A Good Start, but can be better...

This is one thing I've been wanting to try over the last few weeks, and considering TFL recently held a consultation I do hope you respect my views that were proposed. This is one thing new I decided to try so please give feedback, many thanks.

Recently TFL upheld a proposal for routes to serve the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in phases starting from this summer. These involved routes from the boroughs of Waltham Forest, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham.

For each route I will be giving feedback on the proposals, and also if needed give feedback in areas which could be improved on.

The Consultation can be found here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/stratford/consult_view - The Consultation is now closed, so we await TFL to give feedback on their proposals!

Route 97: Stratford City - Chingford Station

As a regular user of the route, as of late the reliability has been questioned following it's split between WH and T.

I do particularly like the idea of diverting it via the new Chobham Manor Estate and also serving Stratford International Station. Currently there are too many buses that run from Leyton to the main Stratford Centre & Station. These are covered by Routes 69 (Via Maryland) and Routes 158 & 308 (Via Leyton Road).

Leyton Road is barely busy in comparison to the 69 routing between Stratford and Leyton, as it goes past the Thatched House and picks up loadings through Maryland as well.

Both the 69 & 97 share common routings, as these parallel each other between the Southern end of Leyton and Walthamstow.

However, each aspect of the routings have been different since the 97 got extended to Stratford City in 2011. The 69 would serve the Town Centre, while the 97 will serve Westfield.

With the route proposed to be entering Stratford City Bus Station from the other end, this will again test the reliability of the 97.

There is ongoing congestion issues from the other end of Westfield, as too many users drive over and park their cars.

It has been noted that there have been tailbacks around the Olympic Park, depending on how they are may have a slight influence on the service.

I do like the idea of introducing an additional peak journey, but I don't think this might make a huge influence on loadings itself. I do see the 97 still being busy.

Route 308: Wanstead - Clapton Park

In 2007, Route 308 was diverted via Leyton High Road to serve Leyton Station as a result of the Olympic Park developments. It formerly ran along Temple Mills Lane and through Clays Lane.

This was noted to be a temporary diversion, however the link has been restored making the route skip Leyton Station. There's already alternative access from Leyton High Road over to Homerton and Wanstead, courtesy of Routes W14 and W15.

More importantly, it is noted that the route will be extended to Clapton Pond which makes sense. Currently your only other access out of the area is Route 242.

It does make sense to expand and give Clapton a more direct link to Westfield. Currently the only access towards Stratford would be via Route 425 which leaves you a short walk away from the Westfield Shopping Centre.

It also does make sense to give this route a frequency boost, although I wouldn't rule out a double decker conversion in the near future.

Currently the 308 has heavy loadings in the busy periods of each day, and the current frequencies seen inadequate now.

This proposal can definitely be given the go ahead, there are no flaws with it.

Route 339: Stratford City - Shadwell

It has been noted that the route has been given an outbound extension up to Whipps Cross - deep into Waltham Forest.

Without a major frequency increase, I highly doubt that this will work.

It will serve roads that have high patronage. It will also operate as an assistant to Route W15 between Grove Green Road and Whipps Cross.
If the W15 is eventually going to be lightly used and benefit from these proposals, you will need a frequent 339 service.
At the moment, the only assistance that comes in with the W15 service is from Leytonstone Bus Station when the W19 comes in from Ilford.
I regularly see the W15, it's a very busy route serving a lot of residential complexes within Leytonstone and Leyton.
You cannot put double deckers on this route, nor the 339 extension. There is a low bridge on Grove Green Road and within the Whipps Cross Hospital premises, which the 339 is due to serve.
Aside from the proposed northern end of the route - it has been noted by numerous people though about the usage in the evenings.
At the moment, from the residental areas in Stepney this is the only route (excluding the 309) that would take you to major links.
It has been noted though that the route exceeds its capacity during busy periods - and from my observations more needs to be done.
So, personally I would give the route a 9-10 minute frequency on Mondays to Saturdays, and every 15 on Sundays to see how this goes.
This will be fairly frequent to back up the W15, and also to try and resolve the route's own issues it currently has.

Route 388: Hackney Wick - Blackfriars

This route has been proposed to be extended to Stratford City, which I believe makes sense.
Currently, the terminuses of Hackney Wick served by Routes 26, 30, 236 & 388 barely have useful links to access the nearby Westfield or Leyton's Retail Park.
Getting to Stratford or Leyton would require taking a bus down the road, and getting on the 276 or W15 respectively.
I do like the idea of swapping the terminuses of Routes 26 and 30, as this maintains a common stop to similar areas.
However, I believe more could be done to both routes. They could be extended to Leyton giving easier access to people living in the estates right by the bus stands.
We don't want both routes serving the retail park though, there isn't sufficient enough stand space to fit both routes.
We could though, send one route to the Alexandra Road bus stand - This is barely used in the day.
It is only up the road from the High Road Leyton junction, and buses can start from the stop entitiled 'Leyton High Road/Leyton Station'.
At the moment, the only connections to Central London from Leyton are Routes 48, 55 & 56. And I believe Southern Leyton needs more links into Hackney and unserved areas such as Highbury & Islington, which the 30 does indeed serve.
Aside from my suggestions, I like the idea of extending the 388 to Stratford City as I felt more needed to be done to this route.
This also gives a direct bus link from Bethnal Green to Stratford during the day, something that has been missing. Currently you can only achieve this via the N8 night bus route - Getting from Bethnal Green to Stratford in the day requires either two buses or taking the Central Line.

Here I have chosen to point out the areas I'm interested in. I hope you enjoyed reading this point and the opinions I present. We would very much appreciate your feedback on what I tried here, and suggest any improvements for future thoughts and opinions on changes within the TFL Bus network. Many thanks for reading!