Bus use doubles at Elizabeth line station areas since opening
A new Transport for London report shows that bus usage to stations on some stations on the Canary Wharf branch have doubled.
Abbey Wood and Custom House have seen the biggest increase. TfL state the new line has “also had an impact on the role the local bus network performs as a feeder.
“Bus boardings around Abbey Wood and Custom House stations more than doubled with the opening of Elizabeth line, and those at Woolwich increased from 28,500 to 31,500 per weekday.”
This is likely to be a factor in news announced this past week that the Superloop express bus network is now set to extend from Bexleyheath to Abbey Wood and head onto Thamesmead.
A route is planned to head all the way to Bromley via Sidcup.
Both Custom House and Abbey Wood are also set to see substantial house building in their respective areas that are both walkable range and close via buses.
With government enforcing cuts on Southeastern, more will take a bus to the Elizabeth line.
Previous changes
In advance of Elizabeth line services commencing at Abbey Wood bus changes were made. Route 301 was introduced linking Abbey Wood to Bexleyheath, Thamesmead then onto Woolwich. It did see other routes cut back though such as the B11.
The 472 from North Greenwich to Thamesmead was also extended to Abbey Wood.
Sadly the design of new bus stops leave much to be desired at Abbey Wood.
They were moved from a wide area of paving to a section on a flyover where space is constrained. See the impact of that above.
However, some buses do use bus stops under the flyover including the newly extended 472.
Across London increases have been elsewhere according to a report before a TfL meeting next week:
“Bus boardings around stations on the Western section have increased by 15 per cent, on the Eastern section by 13 per cent, and on the Central section outside Zone 1 by 22 per cent.”
There should have been an express bus service on route 122 Plumstead Garage to Crystal Palace serving the South Circular including Westhorne Avenue which is only served by the 122 bus route. South circular is a very busy road with heavy traffic and levels of air pollution along the length of the South Circukar..
Alternatively route 122 needs urgent frequency increases at all times of the day evenings and weekends. .
Good to hear that passenger usage in now growing again With bus routes serving Stations seeing a rise in passengers.
I noticed on a bus stop that from Saturday 29th July 2023 route 486 will run every 30 minutes on all nights of the week. Changes to day time service. Monday to Friday daytime every 10 minutes. Saturday daytimes every 12 minutes. Evenings and Sunday’s every 15 minutes. This will provide a night service for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Route 122 does need an express route and should have an additional superloop route running along side existing buses on route 123. Alternatively route 122 Plumstead Garage to Crystal Palace needs major frequency increases on all days of the week.
* route 122 not 123 typo
We need some express routes across London and not just around the outskirts of Lonfon. Including express routes to and from Central London when ULEZ expanda from the 29th August 2023. More localised journeys are expected to be made by bus. I do understand why the Mayor Of London and TFL cannot understand this. Local bus services need improving too.
We need to see major bus service improvements on the area including reversing some of the cuts to bus services introduced by Sadiq Khan Mayor of Lonon is 2015 and 2018 along witb many of the vurs to bus service frequencies that has been since. On lncluding restoring roure 53 back in to Central London to serve Charing Cross Station now we have lost most of the services to Charing Cross on the Woolwich and Greenwich Line. The Junilee Line Station at Charing Cross is also closed. People use Charing Cross alot for Covent Garden, The Strand. Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and the Wesr End. Including workers in hospitality etc on low incomes.