1

D Consultation on possible changes to bus services in Hounslow, Ealing and Twickenham (route 481) Consultation Report March 2016

2

3

Consultation on possible bus changes to bus services in Hounslow, Ealing and Twickenham (route 481) Consultation Report

2

Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 3

2 The consultation ............................................................................................................. 4

3 Responses from members of the public ......................................................................... 6

4 Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders .............................................. 9

5 Summary and conclusions ........................................................................................... 11

Appendix A – Consultation leaflet ....................................................................................... 12

Appendix B – Leaflet distribution area ................................................................................ 24

Appendix C – List of stakeholders consulted ...................................................................... 25

3

1 Introduction

We consulted stakeholders and the public about proposed changes to bus services in the Hounslow, Ealing and Twickenham areas. The consultation was open during 9 November to 18 December 2015.

Demand for bus services continues to grow in these areas. With further development planned at Hounslow and Brentford town centres, additional services are required along the A315 London Road. Changes to healthcare services have increased demand for direct links from Ealing to West Middlesex University Hospital. Crossrail services will start serving Ealing Broadway, West Ealing and Hanwell stations by 2019.

In summary the changes proposed were:

Route 481 would have a frequency increase from a bus every 60 minutes to a bus every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and a new hourly Sunday daytime service. This route runs between Kingston (Cromwell Road bus station) and West Middlesex University Hospital.

Route E8 would be extended from Brentford High Street, to Hounslow Bell Corner, via West Middlesex University Hospital. Buses on the route would all be double deck (currently both single and double deck buses operate on this route). It would no longer serve Commerce Road.

Route 110 would no longer run between Hounslow bus station and West Middlesex University Hospital. It would be extended from Twickenham to West Middlesex University Hospital via Twickenham Road. It would no longer serve York Street and Arragon Road.

Route H28 would no longer serve Wood Lane, Amhurst Gardens and Twickenham Road. It would be rerouted between Jersey Road and Osterley Tesco via Syon Lane and extended to serve Brentford County Court.

School route 635 would no longer run between Hounslow bus station and Brentford County Court. It would continue to run between Hounslow bus station and St Paul’s School in Sunbury. The extension of route E8 would provide sufficient capacity.

This report explains the background to the scheme and consultation and summarises the responses from the general public and stakeholders. This report has the consultation responses for route 481. The consultation responses for routes E8, 110, H28 and school route 635 are contained in a separate report. A further report will be published with our response to issues raised during this consultation process.

4

2 The consultation

The consultation was designed to enable us to understand the views of local residents, businesses and stakeholders about the proposals.

The potential outcomes of the consultation were:

We decide the consultation raises no issues that should prevent us from proceeding with the scheme as originally planned

We modify the scheme in response to issues raised in consultation

We abandon the scheme as a result of issues raised in the consultation.

2.1 Consultation objectives The objectives of the consultation were:

To give stakeholders and the public clear information about the proposals and allow them to respond

To understand the level of support or opposition for the change

To understand any issues that might affect the proposal of which we were not previously aware

To understand concerns and objections

To allow respondents to make suggestions.

2.2 Who we consulted The public consultation intended to seek the views of people who live near to the proposed route, current users of the service and other potential users. We also consulted stakeholders including the affected Councils, traffic police, London TravelWatch, Members of Parliament, Assembly Members and local interest groups. A list of the stakeholders we consulted is shown in Appendix C and a summary of their responses is given in Section 4.

2.3 Consultation material, distribution and publicity The consultation was available on our consultation website https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/481 We sent an email to stakeholders with a link to the online consultation page. We produced a 12 page A5 booklet outlining the proposals (Appendix A). We sent this to all residents, businesses and organisations within a 400 metre distance of the current and proposed routes (Appendix B). In total 53,019 leaflets were distributed.

Route 481 runs between Kingston (Cromwell Road bus station) and West Middlesex University Hospital. To meet increasing demand, we propose a frequency increase from a bus every 60 minutes to a bus every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and a new hourly Sunday daytime service.

We sent an email link to the online consultation to registered users of the bus routes affected. In total 411 emails were sent out to users of route 481. The leaflet mentioned that copies were available in large print, audio or another language through a Freephone number 0343 222 1155. Posters highlighting the consultation were placed at bus stops along the routes (where space was available).

5

People were invited to respond to the consultation using a variety of methods. They could respond by accessing the online questionnaire; by using our freepost address at FREEPOST TFL CONSULTATIONS; or by emailing consultations@tfl.gov.uk The questionnaire asked seven generic questions relating to name, email address, postcode, organisation name (if responding on behalf of a business/ stakeholder/ organisation), how they had heard about the consultation, and views on the quality of the consultation. There were two questions specific to the consultation:

Do you support our proposals to increase the frequency of service for route 481? Respondents were given a choice of three answers: yes, no, no opinion

Please let us have any comments about our proposals. Respondents were given a “free text” box to share their views

6

3 Responses from members of the public

We received 434 responses from members of the public. There were six duplicate submissions from respondents which were removed from the analysis. Of the total responses 92% were submitted online (see chart below).

Respondents heard about the consultation from a variety of sources shown in the chart

The most frequently mentioned comments under “other” included: from friend (17), Teddington Society (15), neighbour (13), TfL leaflet (11), local councillor (9), family (7),

Website EmailLetter/paper

questionnaireTotal

Number of replies 401 29 4 434

% of replies 92% 7% 1% 100%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Response type

Email Leaflet PressTfL

WebsiteSocialMedia

OtherNot

answered

Total

Number of replies 90 19 21 23 103 115 63 434

% of replies 21% 4% 5% 5% 24% 26% 15% 100%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450How did your hear about the consultation?

7

community group (6), Turing House school (5), posters at bus stops (3), TW11 magazine (3), school (3), email (3).

Overall support The proposals were supported by 99% of respondents.

We asked respondents if they had any comments on our proposals. Respondents used a free text box to make comments. The tables below show the comments made about the proposals for route 481.

Positive comments Number of times raised

General support 351

Proposals relieve congestion on route 281 14

Improves accessibility due to only undertaking one journey 12

Negative comments Number of times raised

Would like to see the route run on time/reliability before adding more frequency

7

If increased frequency intends to serve Turing House School double deckers, more bus stop space, and more frequency required

3

Nelson Road School is very congested with traffic, increased 481 will add to this

2

Yes No No opinion Not answered Total

Number of replies 428 4 0 2 434

% of replies 99% 1% 0% 0% 100%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Do you support our proposals for 481?

8

Suggestions for frequency of service Number of times raised

Consider a half hourly service on Sundays 34

Frequency needs to be every 20 mins 31

Frequency needs to be every 15 mins 24

Consider an evening service 22

Peak times should have 15 min frequency due to the number of schools

20

Peak times should have 10 min frequency due to number of schools

4

Other suggestions Number of times raised

Additional buses needed due to big housing developments in the area

4

Additional stops on Sandy Lane Teddington due to new residential developments

4

Use a bigger bus to relieve user congestion until route change is completed

2

Single door buses lead to long queues 2

Suggestions for routes Number of times raised

Extend to Kingston Hospital to connect three hospitals in the area

10

Connect Powder Mill Rd to Whitton High St 2

Re-route between Whitton and Twickenham via Hounslow Rd and Whitton Dene

2

A number of other suggestions changes to route 481 and other routes were made (for example routes 281, X26 and 285). We will look into these separately.

9

4 Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders

We received eight responses from stakeholders and these are summarised below (some stakeholders made more than one response, these have been combined). London TravelWatch London TravelWatch supports the proposals. LB Hounslow The Council strongly supports the increase in frequency of the 481 bus service. Stephen Knight - Assembly Member/LB Richmond upon Thames Councillor Stephen Knight supports the proposals. He feels these changes are long overdue and something he has been campaigning for the changes for a number of years. LB Richmond upon Thames - Cllr Martin Elengorn and officer response The Council strongly supports the increase in frequency of the 481 bus service as it would serve a number of key destinations along the route, including the new temporary site for a secondary school in Teddington (Turing House), and a number of other developments in the area. Councillors have been campaigning for such an increase for some time now. The Council asks that in order to mitigate against any negative impacts of the increased frequency i.e. on air quality and noise, that hybrid buses are introduced at the earliest opportunity. NHS North West London Travel Advisory Group The Travel Advisory Group (TAG) is responsible for advising the NHS on all aspects of access to NHS hospital provision across North West London. TAG submitted a list of suggested improvements to bus services at hospitals in North and West London in January 2015. These were drawn up as the result of the work done since 2013 to reconfigure certain NHS services as part of the Shaping a Healthier Future programme. They also reflected the existing needs of hospital users who had raised problems with public transport access. The list of suggested improvements was informed by: • Feedback from patient and transport liaison groups • Input from the five acute hospital trusts serving North West London • The results of detailed surveys of travel patterns covering over 10,000 patients attending the nine hospital managed by these trusts TAG welcomes the aim of the consultation to improve public transport access for Ealing and Hounslow residents to the West Middlesex University Hospital. The ongoing reconfiguration of hospital provision in West London makes improvements in public transport provision increasingly urgent and important. TAG welcomes the increase in frequency of route 481 from hourly to half hourly on weekdays and the introduction of a Sunday service.

10

Ealing Passenger Transport Users’ Group The Group commented on the proposals for the E8, 110, H28 and school route 635. They also stated that while the proposals for route 481 were out of their area the route also serves West Middlesex University Hospital. They were supportive of the proposals for the increase in service for the route 481, particularly the introduction of the Sunday Service. Oaklands Residents Association Limited The Resident Association supports the proposals. Elleray Hall Day Centre, Teddington A representative of the day centre in Teddington supported the proposals. They stated that some of their elderly members use the 481 to access the centre. They are very pleased about the proposal of increasing the service to every 30 mins and even more pleased that there will be a service running on a Sunday, meaning that they will be able to go out and visit friends.

11

5 Summary and conclusions There was a high level of support (99%) for the proposals for the frequency increase to route 481. From 7 May 2016 we will increase the frequency from a bus every 60 minutes to a bus every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes and introduce a new hourly Sunday daytime service.

12

Appendix A – Consultation leaflet

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Appendix B – Leaflet distribution area

25

Appendix C – List of stakeholders consulted

London TravelWatch

Elected Members

Greater London Authority

Andrew Boff AM

Caroline Pidgeon AM

Darren Johnson AM

Fiona Twycross AM

Gareth Bacon AM

Jenny Jones AM

Murad Qureshi AM

Nicky Gavron AM

Richard Tracey AM

Stephen Knight AM

Tony Arbur AM

Tom Copley AM

Valerie Shawcross AM

MPs

Claire Perry MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport)

James Berry MP Kingston and Surbiton

Patrick McLoughlin MP (Secretary of State for Transport)

Ruth Cadbury MP Brentford and Isleworth

Seema Malhotra MP Feltham and Heston

Tania Mathias MP Twickenham

Siobhain McDonagh MP Mitcham and Morden

Zac Goldsmith MP Richmond Park and North Kingston

Local Authorities

London Borough of Hounslow

London Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Royal Borough of Richmond upon Thames

London Borough of Sutton

Police & Health Authorities

Metropolitan Police

London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority

Kingston Safer Transport team

Hounslow Safer Transport team

Richmond Safer Transport team

London Ambulance Service

CCG NHS Central London

CCG Hounslow

26

Transport Groups

AA Motoring Trust

Association of British Drivers

Association of Car Fleet Operators

British Motorcyclists Federation

Campaign for Better Transport

CTC, the national cycling charity

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Freight Transport Association

Green Flag Group

Licenced Taxi Drivers Association

London Cycling Campaign

Motorcycle Action Group

Motorcycle Industry Association

Road Haulage Association

Local Interest Groups

LB Hounslow sent a link to the consultation to all Resident Associations in the borough

Barnes Community Association, Richmond

Kingston Area Travellers' Association

Kingston Town Centre Management Limited

Manor Grove Residents Association, Richmond

Norwood Green Residents' Association, Ealing

Strawberry Hill Neighbourhood Association, Richmond

Twickenham Park Residents' Association (TPRA)

West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society, Hounslow

Other Stakeholders

Action on Hearing Loss (formerly RNID)

Age Concern London

Age UK

Alzheimer's Society

Asian Peoples Disabilities Alliance

BT

Canal & River Trust London

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

Disability Alliance

Disability Rights UK

EDF Energy

GMB Union

Greater London Forum for the Elderly

Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Heatham Alliance Community Network

Institute of Civil Engineers

Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People (JCMBPS)

Joint Mobility Unit

Living Streets

London Councils

London Older People's Strategy Group

MIND

National Children's Bureau

27

National Grid

Northbank BID

Port of London Authority

RMT Union

RNIB

Royal Mail

Royal Parks

Sense

Sixty Plus

Stroke Association

Sustrans

Thames Water

The British Dyslexia Association

Unions Together

Unite

West London Alliance