1. Art and Diseño

Consultation on possible changes
to bus routes 205 and N205
Consultation Report
January 2015
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2
Consultation on possible changes
to bus routes 205 and N205
Consultation Report
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Contents
1
Introduction..................................................................................................................... 2
2
The consultation ............................................................................................................. 2
3
Responses from members of the public ......................................................................... 3
4
Responses from statutory bodies and other stakeholders .............................................. 6
Appendices
Appendix A – Copy of the consultation leaflet ....................................................................... 7
Appendix B – List of stakeholders consulted ...................................................................... 10
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1. Introduction
Transport for London recently consulted stakeholders and the public about a proposal to
permanently reroute routes 205 and N205 along Great Eastern Street and Bishopsgate.
The consultation took place from 26 September to 7 November 2014.
Since July 2013, routes 205 and N205 have been on diversion between Old Street and
Houndsditch along Great Eastern Street and Bishopsgate because of Crossrail works at
Moorgate. The routes previously ran along the southern part of City Road and London Wall.
The diversion gives useful links to Shoreditch and the north of the City of London. Weekday
usage on the diverted section between Old Street Station and Houndsditch has risen
compared to the previous routeing via Moorgate. We are therefore proposing to make the
current diversion route permanent.
The proposal means that routes 205 and N205 would no longer serve City Road, Finsbury
Square, Moorgate, South Place, Eldon Street, Blomfield Street, London Wall and
Wormwood Street. About 800 passengers per weekday had their direct bus trips broken by
the diversion, mostly to or from Moorgate or Finsbury Square. Route 214 will continue to
link Finsbury Square with Angel and King’s Cross, and route 43 links Moorgate, Finsbury
Square and Angel. Both these are 24-hour routes.
This report explains the background to the proposal, the consultation and summarises the
responses. It will contribute to the decision on whether to go ahead with this proposed
change or not.
2. The consultation
The consultation was designed to enable TfL to understand local opinion about the
proposed changes to routes 205 and N205.
The potential outcomes of the consultation are:
 We decide the consultation raises no issues that should prevent us from proceeding
with the scheme as originally planned.
 We modify the scheme in response to issues raised in consultation.
 We abandon the scheme as a result of issues raised in the consultation.
2.1 Consultation objectives
The objectives of the consultation were:
 To give stakeholders and the public easily-understandable information about the
proposals and allow them to respond
 To understand the level of support or opposition for the change
 To understand any issues that might affect the proposal of which we were not
previously aware
 To understand concerns and objections
 To allow respondents to make suggestions.
2.2 Who we consulted
The consultation intended to seek the views of people who use the bus routes involved
and those who might potentially use the service. We also consulted stakeholders
including the affected Councils, traffic police, London TravelWatch, Members of
Parliament, Assembly Members and local interest groups. A list of the stakeholders we
consulted is shown in Appendix B and a summary of their responses is given in Section
4.
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2.3 Consultation material, distribution and publicity
The consultation was published online. The dedicated webpage explained the
background to the proposal. We invited people to respond by answering a number of
questions and leaving comments. We raised awareness of the consultation by sending
an email to approximately 14,000 registered Oyster Card holders who have used routes
205 and/or N205, and to key stakeholders. We also put up posters at bus stops served
by the routes. Copies of the consultation materials are shown in Appendix A.
People were invited to respond to the consultation using a variety of methods. They
could respond via our freepost address (FREEPOST TFL CONSULTATIONS), by
emailing [email protected] or by accessing the online consultation where they
could let us know their views.
3 Responses from members of the public
We received a total of 643 responses. There were 639 responses via the website and four
via email.
3.1 Public consultation results
To help us understand more about who replied and their thoughts on the route and
proposal, we asked a number of questions;
We asked respondents whether they currently use routes 205 and N205.
Do you use route 205?
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Number of replies
% of total
Yes
606
94.3
No
22
3.4
Not answered
15
2.3
Total
643
100
3
Do you use route N205?
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Number of replies
% of total
Yes
347
53.9
No
284
44.2
Not answered
12
1.9
Total
643
100
Respondents were asked to give us their views on our proposals for routes 205 and
N205.
550
Are you in favour of this proposal for route 205?
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Number of replies
% of total
Yes
510
79.3
No
115
17.9
No opinion
10
1.6
Not answered
8
1.2
Total
643
100
4
450
Are you in favour of this proposal for route N205?
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Number of replies
% of total
Yes
404
62.8
No
76
11.8
No opinion
155
24.1
Not answered
8
1.3
Total
643
100
3.2 Additional comments
Respondents were given the opportunity to provide further comments about our
proposal. Of the 643 responses, 317 provided comments. The tables below summarise
the views and suggestions made. A separate document will respond to the main points
raised by respondents.
Comments and suggestions
Generally supportive
This provides a useful bus link to Shoreditch
Moorgate/City Road are already adequately served by other routes
This will help ease congestion at Liverpool Street/Moorgate
Proposed route makes access to Liverpool Street station easier
Passengers who need to travel to Moorgate can use Tube/train
Generally against
The proposal will mean less bus links to Moorgate/City Road
The route via Shoreditch takes longer than the old route via
Moorgate, particularly at peak times
This proposal will increase congestion on Bishopsgate
Route 135 already provides an alternative to the proposed 205 route
This will mean there is no bus route from Moorgate towards
Whitechapel
Holywell Lane is too narrow for buses
This will mean there is no direct bus link from Paddington to the City
Number of
times
raised
53
26
3
2
1
12
5
4
3
2
2
1
5
N205 is already very busy. Rerouting via Shoreditch may make it
worse
Proposed route makes access to Liverpool Street station more
difficult
There are already a multitude of bus routes that go past Liverpool St
station and into the Shoreditch area
Passengers wanting to go to Shoreditch can change at Old Street
The bus stops in Shoreditch are rarely used
Existing service/reliability
Increase frequency of route 205
Can the 214 serve Liverpool Street station again?
Can route 214 be more frequent and/or have double deck buses?
Increase frequency of route N205
Install an additional bus stop on Bishopsgate outside the Heron
Tower
Too many eastbound buses on route 205 terminate at
Aldgate/Whitechapel/Mile End
Routeing suggestions
Run route 205 along Commercial Road to Aldgate instead of going
via Houndsditch and Bishopsgate
Extend route 205 to Stratford
Keep the old routeing and provide a new bus route to serve Great
Eastern Street and Bishopsgate
205 should run via Shoreditch Town Hall instead of Great Eastern
Street.
Change the route so that it only runs between Bow and City Road
If this proposal goes ahead route 135 could terminate at Aldgate or
Liverpool Street
A bus link from Paddington/Kings Cross to Hackney Road or Bethnal
Green would be better
Will the former 205 route be covered by another route?
Would like to have a direct bus route from Caledonian Road to
Liverpool street
1
1
1
1
1
16
6
5
3
2
1
4
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
4 Responses from statutory bodies and other
stakeholders
We received one response from stakeholders, shown below.

London Borough of Hackney
Hackney Council welcomes this proposal.
The City of London and the London Boroughs of Islington and Tower Hamlets were also
consulted, but did not respond.
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Appendix A – Copy of the consultation material
Bus Stop notice
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Email to Oyster Card holders
We sent an email to registered oyster card holders who have specified they use either route
205 or N205. The email was issued to 14,314 people on 1 October 2014 and provided a
link to our consultation page.
Respondents were asked to review our proposals on consultation webpage. Respondents
were able to reply online. Details of the responses are set out in section 3
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Copy of the consultation webpage
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Appendix B – List of stakeholders consulted
London TravelWatch
Elected Members
Caroline Pidgeon AM
Darren Johnson AM
Gareth Bacon AM
Jenny Jones AM
Murad Qureshi AM
Nicky Gavron AM
Andrew Boff AM
Victoria Borwick AM
Tom Copley AM
Stephen Knight AM
Fiona Twycross AM
Joanne McCartney AM
John Biggs AM
Jennette Arnold AM
Rushanara Ali MP
Meg Hillier MP
Mark Field MP
Cllr William Dove
Cllr Simon D'Olier
Duckworth
Cllr Stanley Ginsburg
Cllr Wendy Hyde
Cllr Neil Redcliffe
Cllr Tom Sleigh
Cllr Patrick Streeter
Cllr Suluk Ahmed
Cllr Gulam Robbani
Cllr Troy Gallagher
Cllr Robert Khan
Cllr Claudia Webbe
Cllr Kam Adams
Cllr Feryal Dimirci
Cllr Tom Ebbutt
Bishopsgate ward
Bishopsgate ward
Bishopsgate ward
Bishopsgate ward
Bishopsgate ward
Bishopsgate ward
Bishopsgate ward
Spitalfields and Banglatown ward
Spitalfields and Banglatown ward
Bunhill ward
Bunhill ward
Bunhill ward
Councillor, Hoxton East and Shoreditch ward
Hoxton East and Shoreditch ward
Hoxton East and Shoreditch ward
Local Authorities
City of London
London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Police & Health Authorities
Metropolitan Police
City of London Police
Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets Safer Transport Teams
City, Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets Care Commissioning Groups (CCGs)
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London Ambulance Service
Transport Groups
AA
Association of British Drivers
Association of Car Fleet Operators
British Motorcyclists Federation
Freight Transport Association
Green Flag Group
Motorcycle Action Group
Motorcycle Industry Association
Road Haulage Association
Local Interest Groups
Islington Transport Aware
City of London Access Group
Other Stakeholders
Action on Hearing Loss (formerly RNID)
Age Concern London
Age UK
Asian Peoples Disabilities Alliance
BT
Campaign for Better Transport
Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
CTC, The national cycling charity
Disability Alliance
Disabled Persons Transport Advisory
Committee
EDF Energy
Greater London Forum for the Elderly
Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and
Partially Sighted People (JCMBPS)
Joint Mobility Unit
Living Streets
London Cycling Campaign
London Fire and Emergency Planning
Authority
London Older People's Strategy Group
MIND
National Children's Bureau
National Grid
Port of London Authority
RADAR London Access Forum
Rank and Highways Representative for
Unite
RNIB
Royal Mail
Royal Parks
Sense
Sixty Plus
Stroke Association
Sustrans
Sutton Centre for Voluntary Sector
Thames Water
The British Dyslexia Association
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