Seven years on, the temporary has become the timetable.
When Hammersmith Bridge closed to motor traffic in 2019, the buses that had crossed it were sent round the houses on arrangements everyone treated as temporary. Seven years on, the temporary has become the timetable. Since 15 August, route 533 no longer exists, and the map that replaced it is now the permanent one.
Most of what the 533 did has passed to a rebuilt 209, which runs every 15 to 17 minutes between Hammersmith Bus Station and Barnes Pond by way of Lonsdale Road, Castelnau and Church Road - and, for the first time on that stretch, in both directions. Church Road has not lost its buses so much as changed their number. The 485 has gone from Church Road and Castelnau altogether and now terminates at Mortlake Bus Station, running half-hourly via Barnes High Street and Mortlake High Street. The 378 has acquired a daytime loop through the Wetland Centre, adding up to seven minutes between 9.30am and 5pm, or 4pm in winter.
For anyone travelling to Hammersmith the 209 is the more frequent service and now runs the right way round. For anyone who used the 485 to get along Church Road, particularly those who cannot easily walk to another stop, it is a straightforward loss. Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park, made exactly that point during the consultation, citing the risk to elderly and disabled passengers losing the 485; Andy Slaughter in Hammersmith also objected, wanting the 533 kept.
They were not alone. TfL's consultation last autumn drew 881 responses, most of them against the plans; 157 were in favour, roughly one in five, and largely from people living on the streets buses had been using to turn round. Richmond Council's transport chair, Councillor Alexander Ehmann, said in March that the plans failed the people of Barnes and asked TfL to stop, listen and rethink. When TfL confirmed it was proceeding, he called the decision disappointing.
TfL's arithmetic is not unreasonable: weekday use across the four routes is down about 35 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, and there is no firm timeline for buses returning across Hammersmith Bridge. Falling passenger numbers make the sums defensible. They do not make the process look like listening.
What remains unsettled is the Pond. The Barnes Community Association has put two questions to TfL about the new terminus beside the Green - what it does to the environment there, and whether a 15-minute service can be run reliably from it - and TfL has agreed to meet the association again in October, once the route has bedded in.
That meeting is the next date that matters, and it will be the first test of whether TfL treats the October review as a genuine look at the Pond turnaround or a progress report on a decision already taken. The question the paper will put to TfL then is a simple one: how many 209s have actually run on time since 15 August, and how many are idling by the Green.
- Route 533 withdrawn from 15 August 2026
- Route 209 now runs both directions through Castelnau/Lonsdale Road, every 15-17 minutes, Hammersmith Bus Station to Barnes Pond
- Route 485 shortened to terminate at Mortlake Bus Station, no longer serves Church Road or Castelnau, every 30 minutes
- Route 378 gains daytime diversion via WWT London Wetland Centre (9.30am-5pm, 4pm in winter), adding up to 7 minutes
- TfL consultation in autumn 2025 drew 881 responses; only 157 (about one in five) supported the changes
- Richmond Council's transport chair Cllr Alexander Ehmann opposed the plans and called TfL's decision to proceed 'disappointing'
- MPs Andy Slaughter and Sarah Olney objected during the consultation
- Barnes Community Association has raised environmental and reliability concerns about the new 209 turnaround at Barnes Pond, with a TfL review meeting set for October 2026
- Changes formalise arrangements dating to Hammersmith Bridge's 2019 closure to motor traffic, which still has no timeline to reopen to buses
Every factual claim in this story is linked to the evidence behind it. Where the newsroom has added judgement or framing, it is listed separately. Sources accessed 8 September 2026.
- Barnes bus route changes from 15 August (community)
- Changes to bus services in Barnes (council)
- TfL scraps route 533 and makes Hammersmith Bridge bus changes permanent (media)
- TfL urged to halt damaging Barnes bus changes (council)
- Barnes bus services consultation - TfL Have Your Say (transport)
Claim by claim (9 facts, 9 editorial judgements)
- From 15 August 2026, TfL introduced changes to routes 209, 378, 485 and withdrew route 533 — community, 2026-07-21“route 533 will be withdrawn and largely replaced by a revised 209... The 485 will be shortened to terminate at Mortlake Bus Station, no longer serving Church Road or Castelnau.”
- Revised route 209 runs Hammersmith Bus Station to Barnes Pond via Lonsdale Road, Castelnau and Church Road, every 15-17 minutes, now operating in both directions — community, 2026-07-21“which will run every 15-17 minutes between Hammersmith Bus Station and Barnes Pond via Lonsdale Road, Castelnau and Church Road. Note this route will now operate in both directions.”
- Route 485 cut back to terminate at Mortlake Bus Station, runs via Barnes High Street and Mortlake High Street every 30 minutes, no longer serving Church Road or Castelnau — council, 2026-07-01“Rerouted to terminate at Mortlake Bus Station, no longer serving Church Road and Castelnau. Now runs via Barnes High Street and Mortlake High Street. Every 30 minutes.”
- Route 378 gained a daytime diversion via WWT London Wetland Centre, adding up to 7 minutes, operating 9.30am-5pm (4pm winter) — media, 2026-03-21“diverts through WWT London Wetlands Centre (adding up to 7 minutes)”
- TfL consultation in autumn 2025 drew 881 responses; most were against the changes; 157 (about one in five) supported them, mostly residents of streets used for bus turnarounds — media, 2026-03-21“881 people replied... Most were against the changes... 157 (roughly one in five) supported the changes, primarily residents of streets used for bus turnarounds.”
- TfL says weekday bus use across the four routes fell approximately 35% since pre-pandemic levels, and there is no firm timeline for Hammersmith Bridge reopening to buses — transport“Weekday bus use across these four routes declined approximately 35% since pre-pandemic levels”
- Cllr Alexander Ehmann, Richmond Council's transport chair, opposed the plans, saying 'These plans fail the people of Barnes' and later called TfL's decision to proceed 'disappointing' — council, 2026-03-01“These plans fail the people of Barnes... stop, listen, and rethink”
- MPs Andy Slaughter and Sarah Olney objected to the plans during the consultation — media, 2026-03-21“Andy Slaughter... wanted route 533 retained; Sarah Olney... opposed the plans, citing risk to elderly/disabled passengers losing route 485”
- Barnes Community Association raised concerns with TfL about the environmental impact and reliability of the new 209 terminus at Barnes Pond; TfL agreed to a further review meeting in October 2026 — community, 2026-07-21“we have questioned the environmental impact as well as the frequency and reliability of this service. TfL have agreed to meet with us again in October to discuss further once the route is operational.”
- Judgement: TfL's decision to proceed despite majority opposition, and the delayed October review, suggest limited appetite to reconsider the scheme
- Judgement: The detours introduced after the 2019 bridge closure were widely treated as temporary; seven years on TfL has made them the map.
- Judgement: Church Road has not lost its buses so much as changed their number: the 209 now covers it in both directions and more often than the half-hourly 485 did.
- Judgement: For anyone whose journey ended at Barnes High Street or Mortlake High Street, the 485 is the better service; for anyone heading to Hammersmith it is now the 209 or nothing.
- Judgement: The consultation record is the uncomfortable part of this: TfL asked, was told no by the majority, and proceeded.
- Judgement: Falling passenger numbers make the arithmetic defensible; they do not make the process look like listening.
- Judgement: A review held seven weeks after implementation, on a network TfL has already committed to, is a progress report rather than a reopening of the question.
- Judgement: Two-way running on residential streets is the change most likely to generate complaints in the first months.
- Judgement: The buses turning at the Pond, beside the Green, are the part of this scheme residents will judge daily.
