Surrey Village Seeks “Urgent” Bus Service

A local councillor asserts that a Surrey village, situated on the London border, is in “urgent” need of a bus service; however, funding is being withheld by authorities on both sides of the boundary. In Netherne-on-the-Hill, residents must walk approximately half a mile (0.8km) to the village of Hooley to access a bus connecting to Coulsdon Town railway station. Ward councillor Shasha Khan highlighted that this walk is “not pleasant” after dark and poses a challenge for elderly individuals requiring GP appointments in Coulsdon. Previously, London’s deputy mayor Seb Dance stated that extending a bus link to Netherne would incur a cost of £1 million, deeming it “not viable,” while Surrey County Council indicated it did “not have the budget available.” The village, home to 1500 residents, lies just beyond the London borough of Croydon and has lacked scheduled public transport connections since its community bus service ceased during the Covid lockdowns, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service. A petition advocating for the extension of Transport for London’s (TfL) 463 bus service from Coulsdon to Netherne was presented to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, last year. Responding to this, London’s Deputy Mayor Seb Dance commented: “TfL had carefully assessed the cost of extending the 463 and found it would cost around £1 million per year, assuming a three bus per hour service extended from Coulsdon Station.” Mr. Dance further stated that TfL had “also calculated rough fare income and projected that, based on the settlement of roughly 1500 people, it would cover only a fraction of this cost”. As of September, Netherne residents gained access to the Surrey Connect-on-Demand bus service; however, this service presently facilitates travel solely within the Tandridge district of east Surrey, without extending across the London border into Coulsdon. This existing service operates on a first-come, first-served basis and requires prior booking. Caroline Russell, who leads the Green Group at City Hall, has urged the London Mayor to collaborate with Surrey County Council to “open discussions about how services can be provided.”