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Post by busaholic on Jan 28, 2019 0:35:26 GMT
RE Woolwich Ferry testing, what routes could be extended over the river using it and also is it reliable enough to provide a bus service... The fact there's never been a scheduled bus service on the Woolwich Ferry in all the decades since it became a possibility says it all, really. The times when such a service would have been very welcome were World War Two with the huge number of munitions workers needed at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich and prewar/ immediate postwar periods in the Royal Docks i.e. Victoria and Albert, respectively, north of the river. Huge numbers of dockworkers were using the ferry even in the late 1950s, as so much of my after-school time was spent at the North Woolwich terminus of the 669 trolleybus (later the Routemaster 69) and the 101 from the East Ham direction. On one occasion, after a prolonged hold-up at the Royal Albert swing bridge, eleven buses arrived nose-to-tail on the 101 and peak hour only 147 from there, and all but the last two or three had full loads of dockers all of whom were crossing the Thames to Woolwich! That remains my record for buses arriving together, although I also witnessed all nine buses allocated to the 160 route in Eltham High Street on one occasion in the early 1960s, though five were going one way and four the other! Got to say, even in the period I'm referring to it was accidents in or around the Blackwall Tunnel that caused massive traffic upheaval, and malfunction of Woolwich Ferry much less so, though queues did build up in Woolwich town centre (one of the reasons why the Bexleyheath trolley routes to Woolwich were the very first to succumb to diesels.) So, I'd venture that even if TfL buses were in expansionary mood this would be a non-starter.
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Post by redbus on Jan 28, 2019 22:18:30 GMT
RE Woolwich Ferry testing, what routes could be extended over the river using it and also is it reliable enough to provide a bus service... The fact there's never been a scheduled bus service on the Woolwich Ferry in all the decades since it became a possibility says it all, really. The times when such a service would have been very welcome were World War Two with the huge number of munitions workers needed at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich and prewar/ immediate postwar periods in the Royal Docks i.e. Victoria and Albert, respectively, north of the river. Huge numbers of dockworkers were using the ferry even in the late 1950s, as so much of my after-school time was spent at the North Woolwich terminus of the 669 trolleybus (later the Routemaster 69) and the 101 from the East Ham direction. On one occasion, after a prolonged hold-up at the Royal Albert swing bridge, eleven buses arrived nose-to-tail on the 101 and peak hour only 147 from there, and all but the last two or three had full loads of dockers all of whom were crossing the Thames to Woolwich! That remains my record for buses arriving together, although I also witnessed all nine buses allocated to the 160 route in Eltham High Street on one occasion in the early 1960s, though five were going one way and four the other! Got to say, even in the period I'm referring to it was accidents in or around the Blackwall Tunnel that caused massive traffic upheaval, and malfunction of Woolwich Ferry much less so, though queues did build up in Woolwich town centre (one of the reasons why the Bexleyheath trolley routes to Woolwich were the very first to succumb to diesels.) So, I'd venture that even if TfL buses were in expansionary mood this would be a non-starter. Thank you for this busaholic , very interesting.
I can't see a bus service ever using the Woolwich ferry, it would be too unreliable. Imagine it goes down to a one ferry service, or two buses board the same ferry, and the resultant 'regulation of the service' that would follow.
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Post by busaholic on Jan 28, 2019 23:20:27 GMT
The fact there's never been a scheduled bus service on the Woolwich Ferry in all the decades since it became a possibility says it all, really. The times when such a service would have been very welcome were World War Two with the huge number of munitions workers needed at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich and prewar/ immediate postwar periods in the Royal Docks i.e. Victoria and Albert, respectively, north of the river. Huge numbers of dockworkers were using the ferry even in the late 1950s, as so much of my after-school time was spent at the North Woolwich terminus of the 669 trolleybus (later the Routemaster 69) and the 101 from the East Ham direction. On one occasion, after a prolonged hold-up at the Royal Albert swing bridge, eleven buses arrived nose-to-tail on the 101 and peak hour only 147 from there, and all but the last two or three had full loads of dockers all of whom were crossing the Thames to Woolwich! That remains my record for buses arriving together, although I also witnessed all nine buses allocated to the 160 route in Eltham High Street on one occasion in the early 1960s, though five were going one way and four the other! Got to say, even in the period I'm referring to it was accidents in or around the Blackwall Tunnel that caused massive traffic upheaval, and malfunction of Woolwich Ferry much less so, though queues did build up in Woolwich town centre (one of the reasons why the Bexleyheath trolley routes to Woolwich were the very first to succumb to diesels.) So, I'd venture that even if TfL buses were in expansionary mood this would be a non-starter. Thank you for this busaholic , very interesting.
I can't see a bus service ever using the Woolwich ferry, it would be too unreliable. Imagine it goes down to a one ferry service, or two buses board the same ferry, and the resultant 'regulation of the service' that would follow.
Yes, controller orders one bus to wait for 10 minutes after the ferry docks before disembarking, which results in it making two further crossings of the Thames: choose your own emojis!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2019 22:21:12 GMT
On route 27 the iBus announces "Kensington Olympia Station", but on route 9 it announces this: "Kensington Olympia Station. Alight here for London Overground services towards Clapham Junction, Willesden Junction and Stratford. Alight here for Olympia London" (https://youtu.be/iuv-ev9A_uY?t=224)
Aren't all iBus announcements tied to their specific stops and so shouldn't all routes serving the stop have the same announcement? Why do TfL/the operator decide to put the seemingly useful "Alight here..." announcements on some routes but not others?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2019 22:39:46 GMT
No idea No idea No idea TfL have said absolutely nothing about any of this. I get the impression that they've lost interest in it but can't be bothered to actually remove the branding from buses and from stops as well as reversing the appallingly bad redesign of spider maps. Strikes me as one of those things they were forced to do by the Mayor but didn't really want to do and now the Mayor isn't bothered either so there's no follow up or close out. I also suspect that whoever "owned" the project has been reorganised into another post or has left TfL. Buses have lost 20% of their staff (over 110 people) so far this financial year (in the recent TfL Board Papers). I confess to not having read the TfL Board Papers and perhaps I should, but did I read you right as saying TfL buses have lost 20% of their staff? If so, either they were previously well overstaffed with many people doing little or nothing to add value, or with a 20% loss of staff they would be unable to do the job they should be doing. I fear it is the latter and that is not a good omen. There is unlikely to be 20% fat in an organisation, you'll hit bone with 20% cuts.
Back to route branding, I don't know the answers to the questions, but it seems to me that as others say it is being quietly dropped.
re tfl cuts, there have been tfl wide cuts in the last year and more to come
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2019 22:31:13 GMT
Are there any routes that use the same road and road direction on both route directions. I can only think of 386 but its not in service for part of it...
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Post by galwhv69 on Feb 2, 2019 22:33:35 GMT
Are there any routes that use the same road and road direction on both route directions. I can only think of 386 but its not in service for part of it... There are loops on the G1 if it counts?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2019 22:57:02 GMT
Are there any routes that use the same road and road direction on both route directions. I can only think of 386 but its not in service for part of it... 147 /241 Tarling Road towards Canning Town and Ilford / Stratford
366 Towards Beckton and Barking Claps Gate Lane 323 In the private Business Park /Cody Road Canning Town
Also lots of double running in Canary Wharf area but not sure of the roads.
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Post by Mokujin on Feb 2, 2019 23:16:12 GMT
Are there any routes that use the same road and road direction on both route directions. I can only think of 386 but its not in service for part of it... Also lots of double running in Canary Wharf area but not sure of the roads. West India Avenue, North Colonnade, Upper Bank Street and South Colonnade
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Post by rj131 on Feb 2, 2019 23:35:44 GMT
Are there any routes that use the same road and road direction on both route directions. I can only think of 386 but its not in service for part of it... 178 has a double run at kidbrooke Station
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Post by vjaska on Feb 3, 2019 1:09:13 GMT
The 178 & B16 double runs in both directions along Cambert Way, Ryan Close & Tudway Road
The B16 double runs in both directions along Moorhead Way & Weigall Road
The 178 & B16 also use a tiny section of Kidbrooke Park Road twice but only northbound
The 434 uses Rickman Hill in both directions
The 166 uses the Rising Sun Car Park in both directions to serve the bus stop there
The 455 & 463 both use Beddington ASDA car park in both directions
The R1 uses Station Approach in Orpington in both directions (the terminating routes don't count)
The 358 & R9 use High Street & Homefield Rise in both directions
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Post by Paul on Feb 3, 2019 3:00:06 GMT
The 358 & R9 use High Street & Homefield Rise in both directions They don’t count because they don’t do it all the time 😉 The R7 on the other hand.......😊 We also have the double run in both directions at Barfield Road and Golf Road at the Aquila Estate
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Post by thesquirrels on Feb 3, 2019 10:16:34 GMT
192 on Glover Drive.
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Post by bigbaddom1981 on Feb 3, 2019 10:19:32 GMT
Yes this is a rare occurrence recently with all the disruption 😂😂😂
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Post by vjaska on Feb 3, 2019 12:25:42 GMT
The 358 & R9 use High Street & Homefield Rise in both directions They don’t count because they don’t do it all the time 😉 The R7 on the other hand.......😊 We also have the double run in both directions at Barfield Road and Golf Road at the Aquila Estate Forgot about the R7 double run, thanks for reminding me.
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