A bus running through Greenwich and Blackheath’s controversial low-traffic neighbourhood has been reduced in frequency – reducing access to the borough’s only general hospital.
The 386 service between Blackheath Village and Woolwich, which serves Queen Elizabeth Hospital, has only run with three buses an hour rather than four since November 29 – the worst level of service on the route in more than 20 years.
The route along Vanbrugh Hill and Westcombe Park Road provides an alternative to drivers who are barred from using north-south roads east of Greenwich Park during weekday rush hours, and also serves John Roan School. A final, formal consultation is now taking place on making the low-traffic neighbourhood permanent.
The 386, which will now run every 20 minutes seven days a week, the only service linking the hospital with Greenwich and much of Blackheath, passing the site of the old Greenwich District Hospital, which closed in 2001. Its route includes Old Dover Road, where Greenwich Council plans to sell a car park at auction on Thursday.
Greenwich Council told The Greenwich Wire it was not consulted by TfL about the change to the 386 or about cuts to three other services in the borough, which came into effect on Saturday.
Those cuts include two other services to the hospital. The 291, serving the Woodlands Estate in Plumstead, was cut from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes. The 178, which runs between Lewisham and Woolwich and serves the fast-growing area of new developments at Kidbrooke, was cut from about every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes. The cuts come despite TfL pledging to improve hospital services in recent years.
Away from the hospital, the 51, which links Woolwich with Welling, Sidcup and Orpington was cut from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes. The cuts to buses in Woolwich come despite the success of the Elizabeth Line station there, usage of which grew to 13.8 million last year, according to the latest figures.
The cuts to the 386 were not mentioned on a Transport for London webpage which details changes to the capital’s bus network. While notices were put up at bus stops, new timetables have not been, leaving passengers without smartphones wondering when their service will arrive.
Patrick Ives, from the East Greenwich Residents Association, told The Greenwich Wire: “Queen Elizabeth Hospital is already difficult to get to. Anyone without a car or someone to give them a lift will find themselves dependent on expensive taxis or having to call an ambulance.
“Curtailing even further the only direct bus service to the hospital from the entire western end of the borough is unacceptable. We expect support from the council in ensuring TfL reverse this appalling decision.”
Matt Hartley, the Greenwich Conservative leader, said: “Labour’s approach to reducing emissions has always been to punish people for driving, rather than focusing on improving public transport to incentivise people to use the bus more often.
“These new cuts to bus frequencies will only increase the sense of injustice people feel over Greenwich Council’s low traffic neighbourhoods – leaving people with even fewer public transport options and the inconvenience and costs being imposed. I hope that Greenwich Labour councillors will see that the rationale behind their policy just became even weaker than it was to start with and think again, but I won’t hold my breath.”
A spokesperson for Greenwich Green Party said of the cut to the 386: “We will fight this decision by TfL which goes directly against the aims of the mayor of London to reduce dependency on cars. This bus provides a much-needed service to residents and is vital for many to reach the hospital. Reducing its service makes no sense.”
TfL told The Greenwich Wire that three buses per hour on the 386 was enough to meet current and expected demand at the busiest time and location of the day, w at Woolwich Arsenal station in the evening peak towards Blackheath. Greenwich Council had been notified before the cut was made, it added.
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of transport service planning, said: “We regularly review our services according to customer demand. Following a detailed review, we have made changes to the timetable of route 386.
“The change in frequency allows us to operate the service efficiently to meet the current and expected demand during the busiest times and customers should see minimal impact to their journeys. The new timetable and revised frequency complements the other changes to bus routes 178 and 291 in the area and will allow buses more time to complete their journeys, which should increase reliability and match capacity closer to demand.”
A council spokesperson said: “The council’s transport team were not consulted by TfL about their new bus timetables. We understand the need for public transport to be delivered according to passenger use. We are committed to making it cleaner, greener and easier to move around the borough, so we will be reaching out to TfL about how these changes affect the local community.”
Updated at 10.30am on Monday with quotes from the council and the Greens.
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
Comments are closed.