TfL announces new 265 bus route despite complaints (From Kingston Guardian)

TfL announces new 265 bus route in Raynes Park/New Malden despite complaints

9:40am Tuesday 14th August 2012 in News By Omar Oakes

Angry residents have pledged to form a human shield to stop a bus coming down their road after their four-year campaign fell on deaf ears.

Transport for London (TfL) said it will press ahead with re-routing the 265 bus down Beverley Way, on the border of Raynes Park and New Malden, from next year.

The decision comes despite over a hundred complaints and opposition from Wimbledon MP Stephen Hammond, Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith, and London Assembly member Richard Tracey.

Sally Berriman, from Beverley Way Residents Association, has complained the road was too small to accommodate buses and their arrival would create a risk of accidents.

She also said there was little demand for the bus service, and that it should be kept on busier roads nearby.

She said: “TfL feels it is entitled to blight our lives, devalue our homes, make it difficult for us to park near to or have access to our homes for ourselves and for visitors, and for community services.

“This is not democracy. This is a mighty machine bulldozing its way through people’s lives, just because it can and no one can stop it.

“When TfL send in their bulldozers, we will form a human shield to prevent access to our road. We will need to be removed forcibly.”

TfL’s consultation on the proposals yielded 121 comments opposed to the new 265 route, with 18 comments in support of it.

TfL’s head of consultation delivery, Peter Bradley, said: “While I do appreciate some residents may not be happy with this decision, and am aware some may not use the bus service and have access to a car, as a transport authority we must look at the overall accessibility and availability of the service for all residents especially the elderly and disabled who may rely on local transport.”

The 265 service runs single-decker buses between Putney Bridge station and Tolworth via Barnes, Roehampton, Kingston Vale and New Malden.

From January 2013, southbound services will be rerouted from the A3 to the Beverley Way service road, with new bus stops created in both directions to reduce walking times in between stops.