No electric buses for key route from Greenwich and around Silvertown tunnel
Transport for London have extended a contract to Arriva to operate bus route 335 between North Greenwich station and Kidbrooke.
Existing 13 year old buses will be kept on the route.
That may seem pretty surprising given it serves North Greenwich near the Silvertown tunnel and one may have speculated electric buses would be insisted upon to mitigate against a brand new road tunnel. If for little else, PR purposes.
For all of TfL’s publicity in support of the tunnel, when delving into their very own documents there’s been an increase in projected traffic through Greenwich borough.
Bus downgrades
There was also a fair bit of disappointment when Transport for London revealed planned buses through the new tunnel with just one new route and one extended – the SL4 and extended 129 – with most of Greenwich borough benefit seeing no benefit.
Early plans for 38 buses per hour are now down to as little as 21 per hour of new buses per hour on two routes.
Previous ideas for a buses through the tunnel from Eltham and Kidbrooke which could have included the 335 before plans to serve certain towns were dropped.
What Transport for London eventually agreed was a route from Grove Park which becomes a no-stopping express almost immediately upon entering Greenwich borough and extending the existing 129.
The 129 however swings east immediately after crossing and doesn’t serve major areas of employment such as Canary Wharf.
It’s hard to see who or why many would ever use the 129 from south of the river given the DLR duplicates future bus destinations and is quicker. It also serves few major areas of employment or leisure north of the river.
As for Kidbrooke – with doesn’t have the DLR nearby unlike the 129 route from Lewisham and Greenwich – it’s seeing more than 6,000 homes across many developments but no new bus north of the river.
Rail
Kidbrooke does have a railway station of course but the timetable is still below 2020 levels after previous cuts.
Gaps in the timetable of 23 minutes remain. Hardly turn-up-and-go and suitable for such an areas of high housing and population growth.
With Southeastern not capitalising on potential custom it would seem an obvious area for TfL to embrace with a cross-river bus.
After 619 homes are being developed by TfL themselves. Around 5,300 are from Berkeley Homes with 500+ from Greenwich Council.
Taken in the round, keeping such old buses and not extending routes across the Thames seems a reticent and conservative step given potential custom.
New electric buses heading to east London would really benefit major residential growth areas like Kidbrooke, but no sign of it happening.
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This is what we have come to expect from Sadiq Khan Mayor of London and TFL Khan promised 5 bus routes through the Silvertown Tunnel to stop the campaigners. But once he got what he wanted he immediately axed three of the proposed routes including the route which was going to run via Eltham Kidbrooke and Charlton. He subsequently also went ahead with his notorious ULEZ expansion scheme.
Electric buses are taken a lot longer to be delivered with some operators waiting a year or more for some electric buses to be delivered.
Route 335 should be a candidate for upgrading to Electric or at least smart hybrid buses as serves Greenwich Borough which is heavily congested and has high levels of air pollution
TFL and Mayor of London need to look at reinstating the proposed bus through the Silvertown Tunnel from Eltham, Kidbroke and Charlton. Along with a new route from Thamesmead. Abbey Wood, Plumstead and Woolwich areas.
I could not agree with you more Graham. Local MP”s and Councillors should be demanding Sadiq Khan lMayor of London and TFL look at bus services serving the Silvertown Tunnel again as a matter of urgency including the proposed bus route serving Eltham Kidbrooke and Charlton.
When a contract says existing buses it does not necessarily mean the buses currently on the route.
It means buses within the operator’s fleet at the time the new contract starts.
On most days the 132 bus bypasses the rush-hour jam on the A102 and takes Westcombe Hill instead. It still runs non-stop, so doesn’t pick up the passengers waiting outside Westcombe Park Station, but carries on despite the fact it’s not on its assigned route.
The failure of practicality here seems to be ingrained. When the tunnel is a practical concern some of these things may be ironed out but I suspect not to any useful conclusion.
Running the 132 down Westhorne Hill will annoy residents who said too many buses were using the road and campaigned to try and stop the 335 serving Westcombe Hill when the route was introduced.
I would have run the 335 from Blackheath Royal Standard long Charlton Road Charlton Church Lane, Anchor & Hope Lane and Bugsby Way and on to North Greenwich.
I am guessing if traffic is bad on the A102 towards Blackwall Tunnel the new Superloop route SL4 from Grove Park due to start operating early in 2025 will be diverted from Sun in The Sands via Westcombe Hill has the 132 does now. .
Hard to know for sure until the new tunnels open and the tolls are implemented.
Charlton Church Lane already has 2 routes using it and buses often struggle to pass each other. A third route would be far too much.
Well Arriva Dartford garage, where 335 is ran from, cannot accommodate electric buses anyway, as the land was deemed unsuitable for one reason or another.
So either the operator has to find alternative land, or another operator would need to take it on, which didn’t happen on this occasion. 269, 99 and 401 were recently lost however. Bearing in mind overall existing garage space in the Southeast is limited as it is.
That is very true. It is also rumoured Morden Wharf Garage by North Greenwich may have to relocate in the future as the land where the Gargae is located was earmarked for future development.
Electric buses have to be parked in dedicated areas of the bus garage for charging unlike conventional diesel buses.
So like everything else electric buses come witb pros and cons.
More bus garages are likely to be needed to.meet demand for new vehicles and bus services in London has the population continues to grow.
If anyone thought traffic & congestion ar
were bad now, it’s sadly going to get a whole lot worse once Silvertown opens.
Utter travesty that billions have been spent to make London traffic even worse.
Bit of an exaggeration about that.
It’s the best of a bad deal, sadly. In the early 90s the original East London River Crossing (ELRIC) was set to take traffic across the river past Plumstead. Between the Conservative Council; the erroneous reports that parts of Oxleas Woods would be razed to make a bypass; and the court challenges from various landowner groups, the best option for a second connection between the A2 and A13 was killed off after fifteen years trying to get it through. Bear in mind that at the time the area was perfect for the infrastructure, but campaigns by the local council and various interest groups saw ELRIC put to bed. What’s left is the only bit of land that can be safely used for a crossing – it’s a bad option but as the recent Northbound fire showed, a new crossing is desperately needed.
I actually quite like the buses used on route 335 by Arriva. They seem reliable and I have not experienced any problems using the 335 route.
It is taking too long for electric buses to be delivered to bus operators. Hence why some contracts are being re-awarded new contracts for 3 or 5 years with existing buses from with in the companies bus fleet.
It has taken nearly two years to prepare for the electic buses to go into service on route 358 Crystal Palace to Orpington Station.
Unfortunately like with Electric cars the infrastructure is not really there and takes him to install. There is also a waiting list for Electric buses to be built due to increased demand for electric buses across the UK and not only in London.
I take it that the buses that are 13 years old are still as reliable and functional. Unless Transport for London is to order more new hybrid/battery buses and to reinstate some of the bus routes that have been cut back because of money.
Why not replace the buses that are 13 years old if the Mayor of London and TfL wants to order more hybrid and battery buses. And to cascade the older London buses to elsewhere that might need more extra buses.