More bus cuts to hit North Greenwich services
TfL have announced (well put out in a PDF) that the 161 bus route from North Greenwich to Chislehurst via Charlton, Woolwich and Eltham will see peak time frequency cuts from March 17th.
Before mass-panic breaks out it’s only a cut from 6 an hour to around 5.
But still, this chipping away at services is concerning. Its starts with a small reduction which many shrug off then could increase months down the line.
The cumulative effect could be very damaging over coming years.
The reason is clear – TfL have seen large cuts from central government, the fares freeze has cost additional amounts and passenger numbers are stagnant (though TfL argue they would likely have reduced further without a freeze).
And this bus route passes through some very busy areas. North Greenwich and the Peninsula is not getting any quieter.
Ikea opens before the year is out, St Mary Magdalene school for 1,600+ pupils beins a large-scale expansion this year and of course thousands more homes are rising.
It comes mere weeks after both Greenwich and Labour Tories pushed for better and faster services from Eltham.
This move follows other cuts recently announced. Consultation was also held on cutting the 472 bus frequency though the 180 would be redirected from Lewisham to north Greenwich.
853 has also covered south east London stealth cuts here.
Diamond Geezer has been doing the same on a London-wide basis dating back to last September here.
On the bright side hybrid buses are being introduced on the route.
We need improved bus links to North Greenwich Station (Jubilee Line) if we are going to maintain inter grated transport links with in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. I guess people travelling between Woolwich and North Greenwich Station will have routes 161 180 and 472 running a more direct route to North Greenwich Station via Lower Charlton when route 180 is eventually re-routed to serve North Greenwich.
If we continue to see cuts to our bus services has the population in Greenwich and neighbouring Boroughs continue to grow following major housing developments people who use the bus now may revert back to their cars if the buses are full and passing bus stops leaving them behind waiting for the next bus.
I use the 161 most mornings at peak time and it is rarely full. Evenings are a different matter as loads of people living on the peninsula get on at North Greenwich station only to get off at the first stop (usually having pressed the bell before the bus has left the bus station and refusing to go upstairs even if the bus is rammed, not that I am in any way judging these people). A solution to the one-stop upper deck blockers who live on the peninsula and who sometimes prevent folk with longer journeys from getting on could be a shuttle bus between the various developments on the peninsula and NG station.
TFL have no money there staff are losing there jobs and on the 26th March There is a new company taking over so either deleted staff move over or they may lose there jobs
I’m one of the locals considering buying a car (I haven’t had one for well over a decade). Peak time buses to and from North Greenwich already get pretty crammed; rerouting the 180 reduces the number of buses serving East Greenwich->Charlton->Woolwich.
It seems commuter traffic is prioritised over local but, as this site often highlights, not much is done locally to make non-motorised options more desirable.
If you are considering buying a car just for getting about, you will have to factor in the cost of parking when you get to your destination. Parking charges in Greenwich are very expensive and only marginally less so in Lewisham, although there is the unofficial car parks that used to belong to Tesco’s in Lewisham pending the start of building work. A word of warning, though, there is no lighting and the area below platform 4 of Lewisham Station is pitch black after dark.
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