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Post by wirewiper on Apr 18, 2019 13:29:22 GMT
The Wednesday-only free minibus route around Richmond Park has returned for the 2019 Summer season, thanks to the generous sponsorship of two anonymous (but wealthy) residents. The bus will operate five circuits of the park on Wednesdays from 17th April until 30th October. Journeys depart from Roehampton, Danebury Avenue Barrier at 09.40, 10.52, 12.04, 13.45 and 14.57 - there is a break in service at Danebury Avenue between 13.16 and 13.45 and the service finishes at Danebury Avenue at 16.10. Connections are available at Danebury Avenue with buses 170 and 430 - the terminus is just the other side of the barrier from where the RP1 commences. The RP1 also serves the Richmond-bound Ashburnham Road stop at Ham Village (route 371), and stops in Ham Gate Avenue close to the route 65 Ham Gate Avenue stops. Departures from Ashburnham Road are at 10.15, 11.27, 12.39, 14.20 and 15.32, and from Ham Gate Avenue five minutes later. There are several stops within the Park itself, including the well-known Isabella Plantation. The minibus is operated by Richmond and Kingston Accessible Transport and is fully accessible. More information: www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park/visitor-information/free-minibus-service-in-richmond-parkThe full timetable: www.royalparks.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/88147/Minibus-Timetable-2019.pdf
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 26, 2019 16:31:17 GMT
I had a lovely ride on the RP1 last Wednesday (24th April).
This is the fourth year of operation, and the aim of the service is to provide access to Richmond Park for people who would not otherwise be able to visit the Park; the route is designed so this includes residents of estates close to the Park. Indeed there is a 95-year-old resident of the Alton Estate who has boarded the first departure of the day from Danebury Avenue, every week that the service has been in operation, and who goes for a ride around the full circuit. The service is free and was funded for three years by a grant from the National Lottery, this has now been supplemented by private donations to enable the service to continue operating for a further three years (it costs around £3,000 each year to run). Going forward, the Park may seek alternative funding for the service, or may take the decision to operate a service commercially.
I had hoped to catch the 12.04 departure from Danebury Avenue, but my timing was ambitious and traffic in Putney caused my to miss it by a matter of minutes. If you do miss it, I recommend you do what I did and walk round to the next stop inside the Park, at Roehampton Gate Car Park. There is a café here and free public toilets whilst you wait for the bus to come round again on its next journey.
The bus is provided by Richmond and Kingston Accessible Transport (RAKAT) and is the standard welfare minibus design with seating for 16 and a large area for wheelchairs at the back (this also doubles as standing room on journeys where the bus proves unexpectedly popular, as we will see further on!). There is a regular friendly volunteer driver, Malcolm, who has been volunteering for the Park for over twenty years and will give you an entertaining commentary about the Park and about the bus service as you trundle round. This year another driver will be operating the service on some weeks to ease the load, and a third driver is also being trained up.
I caught the bus at Roehampton Gate Car Park at 13.47, there were two passengers already on the bus and six more joined including myself. Although the bus appears to have no stand time the running time is generous, and allows for a minute or two waiting time at each stop even if there is no-one getting on or off. The bus paused at Robin Hood Gate, which was made pedestrian-only after it was calculated that 85% of the vehicles using it were taking a short-cut to and from the A3, then did a double-run via Penn Ponds Car Park before continuing on to Broomfields Hill Car Park. Ladderstile Gate (pedestrian entrance to Park) and Kingston Gate Car Park, the latter very full as it is used as free parking for teachers at nearby schools, and workers and visitors to Kingston Hospital. No-one boarded or alighted at any of these stops, although this stretch did yield several close-up sightings of the famous wild deer, which have inhabited the Park ever since it was declared a Royal hunting ground by King Henry VII. The herd is managed at around 630 as overpopulation would upset the delicate ecological balance of the Park - around 200 deer are culled annually and the venison is traded at Smithfield Meat Market.
The bus then proceeded north along Queens Road, before turning off to exit the Park via Ham Gate and proceeding to Ham Common, where there are a couple of stops to make connections with Transport for London services. First the bus makes its way round to the Ashburnham Road stop (Richmond-bound). Transport for London has kindly agreed to post a timetable for the RP1 here, and on days when the service is operating the driver also puts out an A-board. This stop is close to Ham Estate which contains a number of low-income households living in social housing, and giving local people access to Richmond Park is high on the route's agenda. Indeed, on the first Wednesday this year Malcolm had picked up eighteen people here from Afghan families, who were heading for a picnic in the Park. Not so many this time, but we did pick up three local passengers here. The bus also stops in Ham Gate Avenue just before crossing Petersham Road, this is close to the route 65 stops and again Transport for London has kindly displayed timetables at the stops, whilst the drivers put out A-boards on operating days to show people where they should pick up the bus - there is not a physical stop at this location as it is outside the Park's jurisdiction, but the bus always pauses here and Malcolm says he will wait an extra minute or two if a number 65 has just dropped anyone off, in case they want the minibus.
The bus retraced its steps along Ham Gate Avenue back into the park and continued along a private road (pedestrians,cycles and authorised vehicles only, fortunately that includes our minibus!) to the Isabella Plantation stop. This was by for the busiest on the circuit; seven alighted here but eighteen got on, including a large group of Korean Tourists! Fortunately they were only going two stops to Richmond Gate to pick up the 371 bus, and there was plenty of standing room at the back. Two more joined us at Pembroke Lodge, then most of the passengers got off at Richmond Gate where the bus turns round just inside the Gate - the 371 stops outside the park at the Richmond Hill Hotel.
The bus continues along Sawyers Hill, which is quite elevated and offers glimpses of the London skyline. The oldest tree in the Park, an oak tree estimated to the 800 years old (500 years older than the Park itself) - Malcolm will point it out to you. The bus does another double-run to serve a stop just inside Sheen Gate, where the bus leaves the Park briefly to turn via suburban streets although the bus does not stop along this section. Whether this is worth the effort is moot however, as this is the least-used stop on the entire circuit - Malcolm estimates that no more than fifteen people have ever used this stop in the three years this service has been operating (and this journey did not add to the total). Although there is a car park at Sheen Gate, this seems to be one of the less-known entrances to the Park, is some distance from the nearest bus stops (at Sheen Lane on Lower Richmond Road West), and it would appear that the well-heeled residents of the immediate area have no need of a free accessible bus service.
Back on Sawyers Hill, and there are views of the Le Corbusier-inspired flats of the Alton Estate which was built in the late 1950s by the London County Council on the edge of the Park - with a population of c.13,000 it is one of the largest social housing developments in Europe, and has recently been regenerated. The bus leaves the Park via Roehampton Gate, and proceeds up Danebury Avenue to the barrier that stops through traffic, but allows pedestrians and cycles through. Here it drops off, then reverses into the driveway of a school to take up its next circuit - again as this location is outside the Park's jurisdiction there is no official bus stop sign erected here, however the adjacent school has allowed a bus stop sign and a timetable poster hung from its fence! Don;t worry about where to wait; the minibus will come right up to the barrier, you won't fail to notice it when it arrives, and the driver will be looking out for any intending passengers. But at any rate it was my time to bale out so I bade my farewell to Malcolm and thanked him for a highly enjoyable ride, and continued through the barrier and up Danebury Avenue to pick up a 430 back to Putney.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 20, 2023 9:33:17 GMT
The Richmmond Park RP1 bus is back for 2023 - and it's still free! This year's operation has been expanded to three days a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This year there are four round trips, departing Roehampton Danebury Avenue (far side of the traffic barrier) at 09.25, 11.00, 13.10 and 14.45. This year the route has been amended slightly, and has an additional stop at Mortlake Station (the 969 stop outside the Community Centre). The route also has connections with a number of TfL routes including the 371 at Richmond Gate and in Ham Village (Ashburnham Avenue), route 65 at Ham Gate Avenue, routes 85 and K3 at Ladder Stile Gate and routes 170 and 430 at Danebury Avenue. The service commenced on 5th April and will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until 29th November 2023. The service is funded by private donations, driven by volunteer drivers and is free so that everyone can enjoy access to Richmond Park. More information and a timetable here: www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park/visitor-information/free-minibus-service-in-richmond-parkRoger French blogged about it: busandtrainuser.com/2023/04/20/hello-rp1-goodbye-red-arrows/And I rode it in 2019, here are my photos: www.flickr.com/photos/wirewiping/albums/72157708093807445A ride on the Richmond Park Minibus by Julian Walker, on Flickr A ride on the Richmond Park Minibus by Julian Walker, on Flickr
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Post by evergreenadam on Apr 20, 2023 16:54:03 GMT
It’s a great shame that there is no TfL funded route into the park, most of which is a long way from the nearest bus stop, considering the topography. Lots of elderly and disabled visitors to Pembroke Lodge cafe, all of whom have to come by car.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 21, 2023 7:55:21 GMT
It’s a great shame that there is no TfL funded route into the park, most of which is a long way from the nearest bus stop, considering the topography. Lots of elderly and disabled visitors to Pembroke Lodge cafe, all of whom have to come by car. Before TfL days, there was a proposal to operate a Post Bus through the Park. It would have been the only such service to have operated in Greater London. www.transportticket.com/royalmail.html
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