More people are unhappy about the 65 than any other route
The 65 bus route between Kingston and Ealing Broadway (via Brentford) is top of the table for complaints in London.
In the last eight months 107 people have contacted TfL about overcrowding or poor performance. The C10 towards Victoria came second with 98 complaints and the 372 to Hornchurch had 96.
Passengers also have to wait longer than they should for the 65. The minimum standard time spent at a bus stop for this double deck is supposed to be 1m 50 sec but it's currently nearly 3 minutes.
The information was released following a question by London Assembly Member, Valerie Shawcross, at the Mayor's Question Time (18 November).
Ms Shawcross also asked for details of the 10 most overcrowded buses at rush hour but the Mayor said no such routes should exist.
''TfL plans bus services so that sufficient capacity is provided to meet the level of demand at the busiest point across the busiest hour.
It plans some spare capacity in this hour to take account of surges in demand. For example, if the demand is 700 passengers across the busiest hour, it would provide 10 double decks, giving a total capacity of about 870.
Therefore, all bus routes
should experience similar levels of crowding in the peaks and no routes should be “overcrowded”.
Complaints about the 65 may be partly blamed on route alterations caused by the Thames Water replacement pipe work along the South Ealing Road in the summer.
The Mayor says ''TfL is working with relevant operators to identify solutions to performance difficulties which exist''.
November 24th, 2009