The Enfield Transport Users Group (ETUG) has expressed its disappointment about the delay on the part of Transport for London (TfL) in responding to an integrated package of bus route changes drawn up by ETUG on behalf of Enfield Council.
Enfield Council submitted the proposals set out in the Enfield Bus Review at the end of 2013. The Review recommended changes to 29 bus routes running wholly or largely within the borough, aimed at achieving a number of objectives without increasing the total number of buses running on the routes (see this earlier report for details of how the changes would affect Palmers Green). However, when TfL's response to the proposals was made public for the first time, at a special meeting of ETUG on 22nd January, it appeared that their route planning team had not carried out any detailed examination of the viability of the suggested route changes.
Tony Wallis, one of the ETUG team that had carried out the Review, was disappointed because
- TfL had taken over a year to come back with a response to around 25% of the Review's proposals
- they had not tried to follow a whole-area evaluation process, which was not helpful as the Review had proposed many related changes
- TfL's responses relating to particular routes did not relate to the actual changes suggested by the Review
- TfL had given no indication of when they would respond to the remainder of the proposals.
ETUG will meet next on 5th March, when it will revert to its normal agenda covering all aspects of public transport within the Borough. Current issues include the sharp rise in fares on the Liverpool Street-Seven Sisters-Enfield Town rail line and the future of ETUG itself, which will be losing the administrative support that Enfield Council has been providing, such as secretarial support and a meeting venue (another consequence of budget cuts).
Previous ETUG meeting minutes
