Wanstead residents fighting against the reorganisation of bus routes are hoping a meeting with a TfL official might lead to a breakthrough.
A “schemes design officer” is to take part in a meeting on Tuesday evening (22 Oct) at Christ Church after reviewing how the new routes and timetables are working.
There are reports that TfL wants to relocate the zebra crossing outside the former NatWest because of the difficulty for larger buses in turning down Nightingale Lane. And at a busy junction on Elmcroft Avenue, pictured, the bigger vehicle has had trouble making the turn.
Bigger buses are necessary because TfL has made the route once-per-hour rather than three or four times. But the reduction in services has massively reduced the usefulness of the service for school and work purposes.
The approval of plans to turn the former Wanstead Youth Centre into an education hub has only highlighted the need for regular transport options.
A spokesperson for the Save Our Local Bus Service Campaign said: “People can’t get to food shops, hospitals, schools …. Timetables weren’t made available anywhere for the once an hour buses that run through the Nightingale Estate, and the way the route is full of bottlenecks, that service can never be reliable. Local people can’t get information on where the new routes run because TfL is so confused itself by the complex routes.”
The meeting will take place at 6pm.