Tony Arbour, London Assembly Member for Richmond upon Thames, has been one of the many parties welcoming proposals to restructure and extend bus route 485.

Following a lengthy campaign by local Councillors and residents residents, revisions to the 485 service were carried out in 2004 to link Barnes village and Putney.

Transport for London (TfL) is now consulting on restructuring the route to include a link to Hammersmith.

The re-structured route would run as now from Wandsworth via Putney and Lower Richmond Road to Barnes Common. It would then continue by way of Mill Hill Road and Station Road to Barnes Pond, then via Church Road, Castlenau and Hammersmith Bridge to Hammersmith Bus Station. Single deck buses would run every half hour Monday to Saturday between 7am and 7pm.

Tony Arbour said “I believe residents will join me in welcoming this proposal. The re-structuring will give a more frequent service between Barnes and Putney and an additional service to Hammersmith. Public transport is a vital lifeline for many or our residents and I welcome this news.”

The consultation, due to start later this month, will look into changing to the existing service which is limited to hourly off peak services to Richmond. The new route would run from Wandsworth to Putney and Hammersmith via Barnes Pond, Castlenau and Hammersmith Bridge and would operate to a half-hourly timetable throughout the day from 7am to 7pm.

Tony Arbour would be pleased to receive comments on these proposals which should be sent to: Tony Arbour AM, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London, SE12AA, by 5th August 2005.

July 22, 2005