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Post by ronnie on Apr 13, 2019 19:56:28 GMT
It’s a very busy route and gets caught in traffic particularly in East Ham - I’d only recommend doing it just to say you done it before the 104 split happens. Yes that was my reasoning as well. Although I did it at close to 10pm so little traffic!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2019 19:58:04 GMT
It’s a very busy route and gets caught in traffic particularly in East Ham - I’d only recommend doing it just to say you done it before the 104 split happens. At the rate Crossrail is going I can see the current 104 contract running the whole 5 years before we get the related bus changes
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Post by londonbuschannel on Apr 13, 2019 20:20:14 GMT
Walk to Dagenham Heathway District to Barking DL-6 to Canning Town Jubilee to London Bridge Walked up to the Thameslink platform and my train got cancelled :/ Northern Line to Camden Town 24 to Prince of Wales Road Visited family for a bit Walk to Chalk Farm Station Northern to Bank Walk to Monument District to Tower Hill DL-6 to Barking (Great journey,minus the red light we ran in Canning Town, and the countless cars we cut up) District to Dagenham Heathway Walk to Home
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Post by 15002 on Apr 14, 2019 1:39:03 GMT
It’s a very busy route and gets caught in traffic particularly in East Ham - I’d only recommend doing it just to say you done it before the 104 split happens. Just did it today actually, I’ve only been on this route a few times, and those were with Stagecoach so I can’t remember the demand around those times but from having using it today with Go Ahead for the first time, I 100% agree with this, especially during East Ham and Upton Park which is where it gets very busy and packed.
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Apr 14, 2019 11:42:49 GMT
It’s a very busy route and gets caught in traffic particularly in East Ham - I’d only recommend doing it just to say you done it before the 104 split happens. Just did it today actually, I’ve only been on this route a few times, and those were with Stagecoach so I can’t remember the demand around those times but from having using it today with Go Ahead for the first time, I 100% agree with this, especially during East Ham and Upton Park which is where it gets very busy and packed. It's quite surprising how busy it gets, it seems to have two sections where its used heavily Upton Park to Stratford and East Ham to Manor Park. People wouldn't use it for much else as Manor Park to Stratford you'd be quicker off getting a 25, 86 or 425 - maybe even walking if you're quick enough and East Ham to Stratford people would get the 238. Just goes to show how busy the corridor between Upton Park and Stratford is. I wonder if the new 104 should be considered for a Stratford City extension, it would be quite short.
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Post by rj131 on Apr 15, 2019 22:24:05 GMT
Had a brilliant day riding some routes that had recently undergone changes, as well as redoing some old favourites that I hadn’t done in a while. LX11FJD | D7 YY66PHJ | 277 YX68UJK | D6 LJ13CCY | 106 LTZ1343 | 48 YX19ORW | 20 YX17NWH | W13 YX17NWJ | W13 YX19ORH | 207 LJ18FJV | 70 LK58CRV | 190 BV66VHL | 430 YX16OAJ | C10 YY66PHN | 277 SK19FCV | 25 SK19FDC | 25 BJ11EAG | 473 YX68UKR | 474 Up until a few months ago I used to ride the D routes and 277 very very frequently, for a particular purpose. But as that purpose no longer exists I haven’t done them for quite a very while so decided to revisit them, as well wanting to do a swan-song ride on the 48 and a debut on the 20. Starting at Mile End, I took the D7 down to Canary Wharf, changed to a 277 to X-harbour, went into the Asda and bought some brekky, rode a jam packed D6 (what’s new there) end to end up to Ash Grove, then a 106 and 48 to finally finish at Walthamstow Central. I boarded the 48 at Clapton Pond at about 10:30 and it’s then you get to see just how overbussed the 26, 48, 55 and 56 corridor is off-peak, no wonder TfL want to get rid of the 48. However peak times is a TOTALLY different story and no way will that corridor cope without the 48 when it’s gone. From the 48 I changed to a 20 at Walthamstow bus station up to Woodford, and it was then I saw just how diabolical the traffic has become in a Walthamstow town centre and the Bakers Arms area. Hoe Street: gridlocked. Lea Bridge Road: gridlocked. Well done Waltham Forest council. However after getting the first 5 stops out of the way (which took near enough half an hour) the 20 is an absolutely fantastic route with brand-spanking new buses that are equally brilliant, and as I mentioned in the CT Plus thread far better than the slightly older 26 and 388 models. After getting to Woodford (traffic there was shockingly bad as well due to a ridiculous amount of roadworks in the area) I got so bored with the traffic I decided to give up on going any further, and a very well timed a W13 coming the other way rocked up right on cue so I ran across the road and went back to Leytonstone so I could trek across to West London. I took a quick hiatus at a George Lane Shopping Centre and had a walk round until the following W13 came around 15 minutes later. This route is an absolute hidden gem, a really small, nice and local route with brilliant buses, a real must ride. It’s a short one too so won’t take much time out of your day. After getting off at the end of the route a Leytonstone I went right to the other side of the Central Line to Westfield White City to take a ride an Abellio 207. One brilliant thing about the 207 now it’s under Abellio is that it’s real lottery of what bus type you could get. I feel this gives the 207 a lot of character now and it’s a brilliant addition to the route that you didn’t get before. The buses seemed to be running to really good headways as well, so I completely and utterly retract my huge initial skepticism about Abellio taking on the route, and imo I actually think it’s one of the best changes there’s been in a long while. When waiting at White City Bus Station (really gutting the 207 is being withdrawn from there soon as you’re guaranteed to getting a good seat getting on there) I deliberately didn’t look at my app as I wanted to be surprised at what bus I’d get. And unbelievably first time of trying I got one of the new 19-reg Smart hybrids, I thought I’d have a nightmare trying to catch one as there’s so few of them. Really really really nice vehicles, and the bus (being a 207) got very busy very quickly and smart hybrid system didn’t have any problems hauling all those people along..... something which very much can’t be said for a bus I took later on. After a roundabout trip back over to East London the next bus I wanted to take was one of the 25’s new StreetDeck HEVs ......... and oh dear. Good things about the new StreetDecks: - The TT interior is very nice - The air cooling like al Gemini 3s and StreetDecks worked brilliantly. And that’s about it. Apart from that these buses are ABSOLUTE HEAPS OF GARBAGE. Already rattling to pieces after barely 2 weeks of service. I deliberately took the 25 at around 5 o’clock to see how it would cope with a full load, and quite simply: appallingly badly. Going towards Ilford it even struggled to get up the slight incline just before the Warton Road stop, these buses are totally unsuited to the 25 where packed buses are constant and my general hatred for StreetWrecks stays very much intact. Absolutely awful, atrocious, hateful things and the 25 deserves so much better than those piles of misery. They were even ridiculously slow even with a pretty much empty load! Finally the last thing on my to do list was one of either the 262 or 473 now it’s under a different operator. In typical TT fashion, the wait for a 262 was nearly 20 minutes so it was a no brainer that I was going to take the 473. Being half 5 in the evening by this point the 473 was absolutely rammed to the door, and it’s the first time I’d ever observed a 473 being that full. I did a full end to end trip on the 473 to North Woolwich (<— picture there), I hadn’t been beyond Newham Hospital on that route before today. While the Stratford end of the route is completely dry and boring, the City Airport/Prince Regent end of the route is absolutely brilliant. Only thing about this route is that it is a very slow route, even at the quiet southern end of it. I absolutely love a bus route that goes past an airport and this one is no exception. Really good route on TT’s brilliant VN’s, which have been maintained absolutely exceptionally. It’s a shame those awful StreetDecks will be plaguing the 262 and 473 soon, two really good routes that will be totally spoilt with those heaps. The North Woolwich terminus of the 473 at the ferry and foot tunnel is incredibly quiet and is actually a little eerie, there’s nothing or no one there. It was a nice very peaceful wait there while waiting for a 474 to come to take me back to City Airport so I could get the DLR back to Stratford and go home
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Post by croydonguy on Apr 20, 2019 16:49:52 GMT
As I've recently started a job with a TOC, I had decided to make good use of my free train travel and go exploring. My journey consisted off: 314 to Addington Village 130 to Norwood Junction 387 Gatwick Express to Brighton Spent a few hours making the most of the sun 387 Gatwick Express to Gatwick 377 Southern to Crawley 6633 Fastway 100 to Redhill Bus Station E96 405 to Fairfield Halls T44 466 to Addington Village T144 64 back home
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2019 20:02:46 GMT
Finally managed to grab a ride on a route 25 StreetDeck today. Pretty decent bus nice and cool air flow. This is my first ride on a Gemini 3 bodied bus for some reason they seem huge outside and internally not sure why!
Now the not so good part - Got to the wonderful interchange they call City Thameslink and see at least 10 passengers waiting. The next 8 was 5 mins away and I knew it would be rammed solid so decided to walk, I managed to get to Holborn station before being overtaken and as I thought it would be the bus was full to the doors. Has the 8 has a cut to frequency recently or as it always been busy towards Tottenham court Road?
I won't bother trying this way into central London any more its just too much hassle. I would rather suffer the slightly longer 15 and walk.
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Apr 20, 2019 20:04:23 GMT
Finally managed to grab a ride on a route 25 StreetDeck today. Pretty decent bus nice and cool air flow. This is my first ride on a Gemini 3 bodied bus for some reason they seem huge outside and internally not sure why!
Now the not so good part - Got to the wonderful interchange they call City Thameslink and see at least 10 passengers waiting. The next 8 was 5 mins away and I knew it would be rammed solid so decided to walk, I managed to get to Holborn station before being overtaken and as I thought it would be the bus was full to the doors. Has the 8 has a cut to frequency recently or as it always been busy towards Tottenham court Road?
I won't bother trying this way into central London any more its just too much hassle. I would rather suffer the slightly longer 15 and walk.
Ever since the 25 was cut back many people change for an 8 at Bank, quite common to see buses fully loaded into the West End these days.
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Post by londonbuschannel on Apr 20, 2019 20:05:29 GMT
Today was my first free day in a few weeks so I decided to ride some buses LX11---(145) Home to Dagenham Dock LX17DZE(C2C) Dagenham Dock to Rainham LX11AZW(372) Rainham to Arena Essex SN11FFJ(X80) Arena Essex to Bluewater GN61JRX(428) Bluewater to Dartford,Market Street LX54HAU(SE RRP) Dartford to Woolwich Arsenal YX61DSV(SE RRP) Woolwich Arsenal to Plumstead LX04FWU(472) Plumstead Stn to North Greenwich BT09GOU(108) North Greenwich to Bazely Street YW17---(115) Bazely Street to Canning Town Bus Station LJ59ABK(DL6) Canning Town Bus Station to Barking ( we went via the A406 for some reason) SL64HZB(287) Barking Station to Chequers Lane LJ59ABN(173) Chequers Lane to Home
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2019 20:06:51 GMT
Finally managed to grab a ride on a route 25 StreetDeck today. Pretty decent bus nice and cool air flow. This is my first ride on a Gemini 3 bodied bus for some reason they seem huge outside and internally not sure why!
Now the not so good part - Got to the wonderful interchange they call City Thameslink and see at least 10 passengers waiting. The next 8 was 5 mins away and I knew it would be rammed solid so decided to walk, I managed to get to Holborn station before being overtaken and as I thought it would be the bus was full to the doors. Has the 8 has a cut to frequency recently or as it always been busy towards Tottenham court Road?
I won't bother trying this way into central London any more its just too much hassle. I would rather suffer the slightly longer 15 and walk.
Ever since the 25 was cut back many people change for an 8 at Bank, quite common to see buses fully loaded into the West End these days. Meanwhile the 25 carries fresh air ! I find this change so annoying. Even more so when there will be a much better night service from Bank / St Paul's towards Oxford Circus when the N242 is introduced and there will be 3 buses N8,N25 and N242!
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Apr 20, 2019 20:13:14 GMT
Ever since the 25 was cut back many people change for an 8 at Bank, quite common to see buses fully loaded into the West End these days. Meanwhile the 25 carries fresh air ! I find this change so annoying. Even more so when there will be a much better night service from Bank / St Paul's towards Oxford Circus when the N242 is introduced and there will be 3 buses N8,N25 and N242! I don't even bother attempting to use a bus along that corridor now, you're actually better off getting on the Central Line. If it's the bus I just use the 15s way, where most of it is walking distance from the 8s corridor in Central London or the extra bus is worth it.
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Post by busaholic on Apr 20, 2019 20:20:09 GMT
Finally managed to grab a ride on a route 25 StreetDeck today. Pretty decent bus nice and cool air flow. This is my first ride on a Gemini 3 bodied bus for some reason they seem huge outside and internally not sure why!
Now the not so good part - Got to the wonderful interchange they call City Thameslink and see at least 10 passengers waiting. The next 8 was 5 mins away and I knew it would be rammed solid so decided to walk, I managed to get to Holborn station before being overtaken and as I thought it would be the bus was full to the doors. Has the 8 has a cut to frequency recently or as it always been busy towards Tottenham court Road?
I won't bother trying this way into central London any more its just too much hassle. I would rather suffer the slightly longer 15 and walk.
Didn't need a cut in frequency to achieve what you experienced: take the cut to the 25, add the cut to the 242 a little earlier and allow for the 521's non-appearance on Saturdays and you've got the situation described. If you had a warped sense of humour, you might describe it as a joke, but in truth it's pathetic.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2019 20:23:34 GMT
Finally managed to grab a ride on a route 25 StreetDeck today. Pretty decent bus nice and cool air flow. This is my first ride on a Gemini 3 bodied bus for some reason they seem huge outside and internally not sure why!
Now the not so good part - Got to the wonderful interchange they call City Thameslink and see at least 10 passengers waiting. The next 8 was 5 mins away and I knew it would be rammed solid so decided to walk, I managed to get to Holborn station before being overtaken and as I thought it would be the bus was full to the doors. Has the 8 has a cut to frequency recently or as it always been busy towards Tottenham court Road?
I won't bother trying this way into central London any more its just too much hassle. I would rather suffer the slightly longer 15 and walk.
Didn't need a cut in frequency to achieve what you experienced: take the cut to the 25, add the cut to the 242 a little earlier and allow for the 521's non-appearance on Saturdays and you've got the situation described. If you had a warped sense of humour, you might describe it as a joke, but in truth it's pathetic. I agree I wouldn't mind if there was at least two routes travelling further west so at least you had a chance of getting a bus and seat. The 46 is useless as it turns into Gray's Inn Road.
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Post by snoggle on Apr 20, 2019 20:24:01 GMT
Meanwhile the 25 carries fresh air ! I find this change so annoying. Even more so when there will be a much better night service from Bank / St Paul's towards Oxford Circus when the N242 is introduced and there will be 3 buses N8,N25 and N242! I don't even bother attempting to use a bus along that corridor now, you're actually better off getting on the Central Line. If it's the bus I just use the 15s way, where most of it is walking distance from the 8s corridor in Central London or the extra bus is worth it. To be honest I'm amazed that both of you still bother going to Central London and use the bus to do so. With the shambolic state of the bus service and never ending demonstrations practically every day of the week for months I can't see a single reason for going there nor to use the buses.
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