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From the end of this month, there’s going to be one less bus service on the roads of Putney, Fulham, Chelsea and Kensington. TfL has confirmed that the 414 between Putney and Marble Arch will get the cut from Saturday, February 22.
Instead of the 414, TfL is offering an ‘enhanced’ service on bus route 14, which runs between Putney Heath and Russell Square. It’ll run every eight minutes rather than every 10 minutes as previously. Passengers are also advised that they can use 74 bus route, which parallels the 414 between South Kensington and Marble Arch.
The controversial decision was made following a six-week public consultation that gathered 914 responses. Just over half of the respondents said that ditching the 414 would have a negative impact.
Concerns were raised over access to local hospitals, potential overcrowding and accessibility issues for those who need to change bus to complete their journey between Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch.
Cem Kemahli, lead member for planning and public place at Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: ‘People rely on the 414 to commute and patients need this service to reach our hospitals at Chelsea and Westminster, the Royal Marsden and the Royal Brompton.
‘Even with an increase in the frequency of the number 14, it will mean significantly fewer buses per hour and force passengers to change at busy Hyde Park Corner, which can be quite challenging for people using wheelchairs, buggies or with heavy luggage.’
A TfL spokesperson said: ‘Following a public consultation this year and careful consideration of the feedback received, we decided to increase the frequency of route 14, while withdrawing route 414. Both buses operate similar routes and route 14 will now operate every eight minutes, rather than every 10 as previously. Our data shows that this frequency will provide sufficient capacity at the busiest points of the route.
‘We sought to reduce the impact on passengers as much as possible to reflect current customer demand and will continue to review any changes to bus routes.’
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