Bus passengers in east London to benefit from extra services on route 5

Bus passengers on route 5 will receive a boost during the busiest times in the morning and evening peaks from today, Monday 31 March, as Transport for London (TfL) puts on further extra capacity for the route which operates between Canning Town and Romford.

An extra journey will run at the busiest times which will mean there will now be 13 buses towards Canning Town in the morning peak hour (07:30 - 08:30). 

During the evening peak there will be 12 buses towards Romford in the busiest hour (17:00 -18:00). 

These changes are part of a series of improvements to this route which has seen capacity increase by a third over the last eight years.

John Barry, Head of Network Development for TfL's buses, said: `We have now increased capacity on route 5 by over a third since 2006 but we know more is now needed.

`Working with Barking and Dagenham Council we are putting on these extra journeys in the peak hours and they will be kept under review.'

This service improvement is part of TfL's management and development of a network that comprises around 700 routes across Greater London operated by 7,600 buses at peak times, carrying more than 2.3 billion passengers every year. 

TfL keeps the network under regular review, working with the London boroughs and other partners to help ensure that services can respond to London's changing travel needs. 

Demand and reliability is monitored very closely and regular changes are made to schedules and routes as a result. 

Bus service levels in London have increased by over 40 per cent since the formation of TfL in 2000 and reliability and customer satisfaction are at the highest levels since records began.

• Route 5 is operated by Stagecoach between Canning Town and Romford. It runs via Barking Road, Upton Park, East Ham, Barking, Becontree Heath and Roneo Corner
• The cost of the extra journeys is being supported by funding obtained by Barking and Dagenham Council through a Planning Agreement