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Post by richard on Oct 5, 2023 15:46:48 GMT
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Post by WH241 on Oct 5, 2023 19:16:21 GMT
I can't see this being a success. There is an awful lot of competition in the London tour market even the niche appeal of Routemasters probably won't appeal to many tourists who just want a open top bus.
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Post by Busboy105 on Oct 5, 2023 22:10:49 GMT
I can't see this being a success. There is an awful lot of competition in the London tour market even the niche appeal of Routemasters probably won't appeal to many tourists who just want a open top bus.
I agree. When I did route A a couple months ago, I was the only passenger all the way. Also the other tour buses are a lot more frequent so they pretty much swallowed all available customers. I will still give the new route a try though
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Post by matthieu1221 on Oct 6, 2023 15:17:34 GMT
As I said in the A thread, having a familiar route number along a regular route will help — prospective passenger will easily associate 15 and T15 whilst at the moment A is a bit of a wildcard. Could end up creating some additional capacity from Tower Hill if enough tourists discover the route and shift from the often overcrowded 15 on busy tourist days.
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Post by WH241 on Oct 6, 2023 21:29:40 GMT
As I said in the A thread, having a familiar route number along a regular route will help — prospective passenger will easily associate 15 and T15 whilst at the moment A is a bit of a wildcard. Could end up creating some additional capacity from Tower Hill if enough tourists discover the route and shift from the often overcrowded 15 on busy tourist days. I wonder if the T15 running along the same route of the regular 15 will be more of a headache than a help. I imagine at least initially passengers will board the bus thinking it’s a regular TfL service so the conductors might have lots of questions.
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Post by va59 on Oct 12, 2023 22:13:55 GMT
Hopefully this will make it more visible to tourists who seem very unaware of what 'A' currently is and where it runs. Some of their buses already have banner ads for the new route.
So basically is this just a re-hash of 15H? Or is it end to end as stated via Waterloo?
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Post by matthieu1221 on Oct 14, 2023 18:53:58 GMT
Hopefully this will make it more visible to tourists who seem very unaware of what 'A' currently is and where it runs. Some of their buses already have banner ads for the new route.
So basically is this just a re-hash of 15H? Or is it end to end as stated via Waterloo? Good timing to ask! More info was just shared by them: Source
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Post by ibus246 on Oct 14, 2023 19:15:12 GMT
So basically is this just a re-hash of 15H? Or is it end to end as stated via Waterloo? Good timing to ask! More info was just shared by them: SourceI really do hope they make a success of this. They need to invest in a high profile advertising campaign to gather awareness however - leaflet drop in all the hotels etc - Whenever I’ve seen the A it’s been 2-3 travelling on it.
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Post by cl54 on Oct 14, 2023 20:11:33 GMT
Good timing to ask! More info was just shared by them: SourceI really do hope they make a success of this. They need to invest in a high profile advertising campaign to gather awareness however - leaflet drop in all the hotels etc - Whenever I’ve seen the A it’s been 2-3 travelling on it. Little racks in hotels are a commercial activity and it costs to get your leaflet on display.
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Post by ibus246 on Oct 15, 2023 0:32:21 GMT
I really do hope they make a success of this. They need to invest in a high profile advertising campaign to gather awareness however - leaflet drop in all the hotels etc - Whenever I’ve seen the A it’s been 2-3 travelling on it. Little racks in hotels are a commercial activity and it costs to get your leaflet on display. Well yes of course - I’m sure no one would expect it’s free. However, the investment may pay off as with anything. Every sightseeing bus I see be it CitySightseeing or indeed newer firm TopView are carrying decent loads - the loads the T15 has potential to carry
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Post by WH241 on Oct 15, 2023 8:59:50 GMT
So basically is this just a re-hash of 15H? Or is it end to end as stated via Waterloo? Good timing to ask! More info was just shared by them: SourceHaving now seen a photo on FB I think these buses look far too much like regular TfL buses right down to the bus blinds. I am probably being cynical here but wonder if they are hoping people board the buses in error and just pay the fare. The service is far too irregular to be successful IMO.
Sorry for a negative post.
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Post by cl54 on Oct 15, 2023 9:21:13 GMT
Good timing to ask! More info was just shared by them: SourceHaving now seen a photo on FB I think these buses look far too much like regular TfL buses right down to the bus blinds. I am probably being cynical here but wonder if they are hoping people board the buses in error and just pay the far. The service is far too irregular to be successful IMO.
Sorry for a negative post.
I have to agree. Many visitors just want to ride on a red London bus. This was why the 15H route failed.
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Post by southlondonbus on Oct 15, 2023 9:31:12 GMT
Having now seen a photo on FB I think these buses look far too much like regular TfL buses right down to the bus blinds. I am probably being cynical here but wonder if they are hoping people board the buses in error and just pay the far. The service is far too irregular to be successful IMO. Sorry for a negative post.
I have to agree. Many visitors just want to ride on a red London bus. This was why the 15H route failed. Possibly tfl could have marketed it better and I did suggest at the time it may have been better if the RMs had parked up at the Tower so tourists could see one was on the horizon and get on it to wait. So many times I was at Tower and the NB4L pulled in and took a big load only for the 15H to arrive from the Tower Gateway stand a minute later when the crowd had already gone.
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Post by greenboy on Oct 15, 2023 10:22:49 GMT
I have to agree. Many visitors just want to ride on a red London bus. This was why the 15H route failed. Possibly tfl could have marketed it better and I did suggest at the time it may have been better if the RMs had parked up at the Tower so tourists could see one was on the horizon and get on it to wait. So many times I was at Tower and the NB4L pulled in and took a big load only for the 15H to arrive from the Tower Gateway stand a minute later when the crowd had already gone. Marketing was appalling to non existent, compare how well known the vintage trams in Melbourne are for example, and often when a Routemaster pulled up at a stop many people seemed uncertain as to whether they could use the service or not. Conductors often just did the bare minimum and were more likely to be dressed in trainers and a baseball cap rather than a traditional uniform which would have befitted such a vintage service.
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Post by southlondonbus on Oct 15, 2023 10:27:18 GMT
Possibly tfl could have marketed it better and I did suggest at the time it may have been better if the RMs had parked up at the Tower so tourists could see one was on the horizon and get on it to wait. So many times I was at Tower and the NB4L pulled in and took a big load only for the 15H to arrive from the Tower Gateway stand a minute later when the crowd had already gone. Marketing was appalling to non existent, compare how well known the vintage trams in Melbourne are for example, and often when a Routemaster pulled up at a stop many people seemed uncertain as to whether they could use the service or not. Conductors often just did the bare minimum and were more likely to be dressed in trainers and a baseball cap rather than a traditional uniform which would have befitted such a vintage service. I think we know TFL didn't really want it to be successful and they operated purely so they could say Routemasters were still running. Melbourne and Lisbon trams and San Francisco cable cars are all protected and well marketed and vital parts of those City's. Same with the Blackpool heritage trams.
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