TfL Ref: FOI-1321-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 23rd July 2024, asking for information about the H20 bus route.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. Your questions are answered in turn below:
Question 1) Firstly, the in-bus announcements & destination blinds both refer to its terminus as to "Ivybridge, Tesco" however the actual bus stop flag instead reads the stop as "Twickenham Tesco" (Stop F) instead as shown in the below images (and so does the bus stop name on the bus displays when it finally arrives at its terminus Tesco stop). Hence, may I know the official TfL name for this terminus bus stop amongst the 2 and why is there this discrepancy?
Answer: This bus stop has been known as Twickenham Tesco for many years. Stops are given names according to TfL’s naming policy and the iBus announcement should always reference the bus stop name.
Question 2) Secondly looking at the flag pic I've shown above, the 'Towards' label reads to Hounslow or Whitton - however unlike the H20 which just terminates here, the other route 481 serves this particular stop in both directions midway along its journey (i.e. towards Whitton - as well as towards "Isleworth, West Middlesex Hospital") just like its next stop 'Trevor Close' (G) highlights in that direction - so why is only one of the directions (towards Whitton) highlighted in the towards label for 481 - even when this one-sided stop serves the 481 in both of its directions? (as shown in this image showing 2 timetables displayed for 481 for opposite directions in the same stop display cluster)
Answer: TfL has not been made aware of this regarding the “towards” text on these stops. We shall now review this information to ensure that it is accurate and not misleading for our customers. There is limited space but the timetables should provide more detailed information.
Question 3) Similarly at Grove Road (J) in the case of H20 itself which only serves this stop in 1-direction only as well, the 'Towards' label for it only says that buses from here head towards 'Hounslow Bus Station' however, it is served by H20 as well in this direction - which is itself the only Hounslow bus that doesn't serve Hounslow Bus Station, so why isn't there a text equally for H20 highlighting that it instead heads towards 'Hounslow Civic Centre' (like its previous stops do) for instance or something similar - especially given it is served about twice as frequently by H20 as some of the other buses serving the stop that actually head towards Hounslow Bus Station for the bus stop like 110 & H28 that only serve the stop between every 15-20 mins only?
Answer: TfL agrees that the H20 tile is not as helpful as it could be therefore we have raised an order to address this.
Question 4) On that note, I just wanted to ask why has H20 been designed to serve Grove Road (J) & Treaty Centre (T) stops in 1-direction only (towards Hounslow) whilst Bell Road (Z) stop is also only served in the other direction only (towards Ivybridge) - instead of making the route simpler by choosing one of the paths for both bi-directional travel?
Answer: We do not hold a record of why this decision was made. Colleagues in our buses team inform me that they will look at the routeings through Hounslow when they next review the network in this area.
Question 5) For the new stop until early 2019, the bus stops (R, X & Y) was originally called 'Bell Road (or) Bell Corner' but to coincide with the relocation of the local Council, the bus stops were renamed by adding the suffix 'Hounslow Civic Centre' below it - however more recently, the bus stops were again renamed with the suffix now changed to 'Hounslow House', so may I ask when did this change take place & why was it changed (given that Civic Centres of any council are more recognisable location names) - not to mention that in-bus displays still refer to this stop by its older name?
Answer: TfL received a request from the local council to change the names to Hounslow House but after consultation it was declined due to the fact that it did not provide helpful information for the travelling public. However, the name has been changed on our data systems to Hounslow House.
Question 6) At the same time back in early 2019 as a consequence, the bus stops named "Lampton Road, Hounslow Civic Centre" (without any point letters) were renamed as "Civic Street" to avoid confusion with the stop in question in my previous question as the new Civic Street was opened at the same time - however the (newer TfL-style) Bus Stand/ Shelter that was installed much later in 2021/ 22 (especially in contrast to the 'Request Stop' red flag that were decommissioned from use back in 2007) still reads "Lampton Road, Hounslow Civic Centre" over 5 years after the relocation of the Civic Centre on the sides of the new shelter, so may I know if the bus stop is being renamed back to Lampton Road?
Answer: This was an oversight by TfL for which we apologise. We have now raised an order to correct the shelter name as soon as possible.
Question 7) Moving onto its other destination in Hounslow, the Bus Stop of its terminus is (also) named as 'Civic Street' where H20 begins its journey back however the iBus announcements & Destination blinds refer to the terminus as being to "Hounslow Central, Lampton Park" instead as shown below (or even just "Hounslow Lampton Park" from the exterior side displays). Hence, may I know which of the 2 names is actually more accurate and correct (or if the Civic Street bus stop is being renamed to Hounslow Central, Lampton Park)?
Answer: TfL has no plans to change the bus stop name to match the blinds. Both Hounslow Central (Station) and Lampton Park are two nearby but separate destinations that the H20 bus route passes so by re-naming the bus stop to match the blinds would not be appropriate on this occasion.
Question 8) Speaking of the new 'Civic Street' terminus stop for H20, it was relocated slightly around 100m from its original side road bus stop 'Hounslow Civic Centre' (without any point letters) by the access footpath to the former Civic Centre site to the current location to U-turn & terminate at a couple of years ago, so can you kindly provide us with the leaflets & posters that were put-up at that time to inform customers about the:
- relocation of H20's Terminus stop back in 2021/ 22
- informing about the closure of the current terminus bus stop
- the slight change in the bus's route for terminating and U-turn
- and the opposite bus stop of the same name now exclusively being served by 120 as a result (in contrast to before where H20 would U-turn before this bus stop, thereby allowing to serve it again in the other direction heading towards Isleworth)
...just like the examples shown below via TfL's maps and posters at bus stops of the latest such example regarding the 281's relocation of its Terminus bus stop (& 2nd bus stop) as recently as this month in July 2024 itself:
Answer: Unfortunately, we don’t hold this information. We’ve not been able to locate any leaflets or posters in relation to the relocation of the bus stop.
The bus stop was relocated as the borough sold the land (old Civic Centre) for a housing development.
Question 9) In addition regarding the bus fleet for route H20 itself, I have recently been noticing that they have had a change of fleet to Electric vehicles with colour TV displays, USB-A sockets and a very silent design, so may I know when is the full fleet of H20 buses planned to be upgraded to this new Electric stock?
Answer: There are no current plans to convert route H20 to electric vehicles. TfL is however committed to having a full zero emission fleet (at tailpipe) by the end of 2034, with an ambition to advance this to the end of 2030 subject to the availability of funding.
Question 10) Finally, I was just wondering if you could kindly let us know why the 2 bus stops the H20 route barely misses to stop at: Worton Road (TT) & Trevor Close (G) bus stops - are served in one-direction only with no equivalent stops for the opposite direction across the road please?
Answer: We do not hold a record of why this decision was made.
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Yours sincerely,
David Wells
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
