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‘TfL would have to be stupid not to replace the 29 bus’
‘Overcrowded, unsafe, inconvenient’ – councillors and passengers list borough’s worst buses
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) have been urged to improve safety and conditions on the borough’s buses after councillors highlighted three bus routes as cause for concern.
Conservative councillor Kirsty Roberts raised the issue in front of the full council, singling out number 29 bus and the 46 last month
She later said she was also worried about the 24, with youth disorder apparently increasing on buses in Hampstead.
Cllr Roberts said: “The 46 is a known problem in Hampstead. You’ve got groups of youths coming up to Hampstead on a Friday and behaving badly. It’s low level anti-social behaviour but residents have experienced abuse. We’ve had incidents of muggings and theft.”
She added: “The idea to take the right of free travel away from any youth who is using free travel as a means to go into different areas and cause trouble is one I totally support.”
The 29, which passes through Bloomsbury and Camden Town, has a notorious reputation, even spawning its own Facebook page where passengers spell out how uncomfortable they feel.
Residents living along the 29’s journey around Camden Road said they regularly find discarded belonging such as purses and wallets in their front gardens, which they believe are items stolen on the bus.
Catherine Hays, of the Camden Square Neighbourhood Association, said: “You either bring back double deckers or you need a conductor.”
Andrew Bosi, chairman of the Friend’s of Capital Transport Campaign, said: “Conductors used to move people on. Now everyone crowds around the doors and the result is you can’t get on or off. You also can’t – even if you wanted to – touch the Oyster card reader or even see it.”
Passengers’ ire about the route centres on the design of the bus.
Three doors make it impossible to get on and off, and encourages fights and pickpocketing, they argue.
Pensioner Josie Kelly, chairwoman of pressure group Camden Town Speaks, has been robbed on the 29.
She said: “People deliberately wait for the bendy buses because they’re seen as ‘freebie buses’,” she said.
Lib Dem crime chief Councillor Ben Rawlings said: “TfL would be stupid not to be thinking about replacing the bendy bus on the 29 route; there are so many problems. It’s reputation is terrible.”
While the 29 has become a familiar target, campaigners have followed up Cllr Roberts’s concerns by calling for more action on buses that pass through Hampstead.
Nigel Steward of Hampstead’s Safer Neighbourhood panel, said: “From the graffiti on the Number 46 route, the police have a fair idea that a lot of anti-social behaviour is taking place. They are pretty certain from the graffiti tags that it comes from outside the area.”
The New Journal repeatedly asked TfL to disclose full statistics on crime and incidents on the routes but the information was withheld.
Regardless of the sharp anecdotal evidence of passengers in Camden and the calls from the council to take action, a TfL spokeswoman instead insisted disorder was in decline.
The spokeswoman added: “Bus-related crime in Camden is low and getting lower – this year so far we have seen a 32 per cent reduction in crime on and around buses in your borough.
“With an increased police presence on buses and liaison with bus companies and bus drivers we actively encourage more reporting of all incidents. The more we know, the better we can deploy both our policing resources and reduce congestion.” |
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