Transport for London (TFL) is to push ahead with changes to local bus services to coincide with the removal of the Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street one-way system.
Earlier this year TfL consulted on proposals which would remove all buses from Gower Street, run buses in both directions along Tottenham Court Road, and replace the four northbound and southbound bus stops with only three stops in each direction.
“This proposal will help to simplify the bus network as passengers would be able to get on and off their bus, in both directions, on Tottenham Court Road. Some journey time improvements are also expected as these routes will be more direct and Tottenham Court Road would be bus and cycle only between 8am to 7pm on Monday to Saturday,” said TfL.
The proposals were in response to Camden Council’s West End Project which includes the reintroduction of two-way traffic on Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street.
TfL said they received 816 responses from members of the public and nine responses from stakeholders.
“Overall, the results for the proposals were positive with the majority of respondents indicating that the proposals would be better for them or that there would be no change,” says TfL.
However, many respondents complained about the relocation of bus stops near University College Hospital, the reduction in the number of north-south bus stops, and that the changes would worsen access to the universities and museums. Many people were concerned that the changes would negatively affect the elderly and those with restricted mobility.
But TfL says it has no plans to amend the proposals in response to the consultation:
“Having reviewed the responses to this consultation, we have decided to proceed with the changes to bus services, as originally described in our consultation material. We intend to complete this changeover by December 2018, in time for the completion of the new road layout in the Tottenham Court Road area,” said TfL.
TfL is also proposing changes to buses along Oxford Street. Both the Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road changes are to take account of Crossrail services which will start running along the Elizabeth line in December 2018 and for the increase in the number of pedestrians expected around the Tottenham Court Road Station.
For more information see the Tottenham Court Road area consultation and reports.