Councillor Richard Vivian has called for the creation of a new mobility bus route in Battersea.

Although the majority of the borough's mobility bus services have been scrapped, the Queenstown Ward councillor wants buses to serve the Robertson Street Estate, near Silverthorne Road.

Coun Vivian said: "The bus depot is at the North end of Silverthorne Road and I have suggested, rather than buses going empty from the depot to Shaftesbury Road, the route could start at the depot because the walk to Wandsworth Road is quite long and steep for some estate residents."

A campaign supported by GLA member for Wandsworth and Merton, Councillor Elizabeth Howlett, was instrumental in saving another route from Armoury Way to Wimbledon.

She said: "I know a request has been made to serve the area off Silverthorne Road in Battersea and I hope Transport for London will look favourably on this."

But Betty Lewis, vice-chairman of Wandsworth Access, said people did not use the mobility buses because they ran so infrequently.

She added: "They only run once a week, which is not necessarily convenient and nobody I know uses them. People much prefer to use Wandsworth community transport to the shopping centre or ordinary buses, if they are accessible, which run all the time.

"Things are improving because buses accessible for wheelchair users are increasing all the time and we are pleased with this."

However, she pointed out there were no conductors on mobility or most other buses, which "could be problematic for people in wheelchairs or who had difficulty seeing".

Coun Vivian is still waiting to hear whether the proposed service will be instated.

December 18, 2001 11:00