Consultation on proposed changes to bus routes in the Baker Street and Gloucester Place area
Responses to the main issues raised December 2015
Consultation on proposed changes to bus routes in the Baker Street and Gloucester Place area
Responses to the main issues raised
TfL responses to the main issues raised
Set out below, are the main points put to us during the consultation and our responses to these. We received 516 responses to the consultation. Of these, some respondents raised the same issues and questions. These have been grouped together as have our responses.
Our proposals
Transport for London (TfL) recently consulted stakeholders and the public about a proposal to change bus routes in the Baker Street and Gloucester Place area. These changes were proposed in relation to the Westminster City Council led Baker Street two-way project. The two-way project involves removing the existing one way road layout and re-introducing two-way traffic to Baker Street and Gloucester Place. It also proposes new turning movements and some banned turns onto adjacent streets.
The TfL consultation on the proposed bus route changes was open between 30 June and 4 September 2015.
Public and stakeholder views were sought on the following changes for Baker Street: Routes 2, 13, 82, 113, 139, 189, N13 and N113 operating in both directions Route 274 no longer serving Baker Street Routes 30, 74 and N74 continuing to operate southbound as present
Views were also sought on the following changes for Portman Street and Gloucester Place: Route 274 operating in both directions Routes 2, 13, 82, 113, 139, 189, N13 and N113 no longer serving Gloucester Place Routes 30, 74 and N74 continuing to operate northbound as present
Existing bus stops would also be affected and may need to be repositioned and new bus stops were proposed for Baker Street northbound and Gloucester Place southbound.
Main issues raised and TfL's response
1) Route 274
Examples of issues:
Why is the number 274 the only bus route proposed to use Gloucester Place north of Marylebone Road? Is it because it is a single-decker bus?
Would prefer if all buses concerned used Baker Street both ways - particularly route 274 as this serves London Zoo. For tourists and visitors alike it would be more beneficial for this route to be closer to the Baker Street station.
Have a direct bus link in both directions between the zoo and Baker Street station.
Consider allowing the 274 to continue its route via the Chalk Farm zoo stop to Baker Street and Selfridges.
The route 274 should not be rerouted to only serve Gloucester Place. It is often used by tourists who only use Baker Street.
Our response:
In response to concerns regarding the loss of a service between Baker Street Station and London Zoo we are proposing to run route 274 on Baker Street in both directions. This would mean no bus service would run on Gloucester Place, north of Marylebone Station.
2) More service levels on Gloucester Place
Examples of issues:
More buses should serve Gloucester Place, allowing for more buses southbound on Gloucester Place.
Put routes 139 and 189 on Gloucester Place and keep the 274 with the Finchley Road routes.
Can one route that goes to St John's Wood, stay on Gloucester Place both ways?
Gloucester Place is a more convenient location than Baker Street for boarding/alighting buses. More buses than just the no 274 should serve Gloucester Place north of Baker Street.
Our response:
Baker Street is a busy and popular area, due to the interchange with Baker Street Station and the greater amount of retail and office uses. Therefore, running more routes on Baker Street benefits a greater number of passengers. It also gives a higher frequency to common destinations such as Oxford Street and Finchley Road. Gloucester Place is within walking distance of Baker Street and having most/all routes on Baker Street benefits passenger by creating a simpler network.
3) Journey times
Examples of issues:
These proposals would increase bus journey times between Regent's Park and Oxford Street.
Baker Street will become congested due to the northbound buses that are proposed to move over from Gloucester Place.
Loss of bus lanes as this will cause longer delays.
There will be more congestion at bus stops due to more bus routes stopping at them.
Our response:
The traffic modelling conducted by the City of Westminster indicates some routes could experience increased journey times during some periods. However, average journey times across all routes would remain roughly the same overall. Details of this can be found here: http://www.bakerstreettwoway.co.uk/
4) Route suggestions
Examples of issues:
Consider rerouting the no 74 and no 30 so that they can use either Baker Street or Gloucester Place.
Provide a solution that would enable two-way running for every service or leave the current arrangements as they are.
Northbound route no 2 should be kept on Gloucester Place as is proposed for routes no 30 and 74.
Route 113 should travel along Gloucester Place instead of Baker Street to make it more dissimilar to routes 13 and 82.
Disagree with the change of route southbound for the 113. Changing this means that it has different stop than the other buses going in that direction.
Would like routes 189 and 139 to continue to run through Gloucester Place. Alternatively, consider running the no 189 through Baker Street and the no 139 through Gloucester Place.
Some users would be disadvantaged by splitting the 274 from the 13/82/113. It would be better to route the 139/189 two-ways on Gloucester Place.
Our response:
Splitting routes between Baker Street and Gloucester Place that have common destinations to Finchley Road, Abbey Road, Victoria and Oxford Circus would mean increasing waiting time for passengers. For example, running routes 139 and 189 on Gloucester Place and route 13 on Baker Street would mean passengers travelling to Oxford Circus having to choose which street to wait on, reducing the overall level of service on offer to them.
Running routes 30 and 74 two-way using their current termini and route structures is not feasible. Running either route on Baker Street or Gloucester Place in both directions would require new turns on and off the inner ring road or the use of roads currently not used by buses.
5) Considered as part of wider review
Examples of issues:
Can route 113 go across Oxford Street and via Grosvenor Square to Berkeley Square?
The route 453 may continue on Marylebone Road and terminate at Paddington Basin.
Increase the use of hopper buses and improve routes from Baker Street to SW1, and avoiding Oxford Street.
Why are no routes diverted towards Great Portland St?
The route no 205 duplicates the east-west Crossrail route as well as two tube lines, but it is very useful as N205.
Would it not be better to have some buses for Marylebone Station stop on the Marylebone Road, on the other side of the Landmark hotel, where possible, rather than going right up to the station.
The Route 82 duplicates route 2 between Victoria and Gloucester Place/Baker Street and may be routed along Marylebone Road stopping for Marylebone Station and then onto Paddington Station Basin.
Our response:
All suggestions fall outside of the scope of the project as they involve changes that are not directly associated with converting Baker Street and Gloucester Place to two-way operation but will be considered as part of our ongoing review of services.
6) Bus stop suggestions
Examples of issues:
Where possible, move stops closer to the tube station.
Add more bus stops.
Would like to see bus stops sited closer to road junctions as these are more convenient for most passengers.
Object to the proposed closing of the Baker Street stop outside Dorset House on Marylebone Road. This affects access to routes 18, 27, 205 and the no 453 eastbound.
Do not remove bus stops on Marylebone Road.
Need for a 139/189 bus stop for westbound buses on the south side of Rossmore Road close to Park Road (opposite the stop on the northside of the road for eastbound buses).
Our response:
Bus stops locations have been fully considered as part of the project and the optimal locations have been agreed while taking into account the usual barriers to implementing bus stops like stakeholder opposition, lack of space and maintaining traffic speeds.
7) Consultation Processes
The route 453 was not depicted in the consultation material. Why not?
We are not proposing any changes to route 453 as part of this scheme. We only included the routes where changes are proposed as we felt this would be less confusing to potential readers.
Concern that the bus consultation was not run at the same time as the Westminster City Council led two-way project consultation. We did plan to run the consultations at the same time. However, there were a few last minute changes required to the proposals for bus routes and stops and this delayed the TfL consultation.
Both consultations were running for four weeks and we were able to launch and produce the information in time for the last two public exhibitions.
Concern that leaflets/paper notification regarding the proposal and consultation was not provided to each address in the area. For this consultation, it was decided not to produce leaflets and post them for a variety of reasons. The main reason being, access to some of the building is difficult and we could not guarantee deliver of the material to all of the addresses.
Another reason was the response rate to leaflets is very poor. Our consultations receives considerably higher response rate using targeting online methods, which is what was used for this consultation.