176 bus to be cut in November

[rbmartin]

TfL have tendered the 176 route to Go-Ahead with new hybrid buses, however there will be a big reduction in bus frequency to every 10 minutes during the day, it's currently (8 daytime, 7 peak).

The new contract starts on November 11th.

[Robin Orton]

Do we know the rationale for this reduction?

[stuart]

Do we know the rationale for this reduction?

It will reduce the overcrowding 'cos there will be less buses to overcrowd.

I'm guessing this is the fallout from Boris' refusal to fund the required number of replacement buses and leaving the TfL budget in chaos by stealing budget to waste on the Garden Bridge, his signature' bus design (also by the same designer - strange?) - oh and the Air thingy that at great expense services has just one commuter.

As I won't mention - London and this country is paying a heavy price for this man's ego.

Stuart

[JayB]

But i get this bus ( i hesitate to use the word "service") frequently and often you can hardly squeeze on in town as it is! Plus i frequently wait up to 25 minutes rather than the advertised 8 minutes. We could really do with an express service such as the X68 down here- Sadiq's hopper fare is useless as it often takes more than one hour just crawling here on the 176.The dozy 20 mph zones have made it even worse, ditto cycling.

I notice the nice new number 12s to Dulwich library are far more frequent though-wonder why that is? Some one did a map of New York based on travelling times correlated to deprivation and surprise, the poorer central areas were "further away" in travel time terms than affluent out-of-town suburbs. We really need some better solutions and a radical rethink for SE London. One proposed tube line extension ( this has been mooted since i arrived in London in 1980!) is hardly a solution and just kicks the issue into the long grass.
On the positive side i find both the 202 and 450 services have improved over the last couple of years.

[rbmartin]

I notice the nice new number 12s to Dulwich library are far more frequent though-wonder why that is?

The 12s have also seen their share of cuts in recent years, going from every 4 mins to 5 mins but are still more frequent than the 176.

Going back to the 176, while it has some reliability issues, it's still a lot better than the 197 where you can wait ages, get turfed off at Dulwich Library or Peckham Rye and yet this route will have to take some of the slack from the 176 when it's cut.

[syd-gal]

Sometimes the 176s are quite frequent, other times you wait forever. The one good thing about them is they are 24 hour, so at least you can get back to Kirkdale late night.

[The Clown]

Yes, must protect this - not everyone can afford an Uber - particularly when they have already paid for a travel card.....

[alywin]

This is shocking, and needs to be resisted. Have you *tried* getting on one of these things in town during busy periods?! (That said, I believe that advertised frequencies are often only guidelines: I certainly see more 75s per hour at times than are allegedly scheduled).

I've tried the "Hopper" fare out once on a London-bound 176: I just about managed it by changing onto a 68 outside Kings, but it was pretty tight. If I'd had to wait long for a bus I wouldn't have succeeded.