As the old saying goes – you wait ages for a bus and then two come along at once.

But the 65 bus service, which has been dubbed the worst in London, appears to travel in threes or fours.

Passengers who regularly travel the route, which covers Kingston, Richmond, Brentford and Ealing, have lashed out at Transport for London (TfL) for putting on an “appalling”, “bizarre”, “joke” of a service.

In the past eight months, passengers have made 107 complaints about the service – the highest number of any bus in the capital.

And the bad news does not end there, as the 65 also made it to fourth spot in the top 10 of buses that fail to stick to their timetable.

TfL blamed service problems on roadworks.

Donata Casimie, a student from Ham, said: “I sometimes have to wait 40 to 45 minutes and then three buses come at once.

“My family have lived here for years and the 65 is a running joke. My family must have spent a third of their lives waiting for this bus.”

David Lodge, 25, said: “Usually the first bus that comes is really overcrowded and then there are two empty buses behind it.”

Fellow passenger Sureya Ali, who once saw four 65s lined up in Richmond, said: “It’s definitely the worst bus I’ve taken in London.”

Richmond Park MP, Susan Kramer, urged action. She said: “It is no surprise the 65 has been judged to be the worst bus service in London.”

However, not all passengers agree. Jonathan Portch, 49, of Lateward Road, Brentford, said: “They’re just a bunch of moaning Minnies.

“Time is a concept – I don’t particularly pay attention. I just wait for the bus, it comes, I take it.

“If the bus timetable says to expect it at 10.23 am, you would be a fool to think it’s going to turn up then.”

A TfL spokesman said: “We are aware of performance issues in recent months that have been caused by water mains replacement work, which meant the route had to be diverted in Brentford for several months.

“There has also been disruption due to additional roadworks in Kingston and at Richmond Circus.

“The majority of these works have been concluded and passengers will see the route 65 return to previous high levels of service.”

Our reporter Jess Parker took a ride on the number 65 to see if it deserved the highest number of complaints in London...

Having waited only five minutes for a 65 in Kingston, and sailing smoothly towards Richmond and Brentford, passenger reports of serious overcrowding and hour long waits seemed a myth.

But I spoke too soon.

The driver terminated the bus early, ordered us off and promised another was just a minute behind.

Fifteen minutes later, waiting in the rain, a 65 finally arrived.

Soon,overcrowded and with many elderly passengers unable to sit down, the tension was palpable as more people climbed aboard, having been crouched under bus shelters for over half an hour.

“Why are you so late?” one woman shouted. “They’re always late!” another echoed.

So, having been chucked off the bus prematurely, squashed into a red sardine can of rain-soaked passengers and witness to the mutterings of frequent users, I’d have to congratulate the 65 for its unfailing dedication to poor service.

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