Isle of Dogs bus restructure
By clicking on each of the buttons below, you can read more about what is proposed and how this may impact you. You can also view maps, ask questions, give feedback, and find out about other ways to get in touch and have your say.
You have until Monday 16 November 2026 to give us your feedback.
Proposals
Demand for bus services has fallen and we want the service we provide to better match usage so that we ensure we are making good use of our resources across London.
As part of this, we are proposing to withdraw route D7 and restructure routes 135, 277 and D6 to ensure most journeys can still be taken. In addition, the SL4 would be re-routed to serve the new Wood Wharf development. See how these routes operate today by viewing the current route map.
Both routes D3 and D8 would continue to serve the Isle of Dogs as they currently do. Below is a map showing our proposal for bus routes D6, 135, 277 and SL4.
Why?
There are less people using the buses in the Isle of Dogs both compared to before the pandemic and since. This means there are more buses operating now than we need.
The proposed withdrawal of route D7 would address this issue without causing crowding on remaining routes.
However, making changes to other routes would help many D7 passengers to continue to make their journeys without having to change bus.
We are proposing to reroute the day and night service on route 277 at Westferry Road via the current 135 routeing. So, this would be via Spindrift Avenue, East Ferry Road, Manchester Road, Marsh Wall and Limeharbour. Weekend early morning frequencies would also be increased to have buses running every 12 minutes. We are also proposing to run route 135 along Westferry Road at the junction with Spindrift Avenue and go direct to Crossharbour via East Ferry Road.
Route D6 would then be rerouted south from Crossharbour via East Ferry Road and Manchester Road to its current line of route at Preston’s Road.
Route SL4 would be re-routed via new roads currently being constructed to operate through Wood Wharf rather than Trafalgar Way, as originally envisaged. Specifically, it would operate from Baffin Way, via Preston’s Road, Charter Street and back to line of route at Cartier Circle. In the opposite direction it would use Charter Street, Preston’s Road and circumnavigate Preston’s Road roundabout to Baffin Way.
The diagrams below compare the current local bus network with the proposed network. They show local bus routes and key interchange locations before and after the proposed changes.
Our vision for buses
London is constantly changing and, as our most flexible form of public transport, our bus network must change too. That’s why our 2026 Business Plan builds on our Bus Action Plan by setting out how we will reimagine London’s bus network to ensure it can continue to deliver for the changing needs of Londoners now and into the future. This means providing an attractive, reliable, green bus service for all Londoners which reflects demand and is financially sustainable.
What this means for customers is that we’re going to be consulting on changes to ensure buses run where they’re needed most:
- We will simplify routes in central and inner London, running a smaller number of high frequency, more reliable routes, so that we can deliver an attractive service which is still comprehensive and frequent, but has less duplication and excess capacity. We will seek to minimise any negative impacts, for example by ensuring convenient comfortable and accessible interchanges to help customers easily move around the network in a similar way to the London Underground and the wider rail system
- We will continue to improve connections in outer London by expanding the Superloop network to link town centres and key stations. New connections will help unlock housing growth and encourage even more Londoners to go car free
- While some routes will change, we will minimise any local impacts as far as possible. Our aim is to create a network that’s easier to understand and better reflects how people travel today
Alongside bus route changes, we’re also taking action to tackle congestion on bus corridors to make passenger journeys quicker and more reliable. This includes:
- Rolling out world-leading FUSION technology to give buses priority at junctions and traffic signals
- Partnering with boroughs and coordinating roadworks
- Cutting delays to buses through our pan-London lane rental scheme, which charges utility companies for how long they take to carry out roadworks, so streets are reopened more quickly
- Investing £90m a year to improve borough roads, making them safer and better for buses and those walking and cycling
- Targeting £30 million through our Better Bus Partnerships to improve whole bus corridors, cutting delays and making journeys quicker and more reliable in Haringey, Lewisham and Southwark
- Trialling AI cameras on buses to identify delay hotspots. Using the intelligence gathered to better understand the impact of roadworks and traffic contraventions, improve enforcement and reduce delays to buses
At the same time, we’re rolling out improvements to enhance customer experience for those using our buses, making them greener, safer, and more comfortable. This includes:
- Delivering the next iteration of our world-leading Bus Safety Standard, which ensures new buses in London are fitted with advanced safety features such as intelligent speed assist and camera monitoring systems
- Ensuring that customers have up-to-date information, where they need it, by installing 5,000 additional real-time information displays at bus stops
- Delivering next-generation bus shelters at more locations, with better lighting, seating and accessibility
- Building on Western Europe’s largest zero emission bus fleet, with up to 6,000 zero emission buses in service by 2030, the equivalent of two entering service every day
- Improving passenger confidence and safety with our trial of CCTV at 30 bus shelters to evaluate the feasibility of a wider introduction
- Investing in bus driver training to support a better and consistent customer experience
- Improving bus station layouts to improve safety, accessibility and customer experience
Impacts
In this section, you can find out how the proposed changes may affect passengers. The table summarises the overall positive and negative impacts of the proposals, and we have highlighted the key impacts in more detail below.
- From the Westferry Road – Passengers would not have a direct bus to the Preston’s Road and Poplar areas. However, same stop interchange would be available on Manchester Road from route 277 to D6 or same stop interchange in Canary Wharf from route 135 / 277 to D8
- From Spindrift Avenue – There would be no direct links to the Commercial Road corridor and City that route 135 provided. Passengers can walk to Westferry Road or East Ferry Road for route 135 or catch route 277 and change onto route 135 from the same stop. However, the 277 will now provide a direct bus to Hackney
- Asda – D6 passengers would experience longer journey times as buses would divert via Manchester Road
- From Limeharbour and Marsh Wall – Passengers wanting route D6 would need to walk to Asda or Manchester Road to catch it. Route D8 could be a suitable alternative for some passengers
- From East Ferry Road – Route 135 would provide new, direct connections to the Commercial Road and the City while route D6 would provide connections to Manchester Road and Poplar
- From Manchester Road – The change to the 135 would mean there would no longer be a direct bus to the Commercial Road and the City. Passengers would need to walk to Asda or take route 277 and change. However, the D6 would mean new connections beyond Poplar. From Preston’s Road – There would be fewer buses per hour to Poplar and the D6 will take a longer routeing to Asda. As already noted, there would not be a direct bus to Westferry Road and Limeharbour. However for some there would be quicker connections to Canary Wharf
- Wood Wharf – Access to and from Wood Wharf would now be possible using the SL4
More information
We have also provided more information to help you respond.
Accessible information
We want to make sure everyone can take part in our consultations. To help make it accessible to everyone we have provided our consultation information in the following formats:
British Sign Language
Easy Read
Audio files
Translation
You can also translate the information on this page into another language by using the ‘Select language’ button at the bottom of the page
British Sign Language
To further enhance how we consult with London's deaf community have provided British Sign Language (BSL) videos of our proposals and survey:
BSL video of our proposals
BSL video of our consultation survey
We are delighted to enable British Sign Language users to contact us using a British Sign Language video interpreter, via the Interpreters Live service, provided by Sign Solutions. Please click the image below to connect now:
Easy Read
Audio files
Tell us your views
You can reply by completing our survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete or if you are short on time, you can submit a quick response.
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The closing date for comments is Monday 16 November 2026.
Questions?
You can use our question tool during the consultation period. We will respond to your questions as soon as we can.
You can also contact us by email, via our telephone call back service (020 3054 6037) or in writing (FREEPOST TfL HAVE YOUR SAY).
Next steps
These proposals are subject to the outcome of our consultation. Once consultation ends on Monday 16 November 2026, we will spend time considering all the responses we receive and will prepare a consultation report.
The consultation report will help us reach a decision about whether to proceed with the proposals, amend them or not take them forward.
The report will be available to everyone that takes part in the consultation and a copy will be published on our website.
