What's Happened To The Number 170 Bus?

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Part of its route through Wandsworth has disappeared


The above image, sourced by the Council, from June 2008 shows the current height restriction dates back to at least then

Residents who use the 170 bus through Lombard Road, Vicarage Crescent and Battersea Church Road may have noticed that the 170 bus disappeared in the run up to Christmas.

TfL have replaced the old single decker buses on this route with new models that are deemed too big to fit underneath the railway bridge in Lombard Road.

TfL say, "The 170 is on diversion southbound and unable to serve Lombard Road, Vicarage Crescent and Battersea Church Road due to safety issues. Buses are being diverted via Battersea Bridge Road, Prince of Wales Drive, Albert Bridge Road and Battersea Park Road."

Now the Council has joined forces with TfL to find an urgent solution to the problem in a bid to get the buses back on the road.

Wandsworth’s transport spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook says, “It is a farcical situation... it seems obvious that nobody bothered to double check if their new fleet of buses would actually fit underneath the bridge.

“And instead of telling anyone they (TfL) simply withdrew the 170 from this part of Battersea leaving residents there with absolutely no bus service at all.

TfL have suggested that the bridge must have been lowered but Cllr Cook says, "It hasn’t changed since the Victorians built it. It’s as tall now as it was then and the height restriction on it has been the same since at least 2008.

“Obviously this is not an acceptable situation so our engineers will be working with TfL to try and find a solution so that local people can have their buses back.”

January 11, 2018