Campaign to extend Brentwood bus to Queen’s Hospital

A PETITION to have the route 498 bus extended to Queen’s Hospital in Romford has been launched.

The Brentwood Bus and Rail Users Association group has started the petition to Transport for London (TFL) to have the route extended so that there is a direct service from Brentwood Station to Queen’s Hospital. The route currently stops at Romford Station.

Group secretary David Kendall said: “There are a lot of elderly people who use that service to get to hospital to visit friends and relatives and they have to get off at the station and wait for another bus or walk. This just adds to their distress when they have enough already.”

A spokesperson for TFL said that a plan to extend the route to Goresbrook in Dagenham via Queen’s was thrown out in 2006 after objections were raised, and that it would be too expensive to run the service without such an extension.

But Mr Kendall said: “We just want the bus to go one extra stop, not to Goresbrook. If there’s enough demand from people TFL should listen to their customers.”

To sign the petition visit www.bbarua.org.uk or call David Kendall on 07768 667 824.