Dartford.

TfL state:

“We received a large number of responses to the consultation on these proposals and are currently analysing these. Whilst this is happening the routes will remain as they are. The proposals will not be implemented in January 2020.”

The 492 would stop at Dartford town centre

Route 96 is expected to pick up the slack if changes do proceed. A number of reasons are behind the move, with TfL not particularly keen on paying to operate buses beyond their jurisdiction without support from Kent County Council.

TfL are in financial trouble due to a £700 million annual cut in funds from central Government and delays to Crossrail. The London Mayor’s fare freeze is also claimed to be hampering income – though others argue without it public transport use would fall.

 

------------------

Adverts are far from enough to cover site costs and my rent.

You can support me via Paypal here

Another option is via Patreon by clicking here

You can also buy me a beer/coffee at Ko-fi here

There's also a Facebook page for the site here

Many thanks

J Smith

I've lived in south east London most of my life growing up in Greenwich borough and working in the area for many years. The site has contributors on occasion and we cover many different topics. Living and working in the area offers an insight into what is happening locally.

2 thoughts on “Bus cuts to Bluewater from London postponed

  • I am waiting for TFL to announce if the changes to bus routes 428 and 492 are still to go ahead. London.Bus.Route.Net still as the changes to route 428 dated as possibly January 2020. But still no mention of route 492.

    It will be a shame to see one of both of these bus routes withdrawn from serving Bluewater.

    Reply
  • I have just checked the London.Bus.Route.net site again this morning a few minutes ago and the Janaury 2020 date for route 428 as been removed as of yesterday evening 04/01/20.

    I am hoping this could be a could a good sign and the cuts to routes 428 and 492 may now be postponed permanenly after review.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.