Passengers report overcrowded buses, missed journeys and growing pressure on schools, families and vulnerable residents.
The changes, introduced on November 29, reduced the S4, operated by Metrobus, between Waddon Marsh and Sutton from every 20 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays to every 30 minutes seven days a week during the daytime.
Since the changes were introduced, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has heard repeatedly from residents about long waits and buses arriving already full.
To see the impact first-hand, we travelled on the S4 with West Sutton resident Margaret Reith, who relies on the route to visit a friend in a care home near The Warren in Carshalton.
We joined the bus in Sutton in the middle of the day, when demand is usually lower, yet it was already close to capacity.
We counted 35 passengers boarding, many travelling through the winding hail-and-ride section towards Belmont and Carshalton.
The route serves Belmont Station and the Royal Marsden Hospital, but progress was slow through narrow residential streets. Traffic, double parking and traffic-calming measures repeatedly delayed the bus.
A recent City Hall report found average speeds on London’s bus network fell to 9.17mph in 2024–25, down from 10.27mph four years earlier.
On the bus, Margaret told us long hail-and-ride sections make journeys difficult to judge, particularly for older passengers. She said it can be hard to know how far you will have to walk from where the bus stops.
She also feels Oaks Park High School, which is served by the route, places additional pressure on the service. At school run times, large numbers of pupils board and buses quickly reach capacity.
The school’s Head Teacher, Amit Amin, told the LDRS how his staff noticed a clear difference almost immediately after the changes. He described seeing dozens of students waiting more than 30 minutes for the S4, only for many to be left behind.
“Quite a few kids did not get on the bus because it was already full,” he said. Some walked home, telling staff there was no point waiting any longer, he added.
With around a third of students relying on the S4, reduced capacity has forced more parents to drive, worsening congestion. The remaining students depend on the 154, which Amit said also suffers from reliability issues.
Amit also raised safety concerns about narrow bus stops, where delays to the service can cause crowds of up to 70 students to spill into private driveways. “I haven’t seen crowds that big before,” he added.
Back on the S4, Margaret described TfL’s decision to cut frequency as “counter-productive” and said it discourages people from using public transport. When she got off near the care home, we saw why.
Despite a promised 30-minute service, we waited with her for one hour and 15 minutes for the next S4. There was no shelter at the hail-and-ride point, and she told us she cannot stand for long periods.
“This would turn you off getting a bus,” she said, after travelling for more than an hour and a half to cover less than four miles. She added that she may now have to rely on her husband for lifts.
She warned that the impact hits hardest those without access to a car, particularly residents of estates like Roundshaw, which is served by the route. “Roundshaw is a poorer estate,” she said. “And it does not need poorer services.”
Bus expert Nash Travelman, whose work focuses on Roundshaw and South Beddington, described the S4 as a vital local “shopper hopper bus”. He said the S4 was given its initial 20-minute schedule following the withdrawal of the 455 route, which served the same area.
In March 2024, the S4 saw a Sunday evening service added and weekday and Saturday frequencies increased from every 30 minutes to every 20, but TfL said usage remained lower than expected.
Reducing the frequency again makes “little sense,” Nash told the LDRS, adding it is “strange when we are supposed to be using active travel rather than the car”.
Nash also criticised TfL for the limited public engagement preceding the changes and what he sees as a lack of clarity over their reasoning. “What annoys me most is that I don’t know the reason they changed,” he said.
According to TfL, bus frequency changes do not require public consultation and local stakeholders were notified ahead of the change. Passengers were informed of the changes via notices posted along the route.
The changes have attracted the attention of Carshalton and Wallington MP Bobby Dean, who is calling on TfL to restore the full service. He told the LDRS: “The cuts to the S4 bus are simply not on. School children and local residents need public transport they can depend on.
“TfL must restore the service, especially at peak times, so that no one is left waiting ages in the cold because buses are already full. I am urging all residents who feel the same to sign our open letter to TfL.”
When approached for comment, TfL said the changes followed a detailed review of demand and reliability.
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s Director of Public Transport Service Planning, told the LDRS: “From November 29, route S4 has a new timetable on all days of the week, with the frequency reduced to every 30 minutes during the daytime Monday through Saturday while remaining at every 30 minutes during evenings and Sundays.
“The change in frequency allows us to operate the service efficiently, improve reliability and better match capacity to demand. Feedback is important to us and, as with all bus changes, we will continue to keep the changes under review.”
