Post by Swadbus on Jan 26, 2012 0:38:25 GMT
www.hornseyjournal.co.uk/news/haringey_bus_services_top_worst_in_london_list_for_complaints_1_1187687
A bus service that snakes through Haringey is the most complained-about route in London, according to the latest figures.
The W3 route, which runs from Northumberland Park in Tottenham through Wood Green and Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park, received 52 passenger complaints between September 18 and October 15 last year.
It came top of 700 routes in the capital, data from Transport for London (TfL) reveals.
The route 243 bus, running through Haringey between South Tottenham and Wood Green, was the sixth worst, with 28 complaints during the same period.
The Journal took a trip on the W3 to ask passengers what their gripes were.
Duncan Johnson, 22, who regularly uses it to and from his home in White Hart Lane, said: “I’ve sat on a bus before and the driver had an argument with someone on his radio; he turned the speakers on. The guy spent about five minutes arguing at each bus stop.”
Another passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said W3 drivers often ignored him when he pressed the bell to stop the bus.
One W3 driver, who did not want to be named, said there had been problems with buses breaking down and that drivers had been told all buses would be replaced by next month. A recurrent complaint was that the W3 terminated early at Compton Road, and recent TfL data shows the buses are running less miles than they should.
Joanne McCartney, London Assembly Member for Enfield and Haringey, urged residents to tell her about their experiences of the services.
She criticised London Mayor Boris Johnson for raising bus fares “by an eye-watering 50 per cent” since 2008, yet failing to provide a decent service.
A spokesman for Arriva London, which operates the W3 service, said the company would be “introducing new buses on the route combined with a new schedule” in order to “improve reliability and address the concerns that our customers have”.
He added: “We are committed to providing a service that exceeds our customer’s expectations and always work closely with London Buses to resolve issues of this nature when they arise”.
A bus service that snakes through Haringey is the most complained-about route in London, according to the latest figures.
The W3 route, which runs from Northumberland Park in Tottenham through Wood Green and Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park, received 52 passenger complaints between September 18 and October 15 last year.
It came top of 700 routes in the capital, data from Transport for London (TfL) reveals.
The route 243 bus, running through Haringey between South Tottenham and Wood Green, was the sixth worst, with 28 complaints during the same period.
The Journal took a trip on the W3 to ask passengers what their gripes were.
Duncan Johnson, 22, who regularly uses it to and from his home in White Hart Lane, said: “I’ve sat on a bus before and the driver had an argument with someone on his radio; he turned the speakers on. The guy spent about five minutes arguing at each bus stop.”
Another passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said W3 drivers often ignored him when he pressed the bell to stop the bus.
One W3 driver, who did not want to be named, said there had been problems with buses breaking down and that drivers had been told all buses would be replaced by next month. A recurrent complaint was that the W3 terminated early at Compton Road, and recent TfL data shows the buses are running less miles than they should.
Joanne McCartney, London Assembly Member for Enfield and Haringey, urged residents to tell her about their experiences of the services.
She criticised London Mayor Boris Johnson for raising bus fares “by an eye-watering 50 per cent” since 2008, yet failing to provide a decent service.
A spokesman for Arriva London, which operates the W3 service, said the company would be “introducing new buses on the route combined with a new schedule” in order to “improve reliability and address the concerns that our customers have”.
He added: “We are committed to providing a service that exceeds our customer’s expectations and always work closely with London Buses to resolve issues of this nature when they arise”.
