TfL Proposing To Scrap the C3 Bus Route

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Plan is to extend route 74 to Clapham Junction

The C3 bus crossing Wandsworth Bridge

October 12, 2026

Transport for London is proposing to withdraw the C3 bus route and extend the 74 to Clapham Junction as part of a shake-up intended to reduce duplication between services.

The six-week consultation, which closes on Monday 16 November, would see the 74 continue to run between Baker Street and South Kensington before following the existing C3 route through south Chelsea and Sands End to Clapham Junction.

TfL says the proposals would simplify the bus network, reduce excess capacity and operating costs, and concentrate resources on fewer, more frequent and reliable routes.

However, while some journeys would become easier, others would require passengers to change buses or walk further to reach alternative stops.

The C3 currently provides a direct connection between Clapham Junction, Sands End, south Chelsea and Earl's Court. Under the proposals, those travelling along its route would instead use the extended 74, while passengers on the existing 74 would lose their direct service between Putney and Earl's Court.

TfL says all affected stops would continue to be served by other high-frequency bus services, although it acknowledges that some passengers would need to interchange to complete journeys.

For passengers in Fulham, the effects would depend on where they board and which destinations they use. The restructuring is intended to preserve key links while creating a direct bus connection between areas currently served by separate routes.

The 74 would retain its existing links between Baker Street and South Kensington and Earl's Court, while the extension would create direct connections between the former C3 corridor and Knightsbridge and Baker Street. Passengers travelling between these areas would no longer need to change buses.

There would also be changes to the frequency of services. The 74 would continue to operate at six buses an hour during daytime hours from Monday to Saturday, matching the current daytime frequency of the C3. During evenings, early mornings and Sundays, the 74 would run five buses an hour, compared with four an hour on the C3 at those times.

TfL is also proposing to increase the frequency of route 430 to every 12 minutes throughout the week. The night route N74 would remain unchanged.

The consultation identifies particular difficulties for some existing 74 passengers who would need to change buses at Earl's Court to continue journeys between Putney and the area towards South Kensington.

Passengers travelling towards South Kensington would need to transfer between Warwick Road, stop R, and Earl's Court Square, stop B, involving an additional walk of 180 metres.

In the opposite direction, passengers would need to walk 160 metres between Earl's Court Road/Old Brompton Road, stop L, and Redcliffe Gardens, stop M.

TfL estimates that 2,717 daily journeys on the existing 74 would require an interchange under the proposals. Of these, 1,774 would involve an additional walk between stops.

The authority says other broken connections could be made using same-stop interchanges at South Kensington station, where stops E towards Baker Street and S towards Putney have shelters, seating, lighting and passenger information.

Accessibility is another consideration. Neither Earl's Court nor South Kensington Underground station is currently step-free. TfL says passengers in the Lillie Road and Putney areas would lose a direct connection to a step-free Underground station if the changes went ahead. There are plans to make South Kensington station step-free by 2030.

Three stops currently served by the C3 would no longer be served directly by the extended 74: stop E, the set-down stop on Warwick Road near Tesco; stop F on Pembroke Road; and stop H on Cromwell Road.

All three stops would continue to be served by routes 328 and C1. The Tesco set-down stop is 140 metres from stop D on West Cromwell Road, while stop H is 150 metres from the alternative stop J on Cromwell Road.

Passengers boarding at Warwick Road stop E or Pembroke Road stop F would need to use either stop K on Earl's Court Road or stop J on Cromwell Road to catch a southbound 74. This would involve an additional walk of at least 580 metres, including crossing West Cromwell Road and Earl's Court Road at controlled crossings.

TfL's analysis records 179 passengers boarding at stop E, of whom 89 could not use route 328 as an alternative.

Bus route map for the area. Picture: TfL

The authority says it wants to understand how the proposals would affect passengers, including any negative impacts, before deciding whether to proceed.

The consultation is open until Monday 16 November . Responses can be submitted through TfL's online survey, by email to haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk, by telephone on 020 3054 6037, or by writing to FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY. Anyone leaving a telephone message should quote 'Routes C3/74/430'.

TfL says it will consider responses after the consultation closes and publish a report to inform its decision on the future of the routes.

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