New operators are beginning to fill the sudden gaps in local bus services that arose following the announcement on Friday by Sullivan Buses that it would cease operating routes under contract to Transport for London (TfL) that same evening. Of the eight routes affected, four run through or very close to Palmers Green: the W9, 299, 298 and 217.
A new limited stop bus route, the SL1, began operation at the weekend, linking Walthamstow Central with North Finchley via Edmonton, Palmers Green, Arnos Grove and New Southgate. In combination with other Superlink routes it will form a circle around the capital.
The proposed 'Superloop' express bus linking Walthamstow to North Finchley via Palmers Green is to go ahead, with some new stops added. The frequency of the 34 bus in the evenings will not be reduced, as originally proposed.
The Assembly Member for Enfield and Haringey, Joanne McCartney, has called for additional stops along the proposed Superloop express bus service route which would pass through Palmers Green en route from Walthamstow to Finchley. She has also passed on constituents' requests to reinstate the weekend night service on the 34.
Transport for London has launched a consultation about a proposed express bus service running through Palmers Green - part of its plan to create a 'Superloop' of fast bus services around the capital.
Up to four days of strikes by drivers employed by Arriva London North are set to disrupt bus travel in Palmers Green and throughout north London this month. All main routes serving Palmers Green will be affected.
Dave Cockle from the Enfield Society has been assiduously attempting to winkle out information from Network Rail about the Palmers Green Access for All project to provide lifts at the station. Last week he eventually received some 'notes on general progress'.
A call for devolution of suburban rail services was supported by all London Assembly members except Conservatives but has been rejected by ministers. Enfield & Haringey AM Joanne McCartney called service levels on the Great Northern Metro 'not acceptable'.
Eagle-eyed readers who've gone past or into our local station since Monday will have noticed new signage over the door: 'Palmers Green' has become Palmer's with an apostrophe Green. Go down the stairs and onto the platform and more changes will be revealed, many incoporating the distinctive orange logo of the American company Palmer's, whose skincare products are mainly based on cocoa butter or coconut oil. So what's this all about? Will it make the train service run more smoothly?
The results of research into how passengers feel about train services in the capital show dissatisfaction with fare levels, crowding and other aspects of services. A significant finding is that two thirds of passengers say that cuts to services would mean that they would be less likely to use trains. Perhaps people travelling (or no longer travelling) on Great Northern Metro services through Palmers Green are being used as guinea pigs to test out what happens when services are reduced to pre-1970s frequencies?
Timetable changes to Great Northern services from Saturday 21st February will introduce more Monday-to-Friday peak hours trains through Palmers Green, but off-peak frequency remains two an hour. The company's community engagement officer has said that future services will depend on what's affordable to run once we establish what the 'new world' of travel looks like.
