Could this become Barnes' third bus service?
Story 230: Possible Hammersmith Bridge pods feature at 2026 Barnes Fair
If you were out and about in Barnes on Friday or Saturday last week, you probably saw one of these.
Even if you didn’t see them in person, videos of these pods moving around Barnes - like this, this and this - may have popped up in your social media feeds.
Barnes Hammersmith Electric Light Transit (BHELT) showcased the two Ohmio LIFT pods at Barnes Fair.
Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?
Ohmio LIFT
The LIFT is a lightweight, electric self-driving shuttle. It is designed as a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning it can drive itself without human intervention, but only within carefully defined operating conditions such as a fixed route, a designated area and suitable weather.
Ohmio vehicles are operating, deployed or being tested across several continents. Its longest established services are in New Zealand, including Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington.
Elsewhere, Ohmio vehicles have operated or been deployed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Brussels Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the cities of Tampere and Kuopio in Finland, Luxembourg and Sejong City in South Korea
In the UK, there have been recent pilots in Solihull and Suffolk, as reflected in the livery of one of the pods featured on Saturday.
Were Barnes to run a feasibility study, the pod would initially operate with an onboard safety operator and a maximum speed of 15mph.
BHELT produced a more detailed FAQ answering questions about these and other topics including,
why not run a normal bus?
are they safe without a driver onboard?
are they air conditioned?
Notes and thoughts
Barnes2050 believes a pod pilot is critical to how we move around the peninsula in future. That was true before Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) council formally abandoned its ambition of restoring motor traffic to Hammersmith Bridge. The case for change has been clear for some time.
Public response
Barnes2050 spent nearly 75minutes canvassing opinion about the Pods at the Fair. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
Every person asked, would you like to see a feasibility study? answered yes.
Other reactions to note:
A few were concerned about the reality of being driver-less
Two other people, indeed the only two people who said they ‘needed a bus service’ and who use Charing Cross Hospital regularly, said they would only use if it travelled close to their final destination
Two people, together, expressed some concern that were a pod be tested, that would rule out the possibility of cars being restored to the Bridge
A mum with two younger children asked about what time any service might run
Several people raised the possibility of being able to their Oyster Freedom card
These are important, nuanced thoughts. The residents were encouraged to complete the BHELT feedback survey.
How heavy?
Ohmio engineers were confident they could reduce the weight of their vehicle.
The pods displayed at the Fair were fitted with an older generation of batteries. Newer batteries are considerably lighter and the engineers also suggested further weight reductions could be achieved through vehicle design.
Passenger numbers could also be limited. BHELT has suggested carrying ten passengers, or seven passengers plus either a wheelchair or a pram, in order to remain within the bridge’s eventual weight restrictions.
Weight is likely to become one of the defining questions for any feasibility study.
Hammersmith & Fulham council argue that the Bridge remains fragile. Council leader Stephen Cowan recently said that ‘every part of the Bridge needs to be restored or repaired’. The council is now seeking £128 million from the UK Government to secure the Bridge’s future for walkers, wheelers and cyclists.
Without that funding — a genuine risk — there is unlikely to be a pod pilot. Depending on what the council ultimately means by an ‘exit strategy’, the crossing itself could become even more restricted.
One other thing
London Centric described the demonstration as “London’s first driverless bus”.
That is accurate, but it is not the real story for Barnes.
What SW13 needs is a lightweight public transport link across the Thames. It needs to weigh somewhere between 1.5 and 3 tonnes. Ideally it should be battery-powered, which is better for the environment. Automation matters not because it is novel, but because it has the potential to reduce operating costs. BHELT estimates a complete scheme would cost around £11 million. That figure would rise substantially if large numbers of staff were required to operate the service.
Barnes2050 remains sceptical about the medium-term impact of autonomous vehicles on ordinary roads. A future filled with driverless taxis could easily add to congestion rather than reduce it.
This proposal could be different.
A dedicated shuttle across Hammersmith Bridge might encourage some journeys back onto public transport, reducing the need for taxis and private cars.
That said, London Centric’s headline also highlights another question. A fleet of autonomous pods could provide a new public transport service. But it would create relatively few new jobs.
If you missed the Barnes demonstration, there were will be a second chance to see them at Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s CommUNITY Day, Ravenscourt Park on Saturday 18 July. The fair opens at 11:00am
Incidentally, the other bus services in Barnes are operated by Transport for London and FiSH.
Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of community, climate and transport. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis of the Bridge and pods.