Once upon a time we had a big friendly bus called the 59 whose terminus was West End Green and which went to all sorts of faraway places south of the river. Occasionally it even took us up the hill to Fortune Green on its way home to its garage at Golders Green. Then its route got shorter and it became a single decker bus and it was operated by a different bus company out of Cricklewood Garage - then it was transformed again into a big bus called the 139 and took to travelling empty up and down Mill Lane (and sometimes Westbere Road) to Cricklewood.
By now many local residents were complaining and, as local councillors, we took these up with the bus company, Transport for London, Camden Council, and the Greater London Assembly. Why did the bus have to use Mill Lane which was unsuitable for a doubledecker bus going in both directions? And if it had to do this journey, why couldn't it pick people up? What good was a large empty bus?
We thought we'd won when the bus started going up Fortune Green Road on its way to Cricklewood and at least only using Mill Lane coming back. This lasted, more or less, for quite a long time, but in the last year or so the double Mill Lane trip returned and complaints mushroomed again. Finally losing patience, Cllr Flick Rea demanded a meeting on site with the opportunity of meeting the Cricklewood Garage Manager.
It had often been explained that while TfL decided the running route of the bus, once "out of service" it was up to the drivers what route they used to go to and from the garage, so we wanted to remind them of what we had assumed was a "gentleman's agreement" to encourage drivers only to use Mill Lane eastbound. No such thing, the man from Metroline who runs the 139 told us! They only stopped using Mill Lane because of the difficulties with the turn out into Shoot-up Hill, but reverted to it after Camden resurfaced the road there. It seemed their fancy new buses used to damage their undersides on a hump in the road surface and now it was flat it was all OK for them and they could sail cheerfully up to Cricklewood!
A reply obtained by Caroline Pidgeon (Lib Dem Chair of the GLA Transport Committee) added the following information:
"While we do appreciate Caroline’s constituents’ concerns, I would like to assure you that there are sound operational reasons for the usage of Mill Lane by route 139 buses en route to West Hampstead. In order for buses to reach West Hampstead from the Cricklewood Garage, they must use Mill Lane as it is not possible to turn right onto the A41 from Cricklewood Lane. This means that this potential alternative route along the A41 cannot be used.
"The reason for using Mill Lane is that buses travelling to and from the Cricklewood Garage get the benefit of the bus lane in Cricklewood Broadway, thus reducing the out of service trip times. If we were to use Fortune Green Road, the A41 and Cricklewood Lane for trips back to the garage then we would have to increase the running time for those trips. Metroline are, however, sensitive to the concerns of local residents, and have undertaken to minimise the use of Mill Lane for out of service running, and to ensure that their bus drivers drive in a considerate and safe manner when such usage is necessary."
And they all didn't live happily ever after!
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