TfL wants to stop the 74 bus running to Putney

Transport for London wants to stop the 74 bus running to Putney, and is taking comments on the plan until Monday 16 November.

TfL would withdraw route C3 and send the 74 along the C3’s route instead. The 74 would then no longer run between Putney and Earl’s Court and would be extended to Clapham Junction. The 430 would run every 12 minutes on every day of the week. The night bus, the N74, would not change. The 74 and 430 are two of the seven daytime routes that stop outside TK Maxx on Putney High Street.

The upshot would mean fewer buses heading toward Central London from Putney: a fact TfL’s own timetables show, even though the consultation page doesn’t mention it.

In the daytime from Monday to Saturday, the 74 averages between five and six buses an hour leaving Putney towards Earl’s Court. The 430 averages between four and five. That makes about ten an hour between them, and about nine on Sundays. The plan would keep only the 430 on that stretch, running every 12 minutes: five an hour, about half as many.

Those are timetable figures. In June, readers reported buses on the 430 and other routes ending journeys early.

TfL says the network has “more buses than are needed” between Putney and South Kensington, and that cutting the overlap would match capacity to demand and reduce running costs. It says every affected stop would still be served by other high-frequency routes, although some passengers would have to change buses.

TfL’s own figures show 2,717 trips a day on the 74 would need a change of bus. Of those, 1,774 would also mean an extra walk at the junction of Old Brompton Road and Cromwell Crescent, which the consultation page puts at 160 to 180 metres.

Passengers in the Putney and Lillie Road areas would also lose a direct bus link to a step-free Underground station, TfL says. Earl’s Court is step-free; South Kensington, where the 430 would still go, is not, though TfL plans to change that by around 2030.

TfL has proposed ending both routes before. In November 2022, after a review of central London buses, it said the changes would not go ahead “at this time”.

How to have your say on Putney buses

The tool above writes a response to TfL’s consultation and opens an email to haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk. It asks what TfL’s own survey asks, and you can edit every word before you send. Putney.news is copied in so that it can see what readers send; remove its address if you would rather not. If TfL replies, forward it to postbox@putney.news.

To use TfL’s own forms instead, register with an email address on its bus consultation page to take the survey, which TfL says takes no more than ten minutes. TfL’s question tool needs a sign-in. It also takes calls on 020 3054 6037, where you leave a name and number, quote “Routes C3/74/430” and TfL calls back, and post to FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY.

Comments close on Monday 16 November. TfL says survey responses may be made public afterwards, usually in a report, with personal details kept confirmed.