The new 84B bus service will begin service on Monday 4th September, reports Will Durrant, Local Democracy Reporter

A bus stop on the 84 bus route (credit Will Durrant/LDRS)

After months of “absolute horror stories” passengers have won their fight to restore the Potters Bar to Barnet bus link.

At a meeting last night (23rd) Hertsmere Borough Council’s cabinet approved £183,600 funding for a new 84B service. Central Connect won the contract for the route across the Hertfordshire and London boundary, with services launching on Monday, 4th September.

The Labour and Liberal Democrat-led council’s funding will last for one year, but Hertfordshire County Council, as a transport authority, could stump up £60,000 top-up money, depending on how popular the route proves.

“Our message to Potters Bar residents has to be ‘use it or lose it’,” warned Labour councillor Nik Oakley, the borough’s cabinet member for infrastructure.

The Borehamwood Kenilworth councillor said the route must become “commercially viable” to survive soon after local authority cash runs out. “We are providing the seed money to start this route up again,” she said.

Metroline walked away from the 84 Barnet to St Albans via Potters Bar route in April 2022. A company spokesperson said Covid-19 had affected ridership while operating costs had increased “significantly”.

Hertfordshire County Council paid £60,000 to keep the 84 moving between Potters Bar and St Albans. But this left a three-mile gap between Potters Bar, the town’s community hospital, and next-door Barnet – which has a tube station and acute care hospital.

More than 900 campaigners signed a letter calling on transport authorities to restore the route. A Facebook group also has more than 1,000 members.

“We started to hear lots of absolute horror stories about how residents were not coping without this bus service,” Cllr Oakley said.

“We had nurses getting Ubers in order to get to work at the hospital. We had schoolkids being late for school and in one instance there was a safeguarding issue.

“We had people having difficulties visiting friends and relatives in hospital. There’s even one family which had to move out.”

Cllr Oakley, who took on her role after the May 2023 elections, added borough and county staff had “worked so hard” on the timetables, contracts and the route. She said: “I’m hoping after tonight we can shout it from the rooftops and say that we have done this, and that we have done it in record time.”

The new 84B will connect Potters Bar Station and the town centre with Barnet Hospital, through Monken Hadley, Barnet High Street, High Barnet’s Northern Line station and Chipping Barnet. There will be roughly one bus per hour during the daytime on weekdays and Saturdays, but no Sunday service.

Potters Bar Parkfield councillor Lynette Sullivan said: “I would like to start by saying how positive a direct route to Potters Bar Community Hospital, High Barnet and Barnet Hospital will be for our residents.

“I use public transport myself and I appreciate its value.”

Cllr Sullivan, who sits on the Conservative benches, called for a future consultation with residents to help shape the timetable, particularly if some margins prove “tight” for schoolchildren – between the bus time and the first school bell.

She asked: “Do we know if one service an hour will be enough, especially at peak hours?

“Will there be potential to tweak the service before conclusions are made about whether the route is financially sustainable after 12 months?

“Data collection and scrutiny will be crucial if we want a route run for residents and tailored by residents.”

The 84B funding will come from a charge on developers, known as the Community Infrastructure Levy. In July, there was £208,597.73 in the pot for Potters Bar projects, which Hertsmere’s cabinet has decided to draw down on.

At Wednesday’s meeting, borough leader Jeremy Newmark said Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers had been a “fantastic encouragement and help in engendering the multi-authority support that was needed to make this happen”.

Cllr Newmark added Cllr Oakley is “fast becoming known as the queen of bus provision in our county – a title that is well deserved”.

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