Some items from the latest Mayor's Question Time

[snoggle]

The following are the questions and answers on bus and public transport related items from the feb 2015 MQT. Sorry there is quite a lot to get through but I am sure people will be interested in the issues raised. I have not copied every single transport question as some are repeats of long standing issues.

New Routemaster
- fare
evasion

Question
No:
2015/0435


Caroline
Pidgeon

How
much
revenue
does
TfL
estimate
is
lost
through
passengers
boarding
the
New
Routemaster
Bus
via
the
rear
entrances
to
evade
fares?
What
plans
does
TfL
have
to
target
this
fare
evasion?


The
Mayor



The
most
recent
quarterly
fare
evasion
figures
(October
to
December
2014)
found
that
the
fare
evasion
rate
for
the
New
Routemasters
was
broadly
the
same
as
other
high
volume
routes
on
the
network.
The
overall
rate
for
fare
evasion
on
the
network
remains
at
an
historical
low
of
1.1 per
cent,
meaning
overall
lost
revenue
on
the
whole
network
remains
at
circa
£20m
a
year.




TfL
will
continue
to
keep
this
under
review
and
will
deploy
officers
on
an
intelligence-led
basis
and
focus
efforts
on
specific
evasion
issues
as
they
arise.

Jamaica Road
congestion
leading
to
bus
delays

Question
No:
2015/0436


Caroline
Pidgeon

I
have
been
contacted
by
many
constituents
concerned
that
bus
services
using
Jamaica
Road
- such
as
the
188
and
47
-
are
being
severely
disrupted
due
to
congestion
during
peak
periods.


What
does
TfL
plan
to
do
to
mitigate
this
situation
for
passengers?


The
Mayor



Route 47's
reliability
has
been
affected
by
road works
in
Lewisham
and
at
Ludgate,
Aldgate
and
Cannon
Street
in
the
City.
To
mitigate,
the
service
is
temporarily
curtailed
to
Liverpool
Street
from
Shoreditch.

Additionally,
a
new
schedule
with
additional
buses
and
drivers
will
be
in operation
from
14
March
2015.

TfL
will
continue
to
closely
monitor
performance
following
these
changes.


A
new
schedule
was
also
implemented
on
route
188
on
10
January
2015.
As
part
of
the
Roads
Modernisation
Plan
it
is
planned
to
invest £200
million
between
now
and
2023/24
to
maintain
and
improve
the
reliability
of
journey
times
on
key
bus
routes.

TfL
officers
plan
to
commence
a
study
of
route
188
by
the
end
of
March
to
inform
the
development
of
additional
bus
priority
from
2015/16
onwards.

C10 Bus
- early
termination

Question
No:
2015/0439


Caroline
Pidgeon

I
have
received
complaints
that
the
C10
bus
frequently
terminates
before
reaching
Rotherhithe and
Surrey
Docks
due
to
severe
congestion
on
Jamaica
Road,
leaving
many
passengers
some
distance
from
their
destination
and
others
waiting
a
significant
length
of
time
for
the
service.

What
are
TfL
doing
to
improve
the
reliability
of
the
C10
for
these
passengers?


The
Mayor



TfL
introduced
a
new
schedule
on
route
C10
on
30
January
2015
with
additional
buses
and drivers
with
the
aim
of
improving
reliability.


TfL
will
continue
to
closely
monitor
the
route's
performance
following
these
changes.

Bus service
from
South
Norwood
to
Croydon
University
Hospital

Question
No:
2015/0472


Steve
O'Connell

Will
the
Mayor
instruct
TfL
to
look
in
to
introducing
a
direct
bus
service
from
South
Norwood
to
Croydon
University
Hospital,
as
I
believe
the
South
Norwood
community
is
currently
disadvantaged.


The
Mayor



On
14
February
2015,
TfL
extended
route
130
from
South
Norwood
to
Thornton
Heath improving
local
connectivity.

Passengers
wishing
to
travel
to
Croydon
University
Hospital
can
then
interchange
on to
high
frequency
routes
198
or
250
with
a
combined
number
of
14
buses per
hour.

Further
extending
route
130
over
the
roads
used
by
routes
198
and
250
was
considered
but
was
forced
to
increase
the
costs
of
operations
significantly.

24 Tube
and
the
Night
Bus
review
(1)

Question
No:
2015/0527


Darren
Johnson

Will
you
ensure
TfL
consider
the
impact
the
review
of
night
buses
could
have
on
women,
who
often
prefer
to
take
night
buses
rather
than
tubes
so
they
can
sit
near
the
driver?


The
Mayor



Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.

24 Tube
and
the
Night
Bus
review
(2)

Question
No:
2015/0528


Darren
Johnson

If
somebody
used
to
take
a
long
night
bus
home,
it
would
cost
them
£1.50.
If
they
have
to
take
a
tube
plus
a
bus,
that
would
cost
somebody £4.30.
Will
you
ensure
TfL
consider
the
impact that
the
cutting
back
on
night
bus
routes
could
have
on
shift
workers
who
may
have
bus
passes,
and
would
end
up
having
to
pay
more
to
take
a
night
tube?


The
Mayor



Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.

New Bus
for
London
- vehicle
weight

Question
No:
2015/0544


Stephen
Knight

Has
the
increasing
weight
of
the
new
Routemaster
buses
entering
service
affected
the
number
of
passengers
they
can
carry?
Please
also
outline
the
effect
on
tyre
and
brake
wear?


The
Mayor



Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.

Hydrogen fuel
cell
buses

Question
No:
2015/0547


Stephen
Knight

What
plans
does
TfL
have
to
add
any
further
hydrogen
fuel
cell
buses
to
its
fleet?


The
Mayor



TfL
plans
to
introduce
a
further
two
hydrogen
fuel-cell
buses
to
route
RV1
as
part
of
the
E3Motion
project.
This
is
linked
to
a
European
consortium
framework
agreement
and
will extend
operation
of
the
other
eight
buses
to
2020.
Ten
buses
will
enable
the
RV1,
which
needs
eight
vehicles
in
the
travel
peak,
to
operate
as
a
complete
zero-emission
route.

263 service

Question
No:
2015/0597


Andrew
Dismore

Several
residents
have
raised
the
inadequate
frequency
of
263
service
and
the
lack
of
night
bus
along
East
Finchley
High
Road.
Will
you
improve
the
service
accordingly?


The
Mayor



East
Finchley
is
served
at
night
by
route
N20
providing
direct
links
to
Camden
and
Central
London
and
24-hour
route
102
providing
links
to
Edmonton
Green
and
Golders
Green.

Route N13
and
24-hour
route
134
also
serve
North
Finchley.

These
are
the
areas
with
the
highest
levels
of
demand.



TfL
have
investigated
providing
an
additional
night
service
via
route
263.

This
service
starts
at 05:51
in
the
morning
and
finishes
at
00:45.

Unfortunately
the
cost
of
additional
buses overnight
could
not
be
justified
by
the
likely
levels
of
demand.

TfL
will
continue
to
monitor
the position
following
the
implementation
of
Night
Tube
later
this
year.

Stamford Hill
to
Golders
Green
bus

Question
No:
2015/0598


Andrew
Dismore

Your
promised
Stamford
Hill
to
Golders
Green
bus -
what,
if
anything,
is
happening
about
it?


The
Mayor



Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly.

daytime bus
service
serving
Colindale

Question
No:
2015/0612


Andrew
Dismore

Further
to
Question
No
2014/5169


With
the
ever-growing
increase
in
the
local
population
in
Colindale
adding
a
huge
burden
to the
only
direct
transport
link
to
central
London,
namely
the
tube
and
as
there
is

no
foreseeable
prospect
of
the
tube
station
capacity
being
increased,

will

TFL
introduce
a
daytime
bus
service serving
Colindale
that
links
directly
to
central
London?


your
response
being


TfL
is
in
regular
contact
with
Barnet
Council
about
developments
in
the
area,
including
the major
regeneration
of
Grahame
Park.



There
are
plans
to
support
this
in
a
range
of
ways,
including
increasing
bus
capacity
and
connectivity.

A
review
of
potential
requirements
is
taking
place
and
will
be
discussed
with
the council
in
early
2015.



Has
the
discussion
with
the
council
taken
place
yet;
if not
for
when
is
it
scheduled;
and
when will
the
review
be
completed?


The
Mayor



TfL
is
due
to
meet
with
council
officers
in
March
to
discuss
requirements
for
the
area.
Officers will
then
compile
a
report
setting
out
ways
the
network
might
develop
to
address
these requirements
which
should
be
completed
by
mid-2015.

The
report
will
then
be
used
to
support further
discussion
with
stakeholders.

Lewisham Station :
Platform
4
Gate

Question
No:
2015/0629


Len
Duvall

Will
the
Mayor
join
efforts
by
Heidi
Alexander
MP
and
myself
to
lobby
Southeastern
to
open
the
Platform
4
gate
at
Lewisham
Station?
Commuters
from
Greenwich
and
eastern
Lewisham have
not
only
lost
their
direct
connection
to
Charing
Cross,
but
the
Lewisham
Gateway
works
mean
many
buses
are
not
calling
at
the
station
and
pedestrians
must
walk
around
the
site,
adding
at
least
10
minutes
to
journeys.
Will
the
Mayor
and
TfL
work
to
encourage
Southeastern
to
ameliorate
these
inconveniences?


The
Mayor



Officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly

London Living
Wage
for
bus
drivers

Question
No:
2015/0651


Murad
Qureshi

Do
bus
drivers
at
the
start
of
their
careers
deserve
to
earn
the
London
Living
Wage?


The
Mayor



TfL
contracts
private
bus
operators
to
run
around
675
bus
routes
on
its
behalf
across
London.
It
is
a
contractual
requirement
that
all
staff
employed
or
engaged
in
providing
these
bus
services
in
the
capital
are
paid
no
less
than
the
London
Living
Wage.
In
practice,
the
private
companies
involved
pay
drivers
higher
rates
than
the
London
Living
Wage.

Biodiesel

Question
No:
2015/0677


Murad
Qureshi

What
targets
have
you
set
in
relation
to
the
use
of
biodiesel
and
how
are
you
monitoring progress?


The
Mayor



My
Senior
Advisor
for
Energy
and
the
Environment
has
agreed
the
following
targets
with
TfL;









10
per
cent
of
TFL
bus
fleet
(5
of
50
garages)
running
on
an
80:20
mix
of
fossil
diesel
and
biodiesel
(B20)
by
March
2015.









Subject
to
supply,
work
with
all
of
London's
bus
fleet
contracted
to
TFL
to
run
on
B20
by 2020.
Running
all
TFL
buses
on
B20
today
would
save
65,000
tonnes
of
CO2
a
year
compared
with
using
standard
diesel
-
a
10
per
cent
reduction.









15
local
authorities
using
biodiesel
in
their
fleet
achieving
at
least
10
per
cent
CO2 reduction
(assuming
a
B20
blend)
by
March
2016
(5
boroughs
by
March
2015).
LBs
of
Hackney
and
Sutton
are
using
biodiesel
now.









At
least
one
new
medium-large
scale
UCO/FOG
processing
or
biodiesel
production
plant built
in
London
by
March
2016.


These
targets
are
set
out
in
'The
Mayor's
Biodiesel
Programme
Business
Plan
2014-2016'
which
is
monitored
by
the
Mayor's
Biodiesel
Programme
Steering
Group,
which
is
made
up
of
senior
GLA
&
TfL
representatives,
and
delivered
through
the
Mayor's
Biodiesel
Programme
Working
Group
which
represents
TfL,
GLA
&
Local
Authority
Fleet
Managers.

London Overground
(1)

Question
No:
2015/0763


Fiona
Twycross

Will
your
branding
of
the
rail
lines
in
north-east
London
that
you
are
taking
over
be
'London Overground'
from
day
one,
or
only
when
new
rolling
stock
is
introduced?


The
Mayor



Yes.
The
West
Anglia
services
which
are
being
taken
over
by
TfL
from
31
May
2015
will
be branded
London
Overground.


All
stations
being
managed
by
TfL
will
display
the
London
Overground
roundel
from
the
first day
of
service
and
the
current
trains
will
also
undergo
a
refresh
which
will
include
branding
as London
Overground.


TfL
will
implement
a programme
of
improvements
over
the
next
two
years.
Some,
such
as providing
staff
at
all
stations
during
operating
hours
will
be
implemented
from
day
one.
Other
improvements
including
better
customer
information,
cleaner,
brighter
stations
and
new
ticket vending
machines
will
be
rolled
out
over
the
course
of
the
programme.

London Overground
(2)

Question
No:
2015/0764


Fiona
Twycross

Will
the
Euston - Watford
Junction
and
the
Gospel
Oak - Barking
lines
be
getting
new
London
Overground
trains
in
the
same
purchase
as
north-east
London?
How
many
cars
will
the
trains
have
on
each
line,
and
will
any
new
trains
have
partial
transverse
seating?


The
Mayor



An
Invitation
to
Tender
was
issued
by
TfL
in
August
2014
for
new
four
car
trains
to
serve
the West
Anglia ,
Romford
to
Upminster,
Gospel
Oak
to
Barking
and
Watford
to
Euston
Junction lines.
Trains
on
the
Gospel
Oak
to
Barking
line
will
be
increased
from
two
cars
to
four
cars
once the
new
trains
arrive
and
the
line
is
electrified.

Trains
on
the
West
Anglia
routes
will
be configured
as
eight
cars
during
peak
periods
and
four
cars
during
less
busy
times
of
the
day.


On
the
Watford
to
Euston
line,
the
design
process
for
the
train
lengthening
programme
has identified
the
need
to
upgrade
the
power
supply
on
this
route.
The
programme
for
this
work
is
currently
under
discussion
with
Network
Rail,
which
owns
the
infrastructure,
so
TfL
is
unable
to provide
further
details
at
present.
TfL
will
update
you
once
more
information
becomes available.


Consideration
is
being
given
to
including
some
transverse
seating
in
the
overall
seating
layout for
the
new
trains.
This
will
not
be
finalised
until
after
TfL
award
the
contract
for
them
later
this
year.

London Overground
(3)

Question
No:
2015/0765


Fiona
Twycross

Are
you
taking
over
the
stations,
as
well
as
new
services
when
London
Overground
takes
over new
lines?
Where
is
step-free
access
being
considered?


The
Mayor



On
31
May
2015,
London
Overground
will
take
over
management
of
all
stations
on
the
West Anglia
routes
except
Liverpool
Street
and
Cheshunt,
and
will
also
manage
Emerson
Park
on
the Romford
to
Upminster
line.


Edmonton
Green
has
recently
had
lifts
installed
to
make
it
step-free,
this
is
in
addition
to Enfield
Town,
Chingford
and
Walthamstow
Central
which
already
have
step-free
access.
Seven
Sisters
will
also
be
made
step-free
under
the
DfT's
Access
for
All
scheme.


Works
are
also
planned
to
install
Disability
Discrimination
Act
compliant
ramps
at
Highams Park,
Walthamstow
Central
and
Bush
Hill
Park.
All
stations
served
by
London
Overground
will have
staff
who
are
able
to
provide
assistance
to
passengers
with
mobility
or
visual
impairments.


TfL
will
also
take
over
the
operation
of
stopping
services
between
Liverpool
Street
main line
station
and
Shenfield
station
on
31
May
2015
as
TfL
Rail.
All
stations
along
the
route,
except
Liverpool
Street
and
Shenfield,
will
be
managed
by
the
appointed
operator
MTR
Crossrail.

All stations
ahead
of
Crossrail
fully
opening
in
2019
will
be
step-free
from
street
to
platform
with
level
access
from
platform
to
Crossrail
trains
at
all
Crossrail's
central
London
Underground
stations
and
at Heathrow.

Bus route
maps

Question
No:
2015/0767


Fiona
Twycross

A
constituent
has
contacted
me
to
ask
whether
you
will
you
be
rolling
out
the
full-colour
'bus
route
maps'
shown
on
some
central
London
bus
stops,
that
show
where
each
bus
service
runs to
more
widely?


The
Mayor



TfL
provides
bus
route
maps
in
two
formats ;
'multi
route
panels'
which
are
located
on
bus
stop
posts
and
also
contain
timetable
information,
and
posters
known
as
'spider
maps'
which
are located
in
bus
shelters.


Multi
route
maps
are
primarily
found
in
central
London
or
busy
town
centres
where
the
number of
routes
serving
the
stop
exceeds
the
timetable
capacity
and
where
more
than
one
route
may
serve
a
destination.

'Spider
Maps'
are
available
in
most
bus
shelters
served
by
multiple
routes.



A
review
is
presently
under way
of
the
type
of
information
being
provided
both
in
terms
of
content
and
where
it
is
provided
with
a
view
to
improving
visibility
across
London.
This
review
will
incorporate
changes
to
existing
information
arising
from
the
planned
conversion
to
24
hour
operation
of
some
Tube
services
in
September
2015.

The
review
will
be
complete
at
the
end
of
May
2015
and
I
have
asked
TfL
to
provide
you
with
an
update
then.

Great Northern
line

Question
No:
2015/0781


Joanne
McCartney

Local
residents
have
contacted
me
to
complain
about
the
poor
service
on
the
Great
Northern
line
since
Govia
took
over
the
franchise
from
First
Capital
Connect
in
September
2014.
I
have
previously
lobbied
for
this
line
to
be
devolved
to
TFL.
What
discussions
are
TfL
having
with Govia,
Network
Rail
and / or
the
Department
of
a
Transport
about
the
service
on
this
line?
Will TfL
press
the
case
for
this
line
to
be
devolved
to
them?


The Mayor



I
am
not
satisfied
with
the
performance
on
the
Great
Northern
route,
which
has
met
the
franchise
target
in
only
one
of
the
five
four-week
reporting
periods
since
Govia
took
over.


I
urge
both
Govia
and
Network
Rail
to
work
together
to
improve
performance
and
give
passengers
on
both
the
Great
Northern
and
Thameslink
routes
the
level
of
service
they
deserve.


I
have
raised
my
concerns
at
the
highest
level
with
Network
Rail
and
the
Department
for
Transport.


As
you
know
I
am
continuing
to
make
the
case
for
more
of
London's
railways
to
be
devolved
to
TfL,
which
allows
TfL
to
impose
much
tougher
performance
targets
and
incentives.
This
is
one of
the
reasons
for
the
excellent
performance
seen
on
London
Overground,
one
of
the
most
reliable
railways
in
the
UK.

W3 bus
route
overcrowding

Question
No:
2015/0782


Joanne
McCartney

I
have
received
numerous
reports
of
severe
overcrowding
on
the
W3
bus
route
in
Haringey.
There
are
complaints
of
waits
of
20
minutes
plus
when
the
service
is
supposed
to
be
every
6-8
minutes,
and
queues
longer
than
the
buses
can
cope
with,
so
not
all
passengers
are
able
to
board.
Will
you
conduct
a
review
into
this
service
and
take
actions
to
improve
the
service
for
commuters?


The
Mayor



TfL
is
aware
of
reliability
issues
on
the
W3.

A
new
schedule
to
address
this
is
expected
to
be
introduced
in
May,
when
extra
buses
and
drivers
become
available.

[vjaska]

The answer to the Stamford Hill to Golders Green route question looks intriguing - a case of watch this space? Maybe the 13 will be re-used lool.

[snoggle]

Mar 6, 2015 23:52:51 GMT vjaska said:

The answer to the Stamford Hill to Golders Green route question looks intriguing - a case of watch this space? Maybe the 13 will be re-used lool.

I wouldn't get over excited. Andrew Dismore has asked this question about 9,000,000 times and there is always a weasly answer although many months ago it was clear TfL are not going to do anything about a direct service. Heck any Jewish people making the trip only have to walk round a corner to catch a 253/4 having used the 210. Dismore has a dire reputation for repeating and repeating and repeating the same question month after month in the vain hope that a slightly different contradictory response might be given. He also hates Boris and Boris hates him - their exchanges in MQT are appalling.

Mr Dismore has only kept this issue alive because Boris made a stupid promise to create such a bus link and, of course, he hasn't done anything about it because there's no case for it and no money. Being blunt it may also create a precedent for religious or ethnic based bus services and that could just create a never ending list of demands for special services between areas across London. If the journey between Golders Green and Stamford Hill was genuinely difficult then I could perhaps understand the demands for a through service but the reality is that there are very frequent double deck services every day of the week and the interchange at Finsbury Park is OK, not super swish but show me such an interchange anywhere in London.

[DT 11]

Mar 7, 2015 8:01:24 GMT Mokujin said:

Good to hear that they are doing more to help the 47. The Lewisham works is one of the key things that has ruined the route and nowadays it's common to see up to four 47s running together along Friendly Street due to the traffic etc.

As for 188, it will probably always be terrible. Nothing can save that route.

The 188 should be re-reouted via London Bridge and Tooley Street. Tower Bridge Road lets the 188 down.

[twobellstogo]

Mar 7, 2015 19:44:30 GMT DT 11 said:

Mar 7, 2015 8:01:24 GMT Mokujin said:

Good to hear that they are doing more to help the 47. The Lewisham works is one of the key things that has ruined the route and nowadays it's common to see up to four 47s running together along Friendly Street due to the traffic etc.

As for 188, it will probably always be terrible. Nothing can save that route.

The 188 should be re-reouted via London Bridge and Tooley Street. Tower Bridge Road lets the 188 down.

Would be a good change, making the connection to/from Central London rather quicker, but the connection from Jamaica Road to Elephant is well used and busy, and needs maintaining, and I don't think there's anything suitable to cover it (the obvious one is 199, but I don't think there's room at the Elephant to terminate it). So the 188 will probably have to continue that way.

[Nathan]

Mar 12, 2015 11:24:54 GMT twobellstogo said:

Mar 7, 2015 19:44:30 GMT DT 11 said:

The 188 should be re-reouted via London Bridge and Tooley Street. Tower Bridge Road lets the 188 down.

Would be a good change, making the connection to/from Central London rather quicker, but the connection from Jamaica Road to Elephant is well used and busy, and needs maintaining, and I don't think there's anything suitable to cover it (the obvious one is 199, but I don't think there's room at the Elephant to terminate it). So the 188 will probably have to continue that way.

There should be room for the 199 now that the 415 has been extended. It would be interesting to see two TL routes terminate at Elephant though.

[DT 11]

Mar 12, 2015 11:37:03 GMT Nathan said:

Mar 12, 2015 11:24:54 GMT twobellstogo said:

Would be a good change, making the connection to/from Central London rather quicker, but the connection from Jamaica Road to Elephant is well used and busy, and needs maintaining, and I don't think there's anything suitable to cover it (the obvious one is 199, but I don't think there's room at the Elephant to terminate it). So the 188 will probably have to continue that way.

There should be room for the 199 now that the 415 has been extended. It would be interesting to see two TL routes terminate at Elephant though.

If the 199 was to be extended to Elephant & Castle I don't see the point. I would extend the 1 to Bellingham, Catford Bus Garage via the 199 and withdraw the 199.

[southlondonbus]

Would like to see that happen but I don't think the 1 will extend again to Lewisham and Catford . Plus unless the 199 was to double run to Canada Water the loss of the Canada Water connection was be lost.

[Deleted]

Wasn't 199 withdrawn from Elephant and Castle due to the Jubilee line being open and was made orignally from the 1 getting withdrawn from Lewisham to Canada Water.

[vjaska]

Mar 12, 2015 19:30:46 GMT DT 11 said:

Mar 12, 2015 11:37:03 GMT Nathan said:

There should be room for the 199 now that the 415 has been extended. It would be interesting to see two TL routes terminate at Elephant though.

If the 199 was to be extended to Elephant & Castle I don't see the point. I would extend the 1 to Bellingham, Catford Bus Garage via the 199 and withdraw the 199.

I remember people saying my idea of the 1 double running via Ilderton Road, if the Surrey Canal development is completed, was unworkable. I couldn't see the above working, especially with the 199 being withdrawn.

[snoggle]

Mar 12, 2015 22:57:22 GMT vjaska said:

Mar 12, 2015 19:30:46 GMT DT 11 said:

If the 199 was to be extended to Elephant & Castle I don't see the point. I would extend the 1 to Bellingham, Catford Bus Garage via the 199 and withdraw the 199.

I remember people saying my idea of the 1 double running via Ilderton Road, if the Surrey Canal development is completed, was unworkable. I couldn't see the above working, especially with the 199 being withdrawn.

I think it will be a few years before much is extended anywhere near to Elephant and Castle because of the planned reconfiguration of the northern roundabout. TfL have now split the work in two - two years of road rebuilding which starts very soon and has to finish before the purdah period for the 2016 Mayoral Election. Then nothing happens on the new "peninsula" while LU rebuilds the entrance to the Northern Line station which takes nearly 4 years. Then Surface Transport come along and finish off the "peninsula" area (what is currently the middle of the roundabout but which will be joined to the shopping centre area when the roundabout disappears). I only spotted this recently in the Q3 Investment Report. I expect TfL will actually curtail a number of routes away from Elephant while the road works happen meaning walks for people to get to the tube stations or squashing onto a bus for one or two stops. There are so many routes that terminate at Elephant that I can't see it being feasible to retain stand space and force those buses through the limited road space given the need to keep "cross Elephant" routes running reasonably well.

In the longer term then yes I would expect there to be a reconfiguration of bus routes because the scale of housing development at the Elephant, Surrey Canal, Old Kent Road and Convoys Wharf will force TfL's hand to significantly remodel bus routes and add capacity.