Pensioners 'disgusted' as London bus route change leaves them having to 'take taxis' instead

A W12 bus and elderly man with frame in Walthamstow Village
-Credit: (Image: Adam Toms/MyLondon)


Residents of Walthamstow Village are concerned about the changes made to bus routes in the local area. Bus services have been axed in Walthamstow Village, causing problems for those needing accessible public transport.

Routes 549, W12, W13, and W14 have been altered as part of wider changes in East London. The changes went live on Saturday, September 7. Since then, numerous concerns have been raised by locals and officials.

Last week, Conservative London Assembly member Keith Prince shared his concern about the impact of the route changes on school children with Sadiq Khan. Mr Khan described the changes as “part of a simpler, more frequent and more comprehensive network” of buses in the area.

READ MORE: Whistleblower London bus drivers ‘exhausted’ and ‘use faulty vehicles’ in ‘dangerous’ conditions

The W12 bus , which connects locals to Wanstead and Whipps Cross Hospital, has been rerouted to run between Walthamstow, Coppermill Lane and Woodford Bridge. As such, the service no longer stops at Walthamstow Village after previously calling there twice every hour.

To help relieve the impact of the bus route changes, TfL has increased the frequency of route W12. From Monday to Saturday, during the daytime, the service has been increased from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes. During the evenings and on Sundays, the service has been increased from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes.

A W12 bus to Wanstead
W12 buses have been changed -Credit:Au Morandarte

The nearest bus stop to Walthamstow Village is now on Church Hill, nearly 500 metres from the Walthamstow Village’s prime location, Orford Road. As such, those unable to walk certain distances are struggling to access public transport.

An online petition , which aims to save the W12 bus route through Walthamstow Village, claims that 44% of bus users in the area are Older Person’s Freedom Pass holders. A vox pop conducted by MyLondon revealed that older Walthamstow Village residents are finding it difficult to adapt to the route changes.

A resident of Walthamstow Village, who wished to remain anonymous, saw information about the bus route changes posted on the community’s Facebook Group. “There’s a lot of older and disabled people in this area that rely on the W12 bus and are disappointed,” she commented.

Karen Norris, 61, told MyLondon: “I use the W12 bus service to go to the market and visit my friends. I can’t just jump on it now, I have to walk. My friend is struggling because she’s had lots of operations.

“To get to the hospital [Whipps Cross] she now has to walk to the end of the village to get the W12 bus. It seems like a short distance but it’s not when you’re 72 and you’ve had two knee operations.”

Another local, who also wished to remain anonymous, described how the W12 is integral for those needing to access Whipps Cross Hospital. She added: “The changes don’t impact me personally as I live on the other side [of Walthamstow]. It’s inconvenient for those who live in the Village as they’ve now got to walk to the next stop, whereas before it used to go through the Village.”

Gordon Harnett, 80, said: ‘It’s disgusting. I’ve signed two petitions. I asked why they had changed the route and they said ‘people didn’t want buses coming through the village’. I don’t have a car. I live in a block of flats with 31 people, all pensioners. One is 101 years old. We'll have to start using taxis.” Mr Harnett later expressed his concern about the changes impacting disabled members of the community and those managing pushchairs.

W12 bus route changes and TfL's explanation

The W12 has been rerouted to run between Walthamstow, Coppermill Lane and Woodford Bridge. This means the services will no longer call at Walthamstow Village after previously calling there twice per hour.

But route W12 has been increased in frequency to mitigate the impacts, from every 30 to every 15 minutes, during the daytime between Monday and Saturday, and from every 30 to every 20 minutes during the evenings and all day on Sundays. But it has been claimed that the overhaul is 'not for the betterment of local people, community and passengers'.

A spokesperson for TfL told MyLondon on September 9: "Ensuring that everyone can travel affordably and sustainably is vital and we always take the needs of the local community into account when making changes to our bus network. We have doubled the frequency of the W12 route as part of a wider set of improvements to buses in the area, which will also improve access to Whipps Cross Hospital for tens of thousands of local residents.

"Changes to the routing through Walthamstow Village will enable us to increase the frequency of the route and we will continue to monitor the impact of the changes after they have been put in place."

Get the latest travel news from London's roads, trains and buses with our new London Traffic and Travel newsletter. You can sign up HERE.