Update 28 (May 2nd 2017)
No change at Bow Road
Since they were raised with TfL Customer Services a number of issues related to misinformation in the Stratford and Bow areas have been resolved. As mentioned in Update 26 the map and information sheet adjacent to the Information and assistance booth at Stratford City Bus Station was updated before the end of 2016 and now passengers for the 108 are no longer sent on a wild goose chase across the footbridge to Stratford Bus Station. The relevant TfL department placed bus stop X in the correct position on the map at about the same time. Also, as mentioned in Update 27, although the Information and assistance booth is still closed the digital information post now shows departures from bus stop X. The cartographic issues on the 108 route, also raised in Update 27, have been sorted out too and bus stop F on the 339 route is now a permanent fixture and busses do stop there (see Update 25). The 25 no longer goes over Bow flyover (see Update 18), having returned to its original route. On the other hand, unfortunately, nothing has changed outside Bow Road Tube Station.
It is just three years since the 339 route was changed to run along White Post Lane and yet, as indicated in Update 23, the map outside the station still shows the old route. The other map on the concourse is also out of date, for the reasons also given in Update 23.
It is now nearly six months since TfL was informed, directly, of the out-
When alerted to the situation at Bow Road Tube Station (in mid November 2016) the response from TfL Customer Services was to say that the publicity team had been asked to check the maps. A suggestion that there might be a rolling programme to update maps elicited the response that there once was such a programme but this had been discontinued due to ‘prohibitive costs’. Without knowing how much these prohibitive costs were it is impossible to take an informed view as to whether this was a justifiable reason, but it should be noted that a considerable amount of money has been spent on projects that can hardly be called core. Take the proposed Garden Bridge across the Thames. This has always been contentious, a motion presented at the London Assembly in June 2015, for example, asserted the project serves no transport function, and it is therefore inappropriate that £30 million of Transport for London money has been committed to it. This TfL commitment was eventually reduced to £10,000,000 supplemented by a £20,000,000 loan but even £10,000,000 would be a big help in reinstating the rolling programme of updated maps, improving the way TfL monitors its own performance and even opening Information and assistance booths which have Position Closed blinds pulled down for months (perhaps years) on end. As it is it looks as though the whole bridge project will be abandoned as Mayor Khan has recently refused to underwrite the annual maintenance costs. The figures for maintenance were vague, the Garden Bridge Trust website indicates £2,000,000 was initially anticipated but the latest estimates (carried in several newspapers) are in the region of £3,500,000. And, whatever the figure is, it would be needed every year and would, quite clearly, rise as time went by. In a way this money will be ‘saved’ but the loss to the public purse as a result of abandonment is estimated as at least £37,000,000. Presumably the £10,000,000 committed by TfL will be part of this sum.
Update 29 (May 31st 2017)
Where do the 276 and the 488 go from?
On Saturday, 13th May, Parnell Road, between the Roman Road junction and Tregedar
Road, was blocked off for the whole day due to construction work. Bus stop OA was
directly affected. You may see from the first photograph which buses serve the stop
and, from the second, the notice which was posted. There was no indication to any
passengers as to where they might catch the 276 or the 488 -
Saturday is, of course, market day on Roman Road and the single decker buses get quite busy taking people to Hackney, Stratford and the Tesco at Bromley by Bow. Potential passengers, who had arrived by a different route but who wanted to catch the 276 or the 488 towards Hackney had no idea if a diversion was in place or, obviously, where to go even if there was one. It turned out that other passengers were also left waiting in vain for the 276 and the 488 on that part of their route from which the buses had been diverted.
A complaint to TfL Customer Services on May 14th, which also raised the issue of the out of date maps on the concourse at Bow Road Tube Station elicited this automatic acknowledgement.
Thank you for contacting us at Transport for London.
If you have requested a response, we aim to send you a personalised reply within 10 working days. If we are unable to answer your query within this time, we will keep you updated about the progress of your case until you receive a full response.
Nothing heard since.
Update 30 (June 2nd 2017)
A result at Bow Road Tube Station -
In the past couple of days the out of date map on the Bus Information board outside the entrance to Bow Road Tube Station has been replaced with one which shows the 339 route as it is has been since April 2014. Unfortunately, the other map on the concourse has not been replaced (see Update 23). Anyone using that map in planning to travel on to Westfield shopping centre should remember it is the 108 that goes to Stratford City Bus Station, not the D8.
Update 31 (June 4th 2017)
A diary of a diversion – Stratford City Bus Station again
A short walk from Stratford City Bus Station a new development is taking place, which includes a splendid new Transport for London building. The top picture to the left shows the computer generated image displayed on a hoarding and the photo below shows how close the architect’s plans are to coming to fruition. No doubt the building will be opened with some fanfare. Let us hope that if any of the guests arrive by bus they are not subject to the kind of delay and inconvenience which customers at the bus station were subject to between May 22nd and May 31st.
The situation which arose was almost an exact replay of what happened in July of 2016 (see Updates 16 and 17). At that time, when a complaint was made about the information which TfL had provided, a customer service adviser apologised and said,
Please be assured that we are currently looking at ways where we can improve how we give this information, and provide a more efficient, and cost effective way.
If you are not aware of the layout of Stratford City Bus Station, click on the sketch-
Monday May 22nd
At 9 am on Monday, May 22nd several passengers were waiting at bus stop X for a Shadwell-
Close inspection of the notice board on stop X showed the only diversion notice relevant
to that day concerned one between 00.01 and 05.00. In any event, this did not advise
339 passengers to go to stop W (see picture to the left). The digital Bus Information
post outside the yet-
Route 339 will be on diversion and unable to serve Loop Road Carpenters Road or Pool Street due to Shell Eco Marathon on various dates. Please use stop 'W' in Stratford City Bus Station
But, of course, by the time they did the bus would have come and gone.
Later in the day TfL was called on 0343 222 1234 and the situation was explained in detail to a customer service adviser. He was sympathetic but said he could do no more than pass the message on. No complaint reference number was given.
Tuesday, May 23rd
On the following day things had changed -
As on Monday TfL was called and the on-
Wednesday, May 24th
No change from the position as it was on Tuesday. It should be noted that a further
element of confusion was added to the situation by the Leytonstone-
Thursday, May 25th
No change. Customer Services were called in the afternoon and the situation explained
for the third time. The adviser (not the same person who had answered the phone on
either Monday or Tuesday) appeared sympathetic but when asked if there was an internal
procedure for escalating complaints said he didn’t think there was, complaints usually
being dealt with between five and ten days. When it was emphasised that immediate
action was needed and, given the previous two calls, it was not clear why it had
not been, he said he would investigate and call back in an hour or so. No-
Friday, May 26th
No new notice appeared on bus stop X, the digital board indicated Shadwell-
Saturday, May 27th
As Friday. It should be noted that if a 339 did not stop at T and went straight round to W, some some speed was needed to get from X to W in order to catch the bus. This might mean rushing over two lanes of traffic (which could be moving quite fast). It would be possible to use the nearby controlled crossing, but by the time that route had been taken the bus would have gone.
Sunday, May 28th
Still no change.
Bank Holiday Monday May 29th
No change again.
Tuesday, May 30th
Over a week had passed since the diversion had begun and TfL were first contacted
about the confusion on the 339 route at Stratford City Bus Station. No action whatsoever
had been taken and the TfL Journey Planner gave no indication of how long the diversion
would last. In the evening there was something of an altercation between a Tower
Transit driver and passengers on at least one bus. This was clearly caused by pent-
Wednesday, May 31st
No new notice appeared on bus stop X, the digital board indicated the Shadwell-
Thursday, June 1st
Normal service resumed, though for how long was unclear. So now the Shadwell-
HARFORD STREET / MILE END ROAD, E1: Until 1900 Friday 02 June, route 339 is diverted via Burdett Rd, St Pauls Way Rhodeswell Road due to emergency gas repairs. Reverse diversion on return.
Why couldn’t the Journey Planner have been as precise as to when the May 22nd -
Update 32 (June 22nd 2017)
A notice now posted at bus stop X indicates that on Friday, June 23rd the Shadwell-
Letters, which were sent by recorded delivery and signed for on May 25th and June
3rd, about the situation that faced Shadwell-
Work on the prestigious new TfL building in the Stratford International Quarter continues apace.
Update 33 (July 20th 2017)
Stratford City Bus Station -
At the moment the World Para-
Buses will also be on diversion routes on these days, please see TFL website for more details on diversion routes during this period.
Clicking on the TFL website link within that statement will bring up the Status Updates
page (why not try it today?). Enter 339 in the box and TfL may indicate that there
are no disruptions on route 339 towards Leytonstone Station / Grove Green Road. There
is no mention of the route towards Shadwell. Try entering Stratford City Bus Station
and a message will come up about bus stop S, which serves the Leytonstone-
It might have been expected that TfL would have carefully planned how customers would
be informed as to where they should catch their bus when stop X was out of action.
On the morning of Monday, July 17th at 09.00, which was two hours after Montfichet
Road was closed on that day, the situation potential passengers for the Shadwell-
Really?
On the morning of July 17th Montfichet Road was closed by a large metal barrier, but some bus passengers did not seem aware of this or may have thought it would closed be for a very short period.
Bus stop X was closed but despite a hood indicating that the stop would be closed during the days and times detailed below i.e on the post notice board, there was no ‘change alert’ notice to let passengers know where they could catch the 339 (or the 108 or the Here East shuttle for that matter).
The bus station Information and assistance booth remained closed and the digital
information post was blank (it was operational for a few days in the week beginning
Monday, July 10th). There was no-
Any customer logging on to the TfL Journey Planner would find it was showing the
Shadwell-
The photograph to the left shows an advert for the tfl text service on the 339 route
and one might expect that the information this service provides (especially as TfL
charges for the information) would be updated when pre-
On the evening of Wednesday, July 19th bus stop X was open when passengers who had
consulted the Queen Elizabeth Park website might have anticipate it would be closed.
The digital post was working and showing accurate information. It is understandable
that Montfichet will be kept open as long as possible, even during those times when
it is shown to be scheduled for closure, and keeping bus stop X open is clearly less
disruptive than closing it. However, when it is closed it is up to TfL to give timely,
co-
The right priority?
Given the fact that the Information and assistance booth remains closed and the operation
of the digital post is intermittent one would think that TfL would at least make
sure both maps by the side of the booth were accurate. But the spider map is now
out-
The good news is that TfL has found the time and money to put a No Smoking sign on the ground to supplement the ‘No smoking in this area’ sign on the eternally pulled down Position Closed blind in the window of the Information and assistance booth.
Update 34 (July 31st 2017)
Yesterday there were a number of bus diversions, in east London and elsewhere, due to the Prudential RideLondon event. As this had been planned long in advance and was evidently supported by TfL it would seem to be a reasonable expectation that bus passengers would be inconvenienced as little as possible due to these diversions and that information provided by TfL would be in a form easily accessible to anyone and placed in suitable locations.
Although it is only one stop from Stratford City Bus Station to the London Aquatics
Centre it is a fair walk over what is essentially a hump-
During this period both the 108 and the 339 services were leaving bus stop X. Unfortunately,
the digital post by the yet to be opened Information and assistance booth carried
no information about either the 108 or the 339 going either way. Moreover, the screen
itself was unpredictably intermittent. It would go blank for a few seconds, then
come back on again for a short period and then go off again. It was the same this
morning. On one occasion yesterday a yellow banner briefly appeared, which indicated
that the Shadwell-
To the left is a photo of the bus alert sheet that was placed on the information panels at both the London Aquatics Centre stops (J and H) in Pool Street. Both stops were closed for the Shadwell and Leytonstone bound 339 services, as were all the other stops between Stratford City Bus Station and bus stop E on Tredegar Road. However, I think there is a possibility that no alert sheets were placed on the information panels of any of the other stops – there were certainly none at either stop OV or stop QS at Autumn Street. Consequently, customers would have been left waiting for a bus that would not come – until after 11.00 am anyway.
Update 35 (August 8th 2017)
Stratford City Bus Station -
The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships are taking place at the London Stadium at the moment. As is to be expected diversions are being made to the 108 and 339 routes. The photo to the left shows the notice that has been put up on the post at bus stop X in Stratford City Bus Station by TfL. It is clear and accurate, although one has to be careful not to confuse the blue C stop with the red C stop or the red F stop with the blue F stop. One would have thought it would have been possible for all stops in, and within the vicinity of, Stratford City Bus Station to have been given different identity letters, especially as, in some cases, TfL uses two letters on some bus stops.
Unfortunately, and despite TfL being told about this repeatedly, the digital information
post out side the permanently closed Information and assistance booth, was, once
again, giving contradictory information. It was indicating that Shadwell-
No more confusion at Stratford City Bus Station.
Update 33 (see above) contains the following paragraph;
Given the fact that the Information and assistance booth remains closed and the operation
of the digital post is intermittent one would think that TfL would at least make
sure both maps by the side of the booth were accurate. But the ‘spider’ map is an
out-
Any confusion has now ended. The out-
I am not sure how long it would have taken to write out and put up a notice indicating
that an up-
The new TfL building is now open in ‘London’s new home for modern business’ a few hundred yards away. Behind the reception desk visitors will see the usual TfL statement that Every Journey Matters and, doubtless, be duly impressed by the excellent work stations and splendid views on each of the upper floors. It is to be hoped, however, that none of these visitors will be going home by bus from Stratford and, being unclear as to which bus goes where, head for the Information and assistance booth. When searching for information and assistance, especially on a cold and wet autumn evening, disillusionment is likely to set in quickly.
Update 37 (November 19th 2017)
During last summer it would appear TfL ensured that, with the exception of a few stops, all buses routed along all, or part, of the A11 between Stratford and Aldgate gave an audio warning to passengers as the vehicle approached a bus stop island. The danger to both bus passengers and cyclists of a collision at a bus stop by pass has long been apparent and could have been predicted at the planning stage. The TfL response to queries about this danger on this particular road did not inspire confidence. In the summer of 2015 an assurance was given by TfL Customer Services that the matter would be investigated and the ‘findings would be conveyed as soon as they were received’ (see Update 10). None ever were. Still, better late than never.
An interesting view of the commitment of TfL to the safety of bus passengers is given in a London Assembly report called Driven to Distraction, which was published in July of this year. It is well worth reading. Click here to read the report.
At Stratford City Bus Station no sign of a new spider map by the yet-