I am just as annoyed as the next person about the 427 route. I miss it, especially for the short trips. Everywhere between Acton and Southall has lost 6 or 7 buses an hour. We are all inconvenienced and pissed off with it. BUT, on average, buses are now only carrying between 40 and 60% of their capacity, so TfL has to make savings. It makes perfect business sense to cut the wastage, which why you see now the 207's almost always full to bursting.The 427's were notorious for terminating early. They always got stuck in the traffic, which was another reason given for shortening their route. Picking up on Raymond's point about the SL607 not being arterial. It is not the only one on the SL network that doesn't run in an arc. There will be one from South London straight into central London with limited stops. I cannot remember the route number, but I am sure someone will want to Google it! The point of the rebranding, I think, is to make an imprint on peoples' minds of what SL bus route does what. In a similar vein all the overground lines (eg Richmond to Stratford, Gospel Oak to Barking, Euston to Watford) will be having their own names to help people get a better orientation sense. These changes from the 607 will make no difference to any of us; the frequency remains the same and the stopping points are all the same. What is the problem? I'm sure you will get used to the change in a few years time, as people will have done when Hanwell & Elthorne Station changed its name to just plain old Hanwell?
Ben Owen ● 297d