148 at Night

[Deleted]

I regularly commute at 03-4am on the 148 for an early shift, and the speeds that that 148 does on Park Lane is absolutely phenomenal. I once clocked 50mph using the GPS and 45 or so near Hyde Park Street. What on earth though is the need to go that fast? Does this keep the bus to timetable and the old Scania buses would never get anywhere near the acceleration/top speeds of the LT's

Although on the 320 just leaving Biggin, I've hit 55 in the Scania.

[M1104]

Jun 26, 2014 20:36:27 GMT @robbiegarrett said:

I regularly commute at 03-4am on the 148 for an early shift, and the speeds that that 148 does on Park Lane is absolutely phenomenal. I once clocked 50mph using the GPS and 45 or so near Hyde Park Street. What on earth though is the need to go that fast? Does this keep the bus to timetable and the old Scania buses would never get anywhere near the acceleration/top speeds of the LT's

Although on the 320 just leaving Biggin, I've hit 55 in the Scania.

You reminded me of a question I keep forgetting to ask. When routes get fully converted to hybrids does the running time generally decrease as a result?

[snoggle]

Jun 26, 2014 21:43:48 GMT M1104 said:

Jun 26, 2014 20:36:27 GMT @robbiegarrett said:

I regularly commute at 03-4am on the 148 for an early shift, and the speeds that that 148 does on Park Lane is absolutely phenomenal. I once clocked 50mph using the GPS and 45 or so near Hyde Park Street. What on earth though is the need to go that fast? Does this keep the bus to timetable and the old Scania buses would never get anywhere near the acceleration/top speeds of the LT's

Although on the 320 just leaving Biggin, I've hit 55 in the Scania.

You reminded me of a question I keep forgetting to ask. When routes get fully converted to hybrids does the running time generally decrease as a result?

Doubtful - I believe the 9, 10 and 148 simply changed types with no change to the timetable. I am also not aware that the 38 is seeing a change either. It's harder to disentangle on some other routes because the vehicle change coincides with a new contract term and operators will want to change the timetable if they have tougher targets to achieve or are working to a tighter PVR. The simplest way to check would be to look in the London Bus Routes Timetable Graveyard and compare the pre and post timetables for the 8, 13, 54 and 75. I'd be amazed if there was any real speeding up of running times even on the 8 which is the first retender where NB4Ls are the vehicle for the new contract.

If I were to guess then the "hyper speed NB4Ls" on the night 148 may simply reflect the fact that night services are often tightly scheduled but can be prone to delays due to large crowds or the inevitable night time road works / traffic accidents. Drivers will take the opportunity to catch up when the opportunity presents itself and Park Lane is a good opportunity.

[Deleted]

I caught a 148 at around 3am from Camberwell and it too went like a rocket both up Walworth Road, and Park Lane etc.
It was very enjoyable. The driver opened all 3 doors when at stops, no problems on board and actually it wasn't that busy and it was a Friday night/ sat am trip .
The nightlife around Victoria is much quieter now the nightclub has closed.

[sid]

Jun 26, 2014 20:36:27 GMT @robbiegarrett said:

I regularly commute at 03-4am on the 148 for an early shift, and the speeds that that 148 does on Park Lane is absolutely phenomenal. I once clocked 50mph using the GPS and 45 or so near Hyde Park Street. What on earth though is the need to go that fast? Does this keep the bus to timetable and the old Scania buses would never get anywhere near the acceleration/top speeds of the LT's

Although on the 320 just leaving Biggin, I've hit 55 in the Scania.

At lot of drivers 'floor it' on various routes along Park Lane.....................as long as it's safe to do so I can't see a problem.

[Deleted]

There's a faster version that runs the night buses on the 148?? When I travel from Larcom Street to Lancaster Gate in the mornings it takes about 19-23 minutes. Whereas daytime it's about 45-50 minutes.

[snoggle]

Jun 27, 2014 19:18:17 GMT @robbiegarrett said:

There's a faster version that runs the night buses on the 148?? When I travel from Larcom Street to Lancaster Gate in the mornings it takes about 19-23 minutes. Whereas daytime it's about 45-50 minutes.

No faster version - just my turn of phrase given the buses are running much quicker than in the daytime.

[jrussa]

If I remember correctly, the speed limit is 40mph on Park Lane. When Route 73 was operated using Citaro's, it was fun to travel on it down Park Lane!

[Deleted]

snoggle, I was about to say - there's hardly anything on Park Lane/Westminster bridge at that time so it's easy to see why. Another area of saving is the road from Westminster to Victoria Station and onwards to Hyde Park Corner. That is by far the slowest part of the route. During the night it takes 5-7 minutes.

I remember being on a 12 when it was a Citaro, oh my did it move when the pedal was put down.

[snoggle]

Jun 27, 2014 21:44:02 GMT jrussa said:

If I remember correctly, the speed limit is 40mph on Park Lane. When Route 73 was operated using Citaro's, it was fun to travel on it down Park Lane!

Veering slightly off topic I once got the 29 in to work rather than the tube. I somehow managed to get the front seat on the Citaro and the driver was hustling the bus along very nicely indeed. One of those nice memorable journeys where everything works nicely.

[Deleted]

Its actually quite impressive how smoothly and quickly an LT can get up to 30-40 mph, given a bit of clear roadspace (which lets face it they don't get much during the day due to the nature of their routes) and on a good working one, they are very smooth at higher speeds.

[6HP502C]

Jun 26, 2014 20:36:27 GMT @robbiegarrett said:

I regularly commute at 03-4am on the 148 for an early shift, and the speeds that that 148 does on Park Lane is absolutely phenomenal. I once clocked 50mph using the GPS and 45 or so near Hyde Park Street. What on earth though is the need to go that fast? Does this keep the bus to timetable and the old Scania buses would never get anywhere near the acceleration/top speeds of the LT's

Although on the 320 just leaving Biggin, I've hit 55 in the Scania.

If that's a complaint, it has been duly noted. If the route doesn't have enough running time, it can be increased and slowed down to have an average speed of 10mph.