Proposed changes to bus routes 27 and 440

Here is the response to the consultation that was submitted by CANForum 

The new 218 route will not serve the needs of the current service users inour area.

1. Patients for Central Middlesex Hospital living west of Horn Lane, and in particular for the Dialysis and Diabetic Clinics and would have to take two buses with a very poor interchange should the current route be changed.  It is most important that there will be two routes to the Central Middlesex, one from the south east going via Horn Lane and one from the south west going via Twyford Avenue. The Central Middlesex is scheduled to increase the number of outpatient clinics on the site.  Brent and Ealing CCGs and the London North West Health care NHS Trust  are working on plans to bring more services to the Central Middlesex Hospital.
    
2. The West Middlesex and Northwick Park hospitals are difficult to reach by bus from this part of West London. The West Middlesex route needs three buses. The Northwick Park takes one hour twenty minutes and a walk of 25 minutes. I think we can agree that these journeys are impossible for people with chronic illnesses.
   The Central Middlesex is the closest hospital for a 24/7 Urgent Care Centre. Ealing and Brent CCGs encourage people who may need a doctor outside of GP hours to attend an urgent care centre for most problems. They need the bus route to get there.
    
3. Pupils from Twyford School and Eleanor Wilkins who come from Chiswick and the South Acton Estate, (Acton Gardens) in the south and  pupils from Park Royal and the Wesley Estate in the north. See independent heat maps for each school.  There are also pupils attending West  Acton primary school who live on the current 440 route on the South Acton Estate/Acton Gardens and Park Royal estates. Often the parents of  these primary school children are accompanied by toddlers and babies in prams, this will make their journeys extremely difficult.
    
4. People use the 440 from Twyford Avenue to get to work in Park Royal and at the Central Middlesex Hospital.  Park Royal is one of London’s primary industrial areas and is the largest area of Strategic Industrial Land (SIL) in the city.  It supports around 1,700 businesses that employ 43,100 employees, across a range of sectors.  They access the 440 at the first stop in Twyford Avenue (stops EF and EG), having alighted the 207 both from the east and west at stops EV and EH on the Uxbridge Road.  This is a much shorter and less complicated change than alighting or catching a bus in Acton.
    
5. Access to GP practices and Health Centres along the southern stage of the current 440 route will be curtailed.  There are five GP surgeries including two large Health Centres in Dolman road.  By rerouting via Acton Lane access to these medical facilities would be denied to many elderly people and families.
    
6. The weekly shop -  Asda for most people without cars has become the supermarket of choice and is easily accessible on the current 440 route especially for the elderly.  A walk to the Horn Lane bus stop would be difficult for many including people with toddlers, pushchairs and shopping. There is only one other supermarket, Morrisons in the area. With the route continuing into Chiswick it also offers Sainsburys and independent shops unavailable in Acton. Persons living in central Acton have a choice of the E3 as well as the 440 for access to Chiswick.
    
7. The 440 is used by people living at or near Stonebridge Park to get to work in Ealing and Acton, as described in 3. Above, the change to the 207, 427, changing at Horn Lane is a much more convoluted change.
    
8.  People working at Kew Retail Park and points west will now have to purchase two tickets to get to work doubling their weekly fare from £15.00 to £30.00 – bus 1 Noel Road/Creffield are to Acton High Street, bus 2 Acton High Street to Chiswick High Road, bus 3 Chiswick High Road to Kew Retail Park and points west
    
9. Many people from the Creffield area use Chiswick for leisure and shopping, the only Cinema in the area is due to open soon in Chiswick.
    
10. Why would anyone take the bus from the Creffield area to Hammersmith when it takes about a quarter of the time on the Underground? And persons living around North Acton Station would take a direct bus.
     

Given the number of vulnerable residents who use route 440 and the current drive to reduce private transport, we respectfully request a review of the proposals to change the route. We earnestly ask you to consult the stakeholders you missed out on your first consultation. Outpatients at Central Middx. pupils and staff at Twyford and Ellen Wilkinson schools, patients using the urgent care service and Freedom Pass holders. You are also required to consult the Central Acton Neighbourhood Forum, as the designated resident Representative for the area.