Surrey CC bus routing changes create a Surbiton by-pass.
The sudden withdrawal in August of nine Abellio bus services, serving North West Surrey, had left the principally affected 300sq mile area between Kingston / Staines / Guildford without any regular bus services. A decision on 24 November by Surrey County Council, speedily implemented, provided reduced but viable replacement services, except for one very significant omission.
The 514 and 515 services were, to the astonishment of local users, diverted away from their traditional route through Surbiton, passing instead along the Portsmouth Road into Kingston. A new 715 service from Guildford to Kingston, was also diverted making all four bus services from North East Surrey by-pass Surbiton.
Details of these new routes and timetables are at:
www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/buses-and-trains/bus-timetable-c...
Comparison with previous timetables shows that (even without taking account of the congestion at the Portsmouth Road / Brigton Road Junction caused by the new cycle lanes) any delay by routing through Surbiton is likely to be no more than 2-3 minutes. It appears that the Surrey CC decision was driven by timetable factors, without regard to loss of public access to amenities, bus or train revenue, or local traders' interests.
The pressure of a 5,700 signature petition seems too have achieved a partial solution, but it may take a significant response from Surbiton to undo the Surbiton by-pass before it is too late! The new timetables come into effect on 31 December and will run until the end of August 2017.
The Surbiton ByPass will bypass the main line train station, and many bus routes (including three to Kingston Hospital), a post office, four banks and two building societies, two pharmacies, three supermarkets (Waitrose, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer), eight charity shops and many other shops and businesses in Victoria Road
Also bypassed will be Surbiton High School, Hollyfield School, Kingston University and College, County Hall and the Crown Court inter alia.
Comments
I don't really see too much of a problem with this for the majority of bus users.
The section of Portsmouth Road between Brighton Road and Uxbridge Road IS in Surbiton, and people alighting from the bus there are only a 5 minute walk from the town centre.
Most people who want to get to Surbiton town centre from Guildford, Walton etc would be better off getting a train rather than spending potentially hours on a bus.
That said, disabled people will be badly affected, and I don't really understand why they couldn't have let at least one of the routes go through the town centre itself.
Post new comment