Campaigners for a cross-river bus route in Putney that would allow their children to reach school in Hammersmith have been left fuming after their two-year battle resulted in a bus that doesn't rev its engines until after the school bell has rung.

Putney resident Sally Walley said she and other parents began petitioning the transport authorities in 2000 for a bus that would bridge the north-south divide in time for morning registration.

Several thousand signatures were collected in support, but the campaigners were aghast when the new 485 route was finally unveiled on January 11 beginning at 9.30am and running only hourly.

Ms Walley, who has a child attending a Hammersmith school, said: "It is no good for commuters or children, only elderly shoppers. I'm suspicious.

"I'm afraid after six months they will say nobody used it, and they want it to go away."

A London Buses spokesman said the company was "aware we are going to need to make changes in that area", adding: "What we would do is encourage residents to call through to us in customer services on 020 7918 4300.

"It helps if residents come through with their opinions."

Asked if the residents' petition had not made the views of local people clear enough, she said: "That will be one thing we'll take into account.

Plug

"The service was put in in the short term to plug a gap.

"It was put in place quite quickly and needs fine tuning."

The spokesman was unable to give a timescale for introducing changes to the service.

Ms Walley said she was bemused there had been little publicity when the new route was launched, saying: "They didn't publicise it or let me know.

"They haven't told anybody it's running.

"There was a Transport for London publicity event in the summer and no one there knew about it."

London Buses said it "happened so quickly we weren't able to publicise it," but claimed that there had been a poster campaign to alert local people.

January 31, 2003 13:00