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Opposition to 393 bus route will be a long haul
• WHILE your reporter (Route of 393 bus is a ‘death trap’ claim protesters, November 8) got across the frustration that Leighton Road residents feel with Transport for London for not listening to their concerns, there were factual inaccuracies in the piece.
Three residents of Leighton Road, together with Councillors Ralph Scott and Paul Braithwaite, met the Mayor of London and Transport for London representatives at City Hall (not with the Mayor of Camden at the Town Hall). This was our second meeting with Ken Livingstone. As arranged, it was at the end of the two month trial period that he agreed the bus should run before we presented him with evidence that Leighton Road and Castle Road were not appropriate routes for the bus. We took along a dossier of information and photos for the Mayor and, crucially, statistics on the usage of the bus that we had gathered on two full days of service in September, a Monday and a Saturday.
This showed low average usage of the bus (but not that ‘most of the buses are completely empty’ as stated in the article).
Our statistics correlated with those of TfL at an average occupancy of six passengers in each direction. But we had more detailed statistics than TfL that were also able to show that over 50 per cent of the buses had 4 or fewer people on them and that 25 per cent had only one person or nobody at all on the bus.
An average of only one person every three buses got off at the Kentish Town station bus stop to go into the station itself.
Our photographic evidence included two complete snarl ups where buses got stuck and the police attended, and pictures of different buses going the wrong side of traffic islands, all of these underlining the danger of this route. The mayor was of the opinion that “getting rid of the parked cars” would help.
Residents of Leighton Road may feel differently! We also pointed out to the mayor that we only wished to change a very small section of the route, the two way part of Leighton Road and the top end of the high street between Leighton Road and Prince of Wales Road. Our alternative route, via Agar Grove, was wanted by residents of the Maiden Lane estate and, although longer, was quicker because of less traffic congestion. We had tested this with trial runs by car and successfully disputed TfL’s cost benefit analysis that this route would need another bus and therefore be too expensive. The alternative route also cuts out the need to use Castle Road.
The mayor was impressed by our presentation and especially the statistics but unwilling to reroute the bus before it had been clearly established that bus usage would not increase further in the coming months and the bus become more popular. He has therefore extended the trial period until June of next year when we will meet again with him and TfL to make a final decision. It’s up to us to continue to gather statistics and the residents of Leighton Road to let TfL know by letters and emails our continuing opposition to the bus. It will be a long haul but we still have a chance to influence the outcome.
SUE PICKETT
Chair, Leighton Road, Neighbourhood Association, NW5
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