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A bus stop in Hounslow has been named the worst in the capital, according to data crunchers.

Analysis found that two of the worst ten bus stops were in Hounslow, but Transport for London (TFL) has poured cold water on the data.

Yet commuters all too familiar with anxiously checking their watch for a late bus might have their own conclusions.

The results came from data firm Kognitio, which analysed 4,948,534,706 data points: 19,687 individual bus stops; 675 bus routes; and 9,641 buses in central and greater London.

It found several west London bus stops were among the “worst” in the capital for timeliness.

Using TfL app data, Kognitio analysts looked at the waiting times between buses and found many bus routes did not fulfil that promise - and that they were not actually as punctual as thought.

Ringway bus stop in Hounslow towards Southall was afforded the dubious honour as the worst bus stop in London only 3.6% buses running on time.

A south west London bus stop came in a close second: Belthorn Crescent bus stop towards Streatham was also recorded as only 3.6% of buses running on time.

Another Hounslow bus stop, New Heston Road, towards Enfield Bus Garage and Southbury Station was recorded as having 3.9% of buses running to schedule.

(Image: TMS)

Fulham Leisure Centre, towards the Putney Heath Green Man stop, showed 7.1% of buses running on time.

One west London stops was also classed the best, according to the data.

Ealing Broadway made the top ten, with its services towards Ruislip station running to schedule a third of the time

But TfL’s Director of Bus Operations, Claire Mann, rejected the data saying London’s bus services were "more reliable than ever before."

"London’s bus network is the most extensive and accessible in the world, with a high frequency and reliable service that allows Londoners to effectively turn up and go, and no longer need to rely on traditional timetables.

"This means the average customer arrives at a stop and waits just six minutes for their bus – rather than needing to plan to arrive at a specific time."

This was why TfL does not generally publish timetables, she explained.

'You wait ages for a bus, and then two come along together'

Instead, bus stops list how frequently a bus will arrive: for instance, saying a certain route runs every five to eight minutes.

TfL also published real-time bus data to ensure Londoners could access live bus information on bus countdowns or through journey planning apps on their smartphones, Ms Mann said.

However Kognitio CEO Roger Gaskell said bus users’ experiences backed up the data.

He added: "You always hear that well-known phrase that you wait ages for a bus, and then two come along together. I think the data shows that is the case. There could be very long gaps, and then several buses all appear a minute apart."