A newly launched shuttle bus service for Roehampton students has been met with criticism after commuters reported an unreliable service and limited scheduling information.
The 849 Roehampton shuttle bus service started last week with the return of university, but can be used by University of Roehampton students and staff and members of the public alike.
The launch of the service is part of Wandsworth Council’s Alton Renewal Plan to connect Roehampton to local amenities and transport hubs.
The Roehampton Transport Club minibus free service was also introduced last week, primarily for those who find it difficult to use public transport by providing a door-to-door service to designated locations booked in advance.
The new 849 bus route runs between Putney Bridge station and Roehampton Vale ASDA.
It is a route that 24-year-old teacher Laura Morrison now regularly tries to get on her way back home from work.
She said: “It’s brilliant for me as I’m not a driver and I don’t own a car.”
However, she has found it difficult to keep on top of, as only University of Roehampton staff and students are able to access app updates of the service, and the buses do not consistently run on schedule.
Nursing lecturer Catherine Jones does have access to the app but she has still experienced difficulties relying on the bus.
On her latest bus trip home, Jones was not informed by the app that the bus route would no longer stop at Wimbledon where she needed to get off to go home.
She also said: “It doesn’t get me to class on time, so if I see a different bus that will, then I get that.”
Paul Donnelly, who has worked as a systems analyst at the University for 28 years, also finds it difficult to regularly catch the bus, although he enjoys the benefits of the free service.
He said: “The problem is I never know when it’s coming.”
At times, the bus has been more than half an hour later to stops than scheduled, causing commuters to endure excessive wait times despite claiming to run every 20 minutes.
Bus driver for the free shuttle service, Leighton Brown, said this is due to the heavy traffic, particularly on Kingston Road during peak hour, which has been enhanced recently by road works.
He said: “We have started taking people that are not from the University because the TfL buses get stuck in traffic, despite having 25 services often running and still not able to be on time”
Brown has driven trips that are supposed to take 20 minutes, but instead take an hour.
He added: “It’s really not the buses fault, we want to finish on time and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Featured image: Celine Marshall
