The South Londoners waiting 35 minutes for buses as more frequent service 'too expensive'

A 465 London bus next to another single decker on a road
-Credit: (Image: Flickr: Aubrey)


Residents have been left waiting for 35 minutes for London buses as traffic means ensuring a more frequent service would be 'too expensive', Sadiq Khan has claimed. The 465 between Cromwell Road Bus Station and South Street / Rose Hill is used by residents, including schoolchildren, who live in a small Kingston village.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Gareth Roberts told the Mayor of London: "The operator for this bus line changed this summer. Residents tell me that the new operator is providing a service only every 35 minutes instead of every 30 minutes, which is problematic for their children to go to school.

"The 465 is the only route available to the residents of Malden Rushett and they would be looking for improvements i.e. increase in services rather than what appears to be a deterioration."

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Google street view of Malden Rushett
The village of Malden Rushett is served by 465 buses -Credit:Google

He then asked: "Why did TfL consider this reduced service acceptable when it negotiated with the new operator? Will you ask the operator to bring the service at least back to every 30 minutes?"

'Slower prevailing traffic conditions along the route'

Mr Khan said: "Transport for London (TfL) entered into a new bus operating contract with Transport UK for route 465 between Kingston and Dorking, which became effective on 29 June 2024; the route was formerly operated by London United RATP. As part of the new contract terms, it was agreed that the service frequency would be adjusted from a bus every 30 minutes, to one every 35 minutes.

"This adjustment was made because of slower prevailing traffic conditions along the route, which affected the reliability of the service. The capacity provided under the new frequency remains sufficient to meet customer demand and customers will benefit from more reliable services.

"Until traffic congestion reduces and journeys times improve, there are no plans to adjust the frequency of the service further as the restoration of a 30-minute frequency would require an additional bus and driver duties, which would be disproportionally expensive for TfL, when considering the level of demand."

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