Promise of action on dreadful 267 bus serviceBy Sally HenfieldTHE tardy service of a bus serving West Middlesex Hospital has incensed residents to petition the Mayor of London's office for improvements.The 267 bus, which passes through Brentford, Chiswick and Isleworth, is often late and unreliable, according to residents.On Wednesday morning Isleworth Labour Party members Chris Boucher, who lives on Summerwood Road, and Sue Sampson, of Woodstock Avenue, presented vice chair of Transport for London, David Wetzel with a list of 500 signatures from residents who are demanding to see changes to the service.Chris said: "It is a totally irregular service, especially in rush hour. It never runs on time and with a hospital on its route there are a lot of people relying on it."He added: "There is supposed to be a bus about every eight to 10 minutes;' using the word about' is a clever way of dodging being tied down on a time. It's very unlikely you will even get a bus coming within that window. I had to wait 45 minutes for a bus the other day and was very late for an important meeting as a result."Interestingly, Times photographer Mark Barnfield - who took the accompanying picture - lives on the 267 bus route, but had walked to the job as he was worried he would not make it on time otherwise.However, it now looks as though the route will be providing a more reliable service, with more seating, as from November 12.A spokesperson for Transport for London said: "We have just negotiated a new contract for that route and there are going to be different, more stringent reliability standards. The service will have to get better or there will be financial implications if the operators don't match performance indicators."The service has been reviewed and with the higher standards and extra resources this should sort out these current problems."1:58pm Thursday 1st September 2005
Jim Lawes ● 7416d