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Post by ronnie on Jan 23, 2019 9:07:32 GMT
What you need if you wish to do a trip like this? 1. A Passport 2. 2x Discovery Tickets (or Stagecoach Dayrider if only using Stagecoach buses) 3. Brittany Ferries Day trip to france offer (£24 return, seat included and £20 each way for cabin)- there are also other destinations with interesting bus scenes such as Le Havre and Saint-Malo 4. Patience, it is a long long trip and it is exhausting but satisfying seeing the change from UK to France in such a slow manner compared to flying Reminds me a bit of the old Saturday dash I used to make from London to Oostende when there was a Jetfoil service from Dover to Oostende. The Jetfoil was very fast so you could easily have a Saturday on the Belgian coast (using the coastal tram) or go to Bruges for the day using the frequent trains from Oostender. Sadly not possible now since the Tunnel killed off the service and Eurostar forces you to Lille (from where connections are dire) or to Brussels where you spend hours going back to the coast. Also Eurostar don't believe in cheap last minute fares so spur of the moment travel isn't a thing any more. Not sure about the economics but would it find takers if launched now and priced attractively? For starters, it would probably take leas time than the eurostar as well as the entire gung-ho about getting to the airport 2 hours before, checking in, flying, immigration at the other end, then the long trek back to the main city and so on....
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Post by Dillon95 on Jan 24, 2019 0:18:23 GMT
269 - Sidcup to Bromley North 119 - Bromley North to East Croydon 405 - Croydon to Redhill 405 - Redhill to West Croydon X26 - West Croydon to Kingston Southwestern - Kingston to Waterloo Southeastern - Waterloo East to Sidcup
I love the rural section of the 405 between Coulsdon and Redhill, it's so much fun. On the way back though, there was a tedius amount of traffic between Purley and South Croydon due to tempoary traffic lights. This was also my first time riding the X26, pretty interesting route.
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Post by Dillon95 on Jan 24, 2019 18:21:38 GMT
Another day of retro video game hunting.
B14 - Sidcup to Bexleyheath 96 - Bexleyheath to Dartford Thameslink - Dartford to Gravesend Southeastern - Gravesend to Dartford 96 - Dartford to Woolwich 177 - Woolwich to Peckham 136 - Peckham to New Cross Gate 321 - New Cross Gate to Sidcup
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Post by dla314 on Jan 24, 2019 23:01:05 GMT
86 - Ilford to Romford 174 - Romford to Dagenham 173 - Dagenham to Beckton 474 - Beckton to North Woolwich 473 - North Woolwich to Stratford 262 - Stratford to East Beckton, Sainsbury's 366 - East Beckton, Sainsbury's to Gallions Reach 177 - Woolwich Arsenal to Plumstead 177 - Plumstead to Peckham 197 - Peckham to Croydon 194 - West Croydon to East Croydon Southern - East Croydon to London Bridge Southeastern - London Bridge to New Cross London Overground - New Cross to Canada Water Jubilee Line - Canada Water to Stratford Central Line - Stratford to Gants Hill 128 - Gants Hill to Ilford
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Post by rj131 on Jan 27, 2019 21:31:56 GMT
Looking forward to finally getting to do my long-awaited Harrow day tomorrow, it’s certainly a bumper schedule and all of these are new routes so will be a very interesting day 186 Harrow Bus Station - NPH H14 NPH - Hatch End / Telephone Exchange H12 Hatch End / Telephone Exchange - South Harrow Station 258 South Harrow Station - Long Elmes Harrow Weald H18/19 Long Elmes - Harrow Bus Station H17 Harrow Bus Station - Wembley Central Station 223 Wembley Central Station - Wembley Park Station MET Wembley Park Station - Harrow-on-the-Hill Station H11 Harrow Bus Station - Pinner Station 183 Pinner Station - Harrow Bus Station 186 Harrow Bus Station - Edgware Station 204 Edgware Station - Colindale Station 303 Colindale Station - Edgware Station 288 Edgware Station - Queensbury Morrisons 324 Queensbury Morrisons - Stanmore Broadway 340 Stanmore Broadway - Edgware Station
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Post by rj131 on Jan 29, 2019 10:25:41 GMT
Okay, so here’s what happened on my Harrow day yesterday, was a hugely enjoyable day and Harrow is by and large an absolutely lovely place LK11CYS | 186 YX68UOK | H14 YX68UON | H14 YX68UNM | H12 YX12FNZ | 258 SN18KWH | H19 YX68UOY | H17 YX68UOE | 223 MET - Wembley Park to HotH YX11FZR | H11 YT59RYF | 183 LK62DVJ | 186 LK60AHC | 204 SN18KWF | 303 SK68LUB | 288 LK59AVC | 324 LJ61LHP | 340 NOR - Edgware to Camden Town SN61DFZ | C2 First I wanted to start off on the H14, but as it was so short I wanted to do the route fully end to end, so I started off on a short dash on the 186 to NwPH. I wanted to do it first as it was right in the peak times by this point so I wanted to see how the route was coping after its DD coversion, however the journey on this route was far from smooth. There was temporary traffic lights at the crossroads in the middle of the route (the Junction where Headstone Lane/Gardens and the H9/10 cross Harrow View) and it was absolutely playing havoc with the traffic. It was okay for us going towards Hatch End but southbound the whole road was queued back to Pinner Park Avenue so the traffic was at a standstill all along the road. The H14 service was a total wreck at this point and then without *any* notice or communication whatsoever the driver kicked us all off at the Long Elmes roundabout (there still must have been about 30 on the bus by this point) and then drove off somewhere (probably to try and recover the service). Not good Sovereign, not good. However the H14 as a route is brilliant, when the Harrow View road was going downhill you could see a huge panoramic view of London like you get on the W3, it’s amazing. The Ultracap MMCs (which the RATP interior suits tremendously) are fantastic, and I can confirm these Ultracaps have *NO* problem tackling hills whatsoever and just powered through anything in its way. As for the H14, my bus got very busy (not full but probably up to 40/50 people at its max) and every one coming the other way had similar loadings. So absolutely a wise decision decking this route, I can barely think how this route coped with its SDs, probably not well. That huge Harrow View housing estate I went past will probably add more people to the route as well so the extra capacity is really needed. I got off at Hatch End and fortunately the H12 came about a minute after I got off. I took this route down to its southern terminus at South Harrow and what a route this is. This route was by far my favourite one of the day and has gone straight into my top 10 of favourite routes, it was unbelievable. The roads were mostly wide, so the driver could absolutely floor it (on another rocketship Ultracap MMC) and the surrounding scenery was stunning throughout. The majority of the residents of Pinner are clearly very well-heeled, the amount of big gated houses I saw there and throughout the route was crazy. Absolutely amazing route, amazing buses (aside from the exterior dirt), straight into my top 10. I absolutely recommend this route to any enthusiast as it’s definitely worth the trip. The only not so nice part was right at the very end, South Harrow bus station and the surrounding area, well it left a little to be desired. Next I took the 258 to Harrow Weald on a standard E400. From what I rode of it the route wasn’t that impressive except the bit around Harrow Park and Harrow School (where the H17 also travels), which was stunning. The architecture of the buildings round there are unbelievable and from the top deck have an amazing view of Harrow Park. After the 258 I took one half of the H18/19 loop from Harrow Weald Bus Garage back down to Harrow, despite running at 3bph it came almost instantly which was a huge stroke of luck. I took the H19 round via Headstone Lane and was pretty nice, was mostly just quaint houses. Next was the H17, again as it’s a short one I took it end to end from Harrow to Wembley Central. This route also was incredibly nice, back down through Harrow Park and Harrow School and then Sudbury. It’s a very fast paced route and very short so the journey didn’t take very long. Although my bus was carrying mostly fresh air, most of the buses the other way certainly weren’t. It’s clearly a very busy route, and being as short/fast as it is, it’s clearly a very popular way of getting between Harrow and Wembley. When I saw the H17’s in rush hour in Harrow town centre earlier in the morning, both coming into and out of Harrow buses were rammed to the door which proves its popularity. Personally I see this route as a less intense H37, a bit like what the E1 is to the W7. Lower frequency, less buses, but still serves the same purpose and gets extremely most of the day. When I got to Wembley I took the 223 after about a 6 minute wait, but only up to Wembley Park. I couldn’t be bothered to do this one end to end as it was a lot longer and slower than the H17, despite terminating in the same places. There was road works along the A404 so that part up until Wembley Stadium was a total standstill, and I very nearly got to the end of my tether and got off, but I’m glad I didn’t. The traffic cleared after Wembley Stadium, and because of the roadworks the driver had clearly had a lot of time to make up as between there and Wembley Park he clearly thought he was Lewis Hamilton. He was driving like an absolute madman up until Wembley Park, which I have to say was one of the most thrilling journeys I’d ever had on a bus. Then I took the Met back to Harrow. Next the H11 to Pinner and the 183 back. Both very nice residential routes through quaint neighbourhoods, apart from that nothing much more to say about those routes really. Then it was time to leave Harrow on to Edgware via this time a more substantial journey on the 186. This route is also quite nice too, and is clearly quite popular being the quickest way between Harrow and Edgware, there were a lot of busy buses, mine included. Firstly I took the 204 from Edgware to Colindale, to get a substantial journey on the 303. The 204 from what I rode of it isn’t very nice. This route was the only journey I had that regulated as well, so was annoying also. From the very modern Colindale area (which was very nice), I took the 303 back to Edgware on an absolutely filthy DLE, and an empty one too. There was never more than three people on board, so this new routeing is doing incredibly well - NOT. The diversion it took as well presumably wasn’t helping matters, hopefully when this ends (whenever it may be, there’s no sign of a date yet) people can start getting used to it again. After that I took a short trip on the 288 on another equally filthy DLE down to Queensbury, which for some reason is temporarily unable to serve the Morrison’s, very irritating as I planned to get the 324 from there. So from the station I walked over to Morrison’s and missed the 324 by seconds, again very annoying, so I had a 20 minute wait at the Morrison’s. The 324 finally came (which is actually a really well loaded and busy route) and I took this one up to Stanmore Broadway. The DE I had was shocking, there was a major problem with its interior fan. It was extremely loud and kept going on and off at intermittent intervals, which made the journey pretty deafening and unbearable. The route itself is quite interesting though, being nearly entirely hail and ride throughout. Finally I finished off with a relatively short journey back to Edgware on the 340. I didn’t actually get a StreetDeck (or a StreetWreck I say with the 340 ones in particular as Arriva has a very convenient fleet code of ‘SW’ for them ) but got an E400 instead, which was okay as Arriva’s Ts are very nice imo. Although that’s an opinion contrary to most Arriva drivers as it seems again the route is quite nice, I was a fast journey though which certainly made it interesting. By this time the schools were finishing for the day too so my bus got pretty busy, but not as busy as the passing 340’s going back towards Harrow. After I got back to Edgware and as it was still only the afternoon, I took the Northern line all the way back down to Camden Town, to have what could be my last journey on the C2 before it gets withdrawn. It was one of the recently reacquired hybrids, and I was glad I had that as it still had the NX interior, which all of the C2 buses had had all of their lives on the route. It’s a really nice route and it’ll be sad to see it go, however the residents who live on it along Albany Street will be getting a more frequent 88 service so it’s not all bad I suppose Thanks for reading
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Post by Dillon95 on Jan 30, 2019 17:21:17 GMT
51 - Sidcup to Woolwich Woolwich Foot Tunnel 474 - North Woolwich to Beckton 366 - Beckton to Ilford 86 - Ilford to Stratford 108 - Stratford to Westcombe Park 286 - Westcombe Park to Sidcup
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2019 21:04:53 GMT
Decided to give the 25 another try today 2 months on from the changes. caught the bus at Aldgate and it must have had nor more than 10 passengers on board and we picked up any more passengers to City Thames Link! Going over old topics but this route might as well just be cut back to Aldgate it serves no purpose any more passed this point (At weekends at least)
Caught the 15 home - Boarded at Trafalgar Square but had to get off before even reaching the text stop due to pop up Yellow vest anti Brexit demo blocking the road! Walked to Covent Garden and thought I would catch a RV1 instead before its axed but was too cold to wait so carried onto Aldwych where I assumed the 15 would be starting from after the demo and board a nice empty bus.
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Post by snoggle on Feb 4, 2019 21:28:11 GMT
A little toddle to Stratford which proved to be a complete waste of time thus necessitating a trip to T Hale. 97 - just caught this Scania. We were regulated at the WW Central Stop (rolls eyes). I needed to be at the Broadway at Stratford so I opted to bale off the 97 as I didn't want to trek over from Stratford City. As we reach Grange Park Rd a 158 swings round although I spotted another was not far away. Inevitably I miss the first 158 - it drives off as I alight from the 97. 158 - a Trident was literally 2 mins behind so I got a nice emptyish bus. Sadly we got - guess what - regulated on Angel Lane. First time using the 158 on the new road layout at Stratford. Toddle to the shop I wanted to do to. Didn't have what I wanted. Other shops I might have ventured into were like war zones - one is a Chinese food shop but with it being Chinese New Year the place was under siege. About 50 people in the queue to pay. Opt to head to T Hale where I knew I could get what I want but at an inflated price. Had just missed a train and didn't fancy a 25 min wait. First time I've seen the more "compact" Stratford Bus Station with buses crushed together on the stands and most of the passenger waiting areas swept away so people can stand instead. The place gets more utilitarian every time I use it. Give it some time and it'll be as basic as Stratford City. 158 - a spirited run on another Trident. Crazy busy after Leyton Stn as we got half a school party on board. The other half were on a 58 that we overtook. Lots of people at subsequent stops but we made decent progress. Just missed a 230 at St James St so it was on to Blackhorse Rd. 123 - a quick dash round the corner and this arrived. I was concerned I'd miss it but well done to the Stagecoach driver for a safe but speedy run. Got what I needed. Just wish I hadn't wasted 90 mins going to Stratford and back. Saw DMN1 still giving sterling service on the 192. A VLW turns up on the 123 but it was very busy and I knew the next bus was not far behind. HV208 duly turned up. And yes we got regulated at Blackhorse Road for about 4 minutes (rolls eyes again). Overall a fairly smooth set of journeys but I could have done without all the regulation.
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Post by bn12cny on Feb 7, 2019 0:22:23 GMT
Route 924 from Tongzhou Beiguan Bridge to Shunyi District, a rare Mercedes Citaro turned up, (normally cramped King Long) very fast and smooth, changed for bus 850 towards Dongizhmen get of close to Beijing International Airport T3 (5 minutes walk), walked to T3 then free airport bus to T2...China Eastern Airlines to Shanghai, upgrades to Business Class... 😝😝😝 high speed train to Tongxiang, bus K282 to Wuzhen Water Town (long and tiring day but satisfying)...staying here before heading to Hangzhou
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Post by planesandtrains on Feb 10, 2019 0:46:59 GMT
59 Plate Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2 on the X26 from Teddington to Heathrow- a fairly slow journey due to large quantities of traffic, arrival into Heathrow about 5 mins late.
06 Plate Mercedes Citaro on the 724 from Heathrow to Watford Town Centre- These buses are getting into a right old state, bits of random metal soldiered in place of proper spare parts, funny noises from axles and engine sounding unhealthy. Bus left 5 mins late and was driven at times in an aggressive manner and somtimes at crawling pace.
04 plate Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini on the 500 from Watford Town Centre to Aylesbury Bus Station- A very friendly driver apologises for the delay, but misses a temporary bus stop along the way, a generally pleasant journey with good passenger numbers and this vehicle wasn't performing too badly, but lots of rattles and worn moquette. The bus arrives on time.
Now on stand is a Citaro (branded for the 300??) about to perform an X60 to Milton Keynes, however this then left 5 mins before departure time sounding very very unhealthy for a 7 year old vehicle.
15 plate E40D/Enviro 400 on the X60 from Aylesbury Bus Station to Milton Keynes Central- not surprised to get this, mechanically not in bad condition but dirty on the inside (who thought that grey bluish leather and white stitching would look good a couple of years along the line) Again, the driver was friendly
05 plate Scania L94UB/Wright Solar on the 150 from Milton Keynes Central to Leighton Buzzard Library- I got on showed the student day ticket I purchased on the app along with my student ID card, just to be told it's the wrong type and I need an NUS card which I do not possess. If you follow the link to the website, you can see that for the day ticket to be valid you require a student ID, nothing else. So I had an argument with the driver who agreed to 'let me off' this time only. This bus driver also treated a family very poorly, they got on the bus and asked for two adult singles and three child singles, the driver then proceeds to interrogate the parents and children to find out the children's age. Also fine, but he then refused to sell them the ticket as they weren't 'telling the truth'. Needless to say they got off. What a way to promote bus travel! The bus also sounded poorly with ticking sounds from the engine and a very worn interior.
12 plate Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse on the F77 from Leighton Buzzard to Luton Station Interchange- funnily enough the ticket was accepted without any fuss, a very pleasant ride into Luton, although the bus was making clunking noises, the use of the busway is very clever.
17 plate E20D/Enviro 200 MMC on the 321 from Luton Station Interchange to St Albans Peter Street- sounding very husky for an E200 MMC and a leaking turbo is apparent, not as fast as my other 321 rides
06 plate Mercedes Citaro on the 724 from St Albans Peter Street to Heathrow Airport CBS- again, in not great condition making a terrible racket every time the bus went round a corner, also dirty, definitely an embarrassment to the Green Line brand, some erratic driving towards the end with the dreaded sitting around at stops despite being late (so the driver can look down on phone), getting off the bus the driver is wearing earphones. Not a great finish.
How do I sum up Arriva- not cheap and not cheerful, buses in poor condition, incorrect branding to the point where they don't bother at all, timetables that are unachievable, some drivers with an attitude that absolutely stinks and would be considered unacceptable within London... lets put it straight, they don't care and it is real shame as there are people within that are really good at what they do.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2019 21:38:27 GMT
59 Plate Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2 on the X26 from Teddington to Heathrow- a fairly slow journey due to large quantities of traffic, arrival into Heathrow about 5 mins late. 06 Plate Mercedes Citaro on the 724 from Heathrow to Watford Town Centre- These buses are getting into a right old state, bits of random metal soldiered in place of proper spare parts, funny noises from axles and engine sounding unhealthy. Bus left 5 mins late and was driven at times in an aggressive manner and somtimes at crawling pace. 04 plate Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini on the 500 from Watford Town Centre to Aylesbury Bus Station- A very friendly driver apologises for the delay, but misses a temporary bus stop along the way, a generally pleasant journey with good passenger numbers and this vehicle wasn't performing too badly, but lots of rattles and worn moquette. The bus arrives on time. Now on stand is a Citaro (branded for the 300??) about to perform an X60 to Milton Keynes, however this then left 5 mins before departure time sounding very very unhealthy for a 7 year old vehicle. 15 plate E40D/Enviro 400 on the X60 from Aylesbury Bus Station to Milton Keynes Central- not surprised to get this, mechanically not in bad condition but dirty on the inside (who thought that grey bluish leather and white stitching would look good a couple of years along the line) Again, the driver was friendly 05 plate Scania L94UB/Wright Solar on the 150 from Milton Keynes Central to Leighton Buzzard Library- I got on showed the student day ticket I purchased on the app along with my student ID card, just to be told it's the wrong type and I need an NUS card which I do not possess. If you follow the link to the website, you can see that for the day ticket to be valid you require a student ID, nothing else. So I had an argument with the driver who agreed to 'let me off' this time only. This bus driver also treated a family very poorly, they got on the bus and asked for two adult singles and three child singles, the driver then proceeds to interrogate the parents and children to find out the children's age. Also fine, but he then refused to sell them the ticket as they weren't 'telling the truth'. Needless to say they got off. What a way to promote bus travel! The bus also sounded poorly with ticking sounds from the engine and a very worn interior. 12 plate Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse on the F77 from Leighton Buzzard to Luton Station Interchange- funnily enough the ticket was accepted without any fuss, a very pleasant ride into Luton, although the bus was making clunking noises, the use of the busway is very clever. 17 plate E20D/Enviro 200 MMC on the 321 from Luton Station Interchange to St Albans Peter Street- sounding very husky for an E200 MMC and a leaking turbo is apparent, not as fast as my other 321 rides 06 plate Mercedes Citaro on the 724 from St Albans Peter Street to Heathrow Airport CBS- again, in not great condition making a terrible racket every time the bus went round a corner, also dirty, definitely an embarrassment to the Green Line brand, some erratic driving towards the end with the dreaded sitting around at stops despite being late (so the driver can look down on phone), getting off the bus the driver is wearing earphones. Not a great finish. How do I sum up Arriva- not cheap and not cheerful, buses in poor condition, incorrect branding to the point where they don't bother at all, timetables that are unachievable, some drivers with an attitude that absolutely stinks and would be considered unacceptable within London... lets put it straight, they don't care and it is real shame as there are people within that are really good at what they do. Interesting comments on the 724. I wasn’t impressed either not so long ago. Our driver blatantly drove past a stop he should have stopped at in Rickmansworth, leaving two women stranded. Erratic driving as well.
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Post by ronnie on Feb 17, 2019 17:29:08 GMT
Did the 105 end to end today
Must say it gets quite heavily loaded even on Sunday. Didn’t realise the first bits were down such narrow roads! This was the first Heathrow route I have done so look forward ro doing more (111,285 especially)
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Post by george on Feb 17, 2019 17:59:25 GMT
Did the 105 end to end today Must say it gets quite heavily loaded even on Sunday. Didn’t realise the first bits were down such narrow roads! This was the first Heathrow route I have done so look forward ro doing more (111,285 especially) Only been on the 111 from Kingston to Hounslow but it takes forever and a day
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Post by ronnie on Feb 17, 2019 18:26:52 GMT
Did the 105 end to end today Must say it gets quite heavily loaded even on Sunday. Didn’t realise the first bits were down such narrow roads! This was the first Heathrow route I have done so look forward ro doing more (111,285 especially) Only been on the 111 from Kingston to Hounslow but it takes forever and a day After 2 hours 20 min on the 25 end to end once, I can handle anything!
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