TfL will permanently change the bus network serving Barnes and Putney, ending the “temporary” arrangements put in place when Hammersmith Bridge closed in 2019.
The bridge has now been shut to vehicles for nearly seven years. TfL says there is “currently no firm timeline for when it will reopen to buses.”
The decision was confirmed in a TfL consultation report published this month. Route 533 will be scrapped. Routes 209, 378, and 485 will all change. TfL’s word for the new arrangements is “permanent.”
The 533 and 378 in summary
Route 533 was introduced in November 2019 specifically because the bridge had closed. TfL uses 500-series numbers for temporary routes. Scrapping it closes that chapter.
Route 378 ending at Putney Bridge Underground is a genuine improvement for anyone making that connection. But as we reported earlier this month the route’s on-time rate has fallen from 85.8% to 67.3% in two years. The problem is the Putney Bridge junction. TfL’s report does not mention that decline. Making the route longer and adding a diversion will not fix it.
What 881 people said
TfL invited views on the changes. 881 people replied, almost all from Barnes and Mortlake. Of those, 841 wrote in their own words, the rest were an organised campaign.
Most were against the changes. The most common objection, from 319 people, was straightforward opposition. Another 185 said the changes would make things worse in an area already damaged by the bridge closure. A further 170 were worried about longer journey times. Losing the direct route 485 bus between Castelnau and Putney Bridge was raised by 130 people, the most common specific complaint.
Around one in five people, 157, backed the changes. Most of that support came from residents of Kilmington Road, Howsman Road, and Verdun Road, streets currently used by buses to turn around. Those residents will benefit.
TfL noted the objections. Then went ahead with everything.
One figure in the report puts the whole thing in context. Weekday bus use across these four routes has fallen by around 35% since before Covid. TfL is cutting services in an area where fewer people are travelling. Whether the bridge closure caused some of that fall is not discussed. It didn’t need to be.
Who replied, and who did not
Four MPs were sent the consultation. Two replied. Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, backed his constituents’ concerns and wanted route 533 kept. Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park, said the plans should not go ahead and was particularly worried about elderly and disabled residents losing the direct route 485 service.
Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, was sent the consultation. Her name is in the list of people TfL contacted. She is not in the list of people who replied.
Wandsworth Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, Cllr Jenny Yates, was also sent the consultation. Wandsworth did not reply either.
Barnes councillors in Richmond did reply. Cllr Tony Paterson backed the changes. Cllr Fiona Sacks said she could not support them in full. The passenger watchdog London Travelwatch raised concerns about access and monitoring.
The three Conservative councillors for Thamesfield ward, Cllr Ethan Brooks, Cllr James Jeffreys, and Cllr John Locker, were not sent the consultation. The review was focused on Barnes and Mortlake, though route 378’s new stop at Putney Bridge Underground falls in their ward.
What this means for the bridge
Until now, the buses in this area have technically been running under temporary arrangements. Those arrangements are now being made permanent. TfL says so directly: “We have sought to find the most suitable way to put permanent changes in place.”
If Hammersmith Bridge ever reopens to buses, TfL would need to run a fresh consultation to restore any of the old routes. That consultation would face the same argument used today: bus use is down 35%, fewer people are travelling, and the new network is already running.
In early March, a minister described Hammersmith Bridge as “a good candidate” for funding. This report came weeks later. Putney.news has followed the long pattern of political statements about the bridge since 2025. The MP’s claim in February that funding decisions were “in the coming weeks” has not, as far as we are aware, led to an announcement.
TfL is not waiting for the bridge. It has stopped planning around it.
