An “overcrowded” Sutton bus route will receive four additional daily services from November to ease severe peak-time pressure on school pupils, TfL has announced.
The improvements to the S4 bus route follow a local campaign by MP Bobby Dean and residents, alongside coverage by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
The service, which runs between Waddon Marsh and Sutton, previously saw frequency cuts that left schoolchildren and vulnerable residents stranded in cold weather.
Under the newly approved timetable, TfL plans to run one additional service in each direction during both the morning and afternoon peak times, providing four extra journeys each school day. TfL confirmed that the additional services will begin on November 1, following the autumn half-term break.
Last November, the LDRS revealed that TfL had reduced the S4 service from every 20 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays to every 30 minutes seven days a week during the daytime.
Carshalton and Wallington Liberal Democrat MP Bobby Dean welcomed TfL’s latest update following months of campaigning against the earlier cuts.
“It’s great that extra buses are being introduced on the S4 during peak school times,” he told the LDRS. “Over 400 people signed our petition calling for the services to be reinstated at school times, and I’m pleased that, after months of pushing, TfL have finally listened.”
He added: “The cuts to the service last year caused massive frustration for children getting to and from school, including regularly being unable to get on overcrowded buses.”
The LDRS witnessed the disruption first-hand by riding the S4 last winter and talking to passengers, to highlight overcrowded buses and lengthy waits at hail-and-ride sections of the route.
At the time, West Sutton resident Margaret Reith told the LDRS that cutting bus frequency was “counter-productive” for the community. After waiting with our reporter for an hour and 15 minutes for a return journey to Sutton on the S4, she commented: “This would turn you off getting a bus.”
Local schools, including Oaks Park High School, had also reported how pupils faced long delays, with crowded queues at bus stops spilling into private driveways.
Transport for London’s Local Communities and Partnerships team subsequently met with the borough and the Partnership of Sutton Secondary Schools to review capacity shortfalls.
TfL said officials had also carried out detailed roadside and on-bus surveys during school hours to assess passenger numbers along the busy route. The findings confirmed the need for additional capacity to accommodate pupils travelling to and from school.
In correspondence with the local MP, TfL acknowledged that mechanical faults had also contributed to overcrowding but said no wider capacity issues had been identified at other times of the day.
TfL said it would continue monitoring the S4’s performance to ensure a reliable service for local passengers.
