Residents are demanding the restoration of the 84 bus route following its axe last year, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents stage a protest demanding the restoration of bus route 84 between Barnet and Potters Bar (credit Sherry Billings)

Hundreds of residents are calling for the restoration of a “vital” bus link between Barnet and Potters Bar that was scrapped last year.

Campaigners say the withdrawal of the 84 bus route that used to link the two communities has left residents “completely cut off from public transport for shopping, visiting family, medical appointments, getting to work, school and college, and other essential journeys”.

When bus operator Metroline announced the decision to drop the 84 service in February last year, it said an “unsustainable decline in passenger numbers” meant the route was “no longer sustainable”. Sullivan Buses runs a new 84 service between Potters Bar and St Albans, but this no longer serves a large chunk of the route that used to run across the M25 and through High Barnet, before terminating at New Barnet station.

In a letter signed by more than 900 people, the campaigners call on Transport for London (TfL) and Hertfordshire County Council to work together to re-establish a new route between the two areas “as a matter of urgency”. They say routes that once took 20 minutes on the 84 bus can now take as long as two hours, with alternative buses such as the 398 and 307 providing “no access to Hadley Highstone, Hadley Green, the northern part of High Barnet or the southernmost part of Potters Bar”.

Lauren Townsend, who lives in Southgate Road in Potters Bar, is a nurse at Barnet Hospital. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she had purposefully bought her house to be near the 84 bus route and that her journey to work had become “longer and more inconvenient” since it was withdrawn.

“On Thursday night, two buses did not turn up,” she said. “I was supposed to be in charge of my shift, and I was not there.

“I was 20 minutes late to work – and when you are in charge of a shift in intensive care, you can’t really be late.”

Lauren said she had recently changed her shift patterns because the journey to work had become more difficult. She added: “The 84 was one bus, and then you could choose whether or not to get the second one – whereas now you have to get two buses at least. They don’t line up, so you are waiting for that connection or you are going to miss that connection.”

Sharon Boast, who is 66 and lives in Salisbury Road, High Barnet, had to visit Potters Bar Community Hospital last summer for appointments to treat cataracts. As she could not use the 84, her husband took a total of six days off work so he could drive her to appointments at the hospital.

Sharon explained: “I couldn’t drive myself, so the only way to get there was either a taxi – which would be really expensive – or have my husband take a day off work. He took me there in the car and waited for me until I came out.

“It has had a very negative impact on elderly people between Barnet and Potters Bar, and people that need surgery. And there are people from Potters Bar that need to get to Barnet General [Hospital] who are not able to. It is dreadful now.”

Moira Bluffield, who is 77, lives in Mutton Lane, Potters Bar. She and her husband John, who is 79, regularly used the old 84 bus service to get to appointments at Potters Bar Community Hospital and Barnet Hospital. Moira has a heart condition, and her husband has had ten strokes among other health problems.

“It is really, really bad for us,” Moira said. “We are very impacted by it.”

Having lost confidence as a driver after being badly affected by Covid-19, Moira said she no longer wants to travel far by car unless someone else is driving. When she does drive to hospital, she now struggles to park.

“Since the 84 does not go there [Barnet Hospital], so many people have to drive that there is nowhere to park,” she explained. “There are several disabled spaces, but they are always taken now.”

Moira said she could park a long way away and walk to the hospital, but it is difficult because of her heart condition.

The campaigners’ letter – which is also addressed to MPs, a London Assembly member and local councillors – states that the lack of transport access to hospitals, clinics and care homes “disproportionately affects the elderly, disabled and people with health conditions”, and has “potential implications under the Equality Act 2010”.

It also warns of local children being “unable to get to and from school and college, or having very long and dangerous journeys there and back in the dark and being late”.

The letter proposes several options to restore a direct bus link between the two communities, including providing new services or extending existing routes.

But despite the strength of feeling – a petition against axing the 84 bus service was signed by more than 7,600 people, and local MPs have lobbied for a new route – there appears to be little sign of a breakthrough at present.

Residents stage a protest demanding the restoration of bus route 84 between Barnet and Potters Bar, with one sign reading: "2 ,4, 6, 8, any bus route would be great, TfL and Herts CC, we need you to co-operate!" — At a protest, one sign reads: “2 ,4, 6, 8, any bus route would be great, TfL and Herts CC, we need you to co-operate!” (credit Sherry Billings)

Hertfordshire County Council denied claims by TfL and Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings that it was responsible for discontinuing the old 84 service via funding cuts. A spokesperson for the authority said the service “wasn’t funded or commissioned by Hertfordshire County Council” and that commercial operator Metroline had decided to stop running the service.

Although the spokesperson added that the new service had been supported by £60,000 of funding from the county council, they said the authority could not afford to pay an estimated £150,000 per year to cover the Potters Bar to Barnet section of the previous route.

They continued: “As this section of the route serves both London and Hertfordshire, we have discussed with TfL the possibility of jointly funding an extension of the 84 service to cover the Potters Bar to Barnet section of the old route. However, TfL have been clear that they are unable to provide any financial support for the route.

“Given the current financial situation, we understand TfL’s position. However, this does mean that discussions on extending the 84 service are unlikely to make any progress until their situation changes.”

A TfL spokesperson said that given the current financial situation the London transport body faces, which because of the Covid-19 pandemic had meant a reliance on government operational funding, it was not in a position to take on the costs of the route.

The TfL spokesperson added: “We have spoken to Barnet Council about this route and connections to Potters Bar. TfL will continue to keep travel patterns and demand in the area under review. The flexible nature of the bus network means TfL can make frequency adaptations at relatively short notice to reflect changing demand where required.”

Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings confirmed he had spoken to TfL “about what options there are for an extension of the route from Barnet to Potters Bar”. He added: “They agreed to discuss this further with me, and I will be following it up. I don’t know if it will be possible to get this part of the route running again, but it is right to try and explore this.”

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