More than 600 people have signed a petition calling for Transport for London (TfL) to reinstate the old service pattern for route 138, which runs between Bromley North station and Coney Hall.
Changes introduced on March 15 mean that buses now only come once every half an hour, instead of once every 20 minutes.
One parent living in Coney Hall whose child attends Hayes School told the News Shopper that the times at which buses run have also changed, meaning they are out of sync with the school day.
This means children are either late for school, or, if they decide to get an earlier bus, left to hang around in the centre of Hayes before the school gates open.
Cllr Josh Coldspring-White, one of the three Hayes and Coney Hall Conservative councillors who started the petition, said that the new timetable had been introduced without any consultation with local people.
“This was imposed without warning the other week,” he explained.
“For elderly residents, it’s a big loss, especially if you have mobility issues.
“In terms of schoolkids as well, our local buses are quite crowded, so this means they’re going to be even more crowded at peak times.”
He added that people in the area were especially frustrated because ULEZ has made it harder for people to own a car, leaving many with no choice but to rely on public transport.
“There’s a fundamental sense of unfairness because people in Coney Hall didn’t want ULEZ imposed on them,” he said.
“We’re told to not use our cars, and when we don’t, our public transport provision is then taken away. That’s why residents are as concerned and as angry as they are.”
Cllr Coldspring-White has now called on transport bosses to reinstate the bus route’s old timetable with immediate effect.
“In places like Coney Hall, where you don’t have easy access to a train station, you can’t cut bus services in this way – they are so desperately needed,” he said.
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning said that services were regularly reviewed “according to current customer demand”.
He added: “The frequency has been reduced to ensure route 138 can provide a more reliable service for customers as a result of changing traffic conditions which made it harder for route 138 to meet its previous scheduled timetable.
“As with all changes to the bus network, we are monitoring the frequency to ensure the changes are working for everyone.”
TfL said that a consultation was not needed, as there were no changes to the service’s route.
