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Post by busaholic on Jan 2, 2019 15:12:25 GMT
Interesting choices. I like it that the 131 is included amongst the best, juxtaposed with the 57 section between Wimbledon and Tooting among someone else's worst, given the 131 also covers that section! Personally, if the 131 made it over to Hampton Court (even better, Walton) again, I'd agree, but Wimbledon to Kingston is more interesting on a 57, though slower than a 131, usually.
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Post by Green Kitten on Jan 2, 2019 16:37:15 GMT
Best routes: 65 - I love Kingston and Richmond aswell as the views of Richmond park. Scanias would be more fun though if I weren't so used to them already. 107 - Lovely scenery in Elstree and Barnet with decent speed too. Always a pleasure to ride (not on school runs though!) 139 - This route might aswell be a tourist attraction. West Hampstead is a beautiful place and it cuts right through Central London and is a lot of fun to joyride on. X26 - One of the few Heathrow routes I actually like. Great views of the nicer South London aswell as Hampton Court and Kingston. The route is too d*mn long though so I rarely decide to use it. Worst routes: 29 - Always packed and has some kind of problem (usually passengers) especially at night. 83 - Packed and routed around places with stupid amounts of traffic (Hendon, Wembley) 204 - Goes through Grahame Park and Burnt Oak which is always... interesting as there is always a lunatic or a group of thugs onboard. I prefer the lunatics, they're funny. 221 - A local route of mine that I despise for reasons similar to the 29 but only really happens at peak times. I never have any problems on the 29/N29 Funny you mention the 221 - my most local but a route I snub as it is quite unreliable (even more so with the recent cut)
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Post by ADH45258 on Jan 2, 2019 16:54:50 GMT
Some good routes which have not yet been mentioned: 9 22 46 100 170 214 240 258 268 274 331 360 419 452 521 C1 C2 C11 D3 R68 I guess your a fan of electric buses? Those routes are based on location/routeing, not on vehicle type.
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Post by Green Kitten on Jan 2, 2019 17:11:51 GMT
Best Routes 10 - Oh, wait. 34 - Nostalgic reasons, and it's just a fun route from leafy suburbs to gritty highways, with massive stores and processing plants on each side. This was the route my parents took from home (Barnet at the time) to Woodford where my aunt lived, and I always looked forward to going there. Much better on a DLA than a VWH, though. 65 - The route full of 'I wish I lived there'! Many memories taking this route from Ealing Broadway to kick Richmond Baseball Club's collective asses. RATP do get on my nerves though as many a time I have arrived in Ealing Broadway only for those d*mned VHs to turn up, when I want something vastly superior. 107 - An excellent route. I had a ride on route 107 recently again just for the hell of it and did not regret it. I had an excellent driver - very friendly and she absolutely floored it throughout. Helps that it mostly uses lovely Euro IV Enviro400s. 113 - Another one for nostalgia reasons - when me and my dad used to drive from which was home (Potters Bar) through London, usually to Peckham, we used to follow the 113 all the way to Portman Street from Apex Corner. Doing it on a bus for the first time was absolutely brilliant. Loved it on EWs TEs, much less so on weak TEHs. I think a ride on the 113 with a VMH will be very fun and I hope to try them out when I have time. 140 - I love how long this route is and how useful it is too. 210 - I loved this route when I had the opportunity to live in Highgate. Extremely reliable, and you never knew what you would get. Lovely TAs, TEs which weren't too bad or a TEH. 287 - It passes through the drabbest of areas in all of London, and maybe that's why I like it so much. I find it very, very, very atmospheric. Perhaps you need to go at a time where traffic is flowing. 298 - Though I had long waits for this route after work, it was still my route. With a team of very friendly drivers and a decent set of buses (plus the odd double-decker) - I still hold a place in my heart for this route. 313 - Excellent route, sadly marred by abysmal buses, unless you get a double-decker, which appears often enough. The ride from Potters Bar to Enfield is breathtaking, and there's still more once you pass Ponders End. The new contract can't come soon enough! 370 - The superior of the two Lakeside routes (I find the 372 very dull between Rainham and Hornchurch). D8 - My baby. H91 - Perhaps less so now seeing the change in allocation, but I love the section under the M4. A ride on it before it is fully converted is due. Worst Routes 31 - Perhaps I might like it again in April 2023. 58 - Just a horrid route drudging through slow areas. I can't really stand most buses which go through Upton Park or East Ham. Can't believe it is every 12 minutes. Decent buses though. 224 - Horrific twisty route through mostly industrial areas. Never any good buses on it, firstly drab First Enviro200s, now dull RATP DLEs. I gave up long before St. Raphael's. W4 - A horrendous route which is always packed to the rafters when I see it, any time of day. Walking to Wood Green station before 7 in the morning, and to my right, a ENN about to burst open stops at the bus stop adjacent. I had the mispleasure of using this route a few times to visit family near Oakthorpe Park. I'm glad I don't have to rely on this route. Yes, the aforementioned family members complained about this route every single time I saw them. Most Disappointing Route: 290, though its allocation doesn't help things either.
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Post by bn12cny on Jan 2, 2019 17:44:24 GMT
Okay my best routes if I can remember correctly is 419 because my parents live on this route and remembered when it started of as R69 and once when the last bus never turned up at Hammersmith they commanded a route 33 to do the route to Richmond then 33 back to Fulwell! The 419 is fast, no regulating the quickest bus from Hammersmith to Richmond also goes through the back street of Barnes and looking at the river thames.
I also liked the 33 Because it’s fast and really good, 65 I agree with also the 371 between Richmond and Petersham.
However I haven’t ridden these long time my overall best route is 89 between Tongzhou to Miyuan a distance of around 80km going through villages on a rusty old bus, fast fast fast, I really enjoy it
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Post by ADH45258 on Jan 2, 2019 19:04:52 GMT
Okay my best routes if I can remember correctly is 419 because my parents live on this route and remembered when it started of as R69 and once when the last bus never turned up at Hammersmith they commanded a route 33 to do the route to Richmond then 33 back to Fulwell! The 419 is fast, no regulating the quickest bus from Hammersmith to Richmond also goes through the back street of Barnes and looking at the river thames. I also liked the 33 Because it’s fast and really good, 65 I agree with also the 371 between Richmond and Petersham. However I haven’t ridden these long time my overall best route is 89 between Tongzhou to Miyuan a distance of around 80km going through villages on a rusty old bus, fast fast fast, I really enjoy it Surely the 190 would be the fastest Hammersmith-Richmond route, being the most direct and using bigger roads? Or does the 419 simply have less traffic congestion?
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Post by ronnie on Jan 2, 2019 19:17:08 GMT
Best routes: 65 - I love Kingston and Richmond aswell as the views of Richmond park. Scanias would be more fun though if I weren't so used to them already. 107 - Lovely scenery in Elstree and Barnet with decent speed too. Always a pleasure to ride (not on school runs though!) 139 - This route might aswell be a tourist attraction. West Hampstead is a beautiful place and it cuts right through Central London and is a lot of fun to joyride on. X26 - One of the few Heathrow routes I actually like. Great views of the nicer South London aswell as Hampton Court and Kingston. The route is too d*mn long though so I rarely decide to use it. Worst routes: 29 - Always packed and has some kind of problem (usually passengers) especially at night. 83 - Packed and routed around places with stupid amounts of traffic (Hendon, Wembley) 204 - Goes through Grahame Park and Burnt Oak which is always... interesting as there is always a lunatic or a group of thugs onboard. I prefer the lunatics, they're funny. 221 - A local route of mine that I despise for reasons similar to the 29 but only really happens at peak times. I was with you right up until you put 221 in the worst list! In fairness it is a route of two halves - the bit between TPL and North Finchley is busy and as dull as you can get, but the bit through Mill Hill is great. Granted it gets hectic at school times, but at any other time it's worth a ride. Agree - the 221 post north Finchley is just amazing! Quite scenic plus the climbs are amazing!
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Post by rj131 on Jan 2, 2019 19:50:39 GMT
Interesting choices - although how you can love the C10, then criticise the 228 for being overcrowded and indirect beats me! Also your grudge against the 38 seems to have prevented you seeing that, although its PVR is 53, the highest of any TfL route, it was 68 in 2012 AND it had up to 5 LTs daily operating a supplementary service. It still had a PVR of 59 as recently as 2016. The thing with the C10, its a lovely lovely route to travel on, always something nice to see out of the window. Although, yes, very busy and indirect. The 228 certainly isn’t nice to travel on!!! It’s routeing is awful, dreary, dingy, scummy and slow. Couldn’t wait to get off of it. Also another major difference, the C10 has lovely, bright and airy MMCs. The 228 has revolting, old 58/09-reg E200s with a mismatched, bodge-job interior! Even better still later this month it will have awful StreetLites (again very much personal opinion but as you probably know I can’t stand them). So yes, the C10 is one of my favourites. The 228, I would say of my hate list, the most hated of all. Will never ever be wasting my time with that route again! Yes I’m well aware of how ridiculously high the 38’s PVR used to be. It used to be 72 at one point didnt it? However back then two things were different. It’s patronage was about 50% bigger than now (15mill then vs 10mill now), and TfL had money to splurge on it. Now TfL have seemingly no money for the bus network at all and its patronage is considerablylower, I don’t know why this route has still escaped *largely* unscathed. It’s ridiculously, ridiculously overbussed for the demand it has. I’ve lost count of the number of 38’s I’ve seen carrying precisely zero passengers! It could do with a PVR cut of so much more, but I just don’t get the bias TfL seemingly have towards it.
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Post by rj131 on Jan 2, 2019 19:59:50 GMT
Some good routes which have not yet been mentioned: 9 22 46 100 170 214 240 258 268 274 331 360 419 452 521 C1 C2 C11 D3 R68 Yes forgot about the 419!!! It’s a great route, I love the section when it runs along the river at around Barnes Station, and then the local hail and ride section between that and Hammersmith Bridge. Really really really good and understated route that,
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Post by 725DYE on Jan 2, 2019 20:59:44 GMT
Best: 166 - Not a surprise to any people on here that might know me well . A fantastic route which varies from busy South London to outer suburban areas, then smaller villages, the Surrey Hills and then a busy town at the end. It is also one of the few routes on the TFL network to have multiple timetabled terminus points in the same direction. S1 - Another local for me, and also another varied route just like the 166. I tend to not be biased towards routes due to their allocated buses, but the Metrocities on the S1 are really something else - their Mercedes engines make a brilliant sound and can really get up to some speed, especially on the thrash section along Sutton Lane between Belmont and Banstead. The S1 also has two unique buses (OM20239/ OML20240) which have a different interior (being a standard one from Optare) as well as Cummins engines which aren't too commonly seen with Optares. 405 - Once again another route that goes through some contrasting areas. This is a route for those loving thrash sections. Once you're out of Coulsdon, away you go! The only way I could see this route being improved further is an extension to Reigate - this would improve connectivity between London and Reigate as right now all we have is the 30 min train service and the Metrobus 420/460. However, I am under no illusion that this would ever happen. X26 - Very unique this route. I actually do have an acquaintance that drives this route and says that he really enjoys it, especially due to its "express nature". Not exactly the quickest way to get from A to B (when going to Kingston I personally find its faster to go to Epsom and get a 406 or 418). I do also miss the old Citaros, yet the newly converted one-door WVLs are certainly a unique spectacle! 406/418 - Two routes which can only ever live alongside one another! What can I say, fantastic buses, a great service and both are lovely routes. Whereas the 406 goes through the residential areas in Ewell West and Stoneleigh, the 418 goes through the industrial area found up at the north end of Epsom. I do generally prefer the 406 as its route between Tolworth and Epsom is nicer than that of the 418 goes through nicer areas and is more of a "thrash section" but these two routes are still brilliant either way. Worst: 80 - A route that I've lived near my entire life, yet never fails to confuse me with its routing. Also one of those routes that surprises you by getting ridiculously packed at rush hour. One to avoid in my opinion. 407 - The worst buses, the worst traffic and the worst service. No thanks 60 - A route that used to be good but is now riddled with traffic and and has seemingly got the only strict allocation at TC (being that of the ex-AR DWs). Its hard to explain but I just don't like it! S4 - Okay fair, the S4 may have saved me on one or two occasions. Yet it's still one of those routes that just goes everywhere. In fact, if you're at Roundshaw, its probably quicker to walk to St Helier anyway Honourable Mentions (Best): 420/460 - You could call these two Surrey's equivalent of the 406/418. I didn't't think this would be fair to include for the list of best TFL routes. However, they go through some lovely areas and are quite fast, even in rush hour. The only way for them to improve would be for Metrobus to reduce the fares a little
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2019 21:21:52 GMT
For me the 69 is a nightmare towards Walthamstow just so slow between Stratford and Leyton always end up getting off two stops before the central and walking. But find the route fine towards Canning Town always seems a nice quick run without getting too packed.
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Post by ADH45258 on Jan 2, 2019 23:30:56 GMT
Interesting choices - although how you can love the C10, then criticise the 228 for being overcrowded and indirect beats me! Also your grudge against the 38 seems to have prevented you seeing that, although its PVR is 53, the highest of any TfL route, it was 68 in 2012 AND it had up to 5 LTs daily operating a supplementary service. It still had a PVR of 59 as recently as 2016. Very few routes continue to still have very high PVRs, with the 18 and 38 being some of the few examples remaining. With TFL's cuts, I can see such routes being cut as well.
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Post by bn12cny on Jan 3, 2019 2:52:12 GMT
Okay my best routes if I can remember correctly is 419 because my parents live on this route and remembered when it started of as R69 and once when the last bus never turned up at Hammersmith they commanded a route 33 to do the route to Richmond then 33 back to Fulwell! The 419 is fast, no regulating the quickest bus from Hammersmith to Richmond also goes through the back street of Barnes and looking at the river thames. I also liked the 33 Because it’s fast and really good, 65 I agree with also the 371 between Richmond and Petersham. However I haven’t ridden these long time my overall best route is 89 between Tongzhou to Miyuan a distance of around 80km going through villages on a rusty old bus, fast fast fast, I really enjoy it Surely the 190 would be the fastest Hammersmith-Richmond route, being the most direct and using bigger roads? Or does the 419 simply have less traffic congestion? I don’t know anymore because I don’t live in the UK now, but in memory the 419 is less traffic than the 190 in comparing the timetables between routes it’s a minute or so from either route depending on time of day which is quicke, however if the 190 gets stuck at Hogarth Rounabout the 419 will beat it hands down 欧坤
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2019 6:12:48 GMT
Interesting choices. I like it that the 131 is included amongst the best, juxtaposed with the 57 section between Wimbledon and Tooting among someone else's worst, given the 131 also covers that section! Personally, if the 131 made it over to Hampton Court (even better, Walton) again, I'd agree, but Wimbledon to Kingston is more interesting on a 57, though slower than a 131, usually. Both routes I abandoned since transferring to Merton cartel London General, but I must admit even before they went I tired of the Colliers Wood section. I think the 57 would have been great with VH’s over Coombe Hill.
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Post by aaron1 on Jan 5, 2019 20:30:18 GMT
BEST 142 From Watford to Stanmore bit best views for London 65 best views nice ride 432 best views at Gipsy Hill 245 get nice views of London 2 times 210 at Hampstead Heath 86 at Romford end N1 Nice views for the river Thames and the hills at Abbey Wood at Night and for non TFL Routes the 306 nice views for the countryside for a small route
WORST 316 single decker I don't on it get to full fast I will go on when it has double decker's the only way to get decker's is to reroute it via Holland Park
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