💡 Experimental Hammersmith Bridge people movers - WIP Proposal
Story 119
An experimental people-mover should operate across Hammersmith Bridge
The service should connect Barnes with both Hammersmith Station and Charing Cross Hospital. This would be a simple, low-carbon link designed for residents who cannot comfortably walk or cycle the span.
The idea isn’t new.
The Barnes Community Association led the way, triallin a tuk-tuk service immediately after the closure. The climate charity Possible later proposed something more ambitious: small, lightweight driverless shuttles carrying up to ten passengers, at an estimated cost of under £10 million (2023 prices). Hammersmith & Fulham Council, which owns the bridge, rejected the concept.
For what it’s worth, this was the project that set this blog in motion. By 2020 it was clear the bridge needed to remain car-free — and equally clear that a better mobility option should exist. Possible offered the first credible path forward. Full disclosure: I still donate to them.
This proposal is part of a wider Manifesto for a better Barnes: a collection of ideas grounded in local insight, climate responsibility and a people-first approach. You’ll find the full list of proposals, along with the thinking behind them, throughout this section.
Case for change
Unmet need
The Bridged closed in 2019. Since local residents, poltical leaders, and media have highlighted the difficulties faced by people who aren’t able to walk or cycle the length of the bridge. Possible reported
Over half of residents in lower income areas of Roehampton do not have access to a car, and a third of residents in some parts of Barnes.
North Barnes has one of the oldest populations in London; almost a fifth of residents are pensioners who may be less able to use active travel to get around.
Our focus groups with Age UK in Barnes found that reaching appointments at Charing Cross hospital has become more arduous than before for some of Barnes’ most vulnerable residents.
Car-free or not? It hardly matters
Whether Hammersmith Bridge remains car-free or is restored, Government funding remains elusive. The Hammersmith Bridge Task Force has yet to report. Even if £250–£300 million were somehow secured, restoring the structure would take years. In the meantime, tens of thousands of people will continue to wrestle with a journey that could be made far easier — and far cheaper — with an interim service.
The core political question writes itself: what would it take for local, regional or national leaders to provide a mobility option that already exists in prototype form?
Experiment then scale
A basic people-mover isn’t just a stopgap; it’s a live test of what future mobility across the Thames could look like. Software design teaches a simple lesson: experiment, learn, then scale. Barnes has done this before, and done it well here and here.
Political leaders should treat a shuttle service as a time-limited trial with measurable outcomes. If it works, expand it. If it doesn’t, close it. But not trying at all is the least defensible option.
Risk
Setting up and operating such a service would be complex. There are regulatory, safety and insurance hurdles. But the biggest risk is political: a temporary service might succeed and become permanent.
We’ve seen this story before. The Chiswick Flyover at Hogarth Roundabout was installed in 1971 as a temporary measure. It’s still there
Infrastructure that works — or at least works well enough — becomes part of the landscape, and therefore hard to remove.
The longer a feature remains, the more valuable it becomes. The same is true of traffic calming measures. Try removing a zebra cross. And at some point, try removing a car-free bridge with an adequate service for the less mobile.
Practical considerations
This is ultimately a problem for Richmond Council to solve. As Possible highlighted in April 2024,
Data shows that LBHF residents rarely drove over Hammersmith Bridge prior to its closure.
Barnes residents live tantalisingly close to the London Underground network and Charing Cross Hospital. It is hard to argue they shouldn’t have a dignified way of reaching both.
The service needs to connect either the High Street, Barnes or Castlenau to Hammersmith Station and Charing Cross Hospital.
The proposals from BCA and Possible address one of the challenges of using Hammersmith Bridge to move people. There’s a vehicle weight limit because of the Bridge’s design. It cannot take a small bus or an ambulance. But the space between a push-bike and a lightweight electric pod is wide and largely unexplored.
Other stories about Hammersmith Bridge
Notes & thoughts
Recent news updates
Background on Hammersmith Bridge
This proposal is a work in progress.
It be reviewed and improved on a regular basis.
This story was last updated on 12 Aug 2025.