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Post by Alex on Dec 29, 2013 3:54:41 GMT
Yes indeed, I think you have hit the nail on the head Mr. Snoggle! I emailed TfL a while back about the maps and got this reply......
"Thank you for your email of 27 November regarding an enquiry for bus route maps on our website. I am sorry you experienced problems when using our services and apologise for any inconvenience this caused you. We have made a recent change to the bus route tool. As part of the development of the new TfL website, we are introducing new bus maps. This feature will be available from mid December. The site itself will be fully live in the early months of 2014."
I was a bit gutted the Google Maps had gone too - they were very handy indeed, not to mention interesting! Hopefully these new maps will have a similar approach.......
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Post by Alex on Aug 17, 2013 1:40:11 GMT
I'm just glad they don't like putting the Scanias on the 122! All the better for me Yes, definitely I'd go along with that too. Currently, the service which seems to be 'my route' (and thus adopting as favourite ) is the 177. I use this as my shopping bus (Thamesmead Town Centre is pretty handy with Iceland, Aldi and Morrisons next to each other, as well as Lidl on Eynsham Drive and Woolwich shops too), I use it to visit a mate in Greenwich quite a lot and I use it on my journey to/from work fairly frequently. I think the route is very logical, running down main corridors and linking a lot of useful places together. However, as touched on above, the downside is that a fair amount of Scanias get out on this route - I find them really uncomfortable. However there's still loads of Tridents out and about on the 177 so not all bad on that front...... Have soft spot for the 122 (I do one return trip on the entire route once a week for darts night in Croydon) and also the 99. My favourite bus type at the minute is the Stagecoach Tridents, particularly the 175## numbers. Also like Go-Ahead's PVL fleet and also prefer LDP type (In Go-Ahead money) Darts to more modern single deckers.
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Post by Alex on Aug 15, 2013 0:32:51 GMT
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Post by Alex on Aug 15, 2013 0:21:21 GMT
Sorry for going off on a slight tangent. Trying to jump back a little. No worries from my angle! I find posts like this fascinating! I had heard of the old N53 arrangement and it does interest me, I can't seem to find maps of it, only a little bit of it on this 1995 East London map: www.busmap.co.uk/Downloads/Stagecoach%20East%20London%20Map.pdfCouple of questions, how did the Thamesmead loop terminate at the Town Centre (as shown) doing both Bentham Road and Crossway on the way? The current N1 (which does Crossway first towards Thamesmead then terminating at Titmuss Avenue) I get but this N53 seems a bit of a conundrum..... Also what way did the Erith bus go? From what I can gather from this map (which misses out most of the route between Plumstead Common and Erith) the N53 would have gone from Plumstead Common via King's Highway, Wickham Lane, Okehampton Crescent, Bedonwell Road and Nuxley Road to The Eardly Arms? Is this right? Seems really odd compared to the current arrangements Also the story about different fares and Travelcards not accepted on night buses is one I have been told before. Someone I used to work with was a driver on the N3 under London Buses, and said the first N3 left Central London in front of the last daytime 3, cue arguments and confusion
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Post by Alex on Aug 15, 2013 0:07:21 GMT
Spoke to the old man and he pretty much confirmed Egg's post with the addendum that school bus drivers also work 53 duties and the further addendum that he doesn't take any notice ot the single deck routes so can't really confirm that Cheers Paul, thanks for asking the question The thought of the schools had crossed my mind, one day doing a bit of afternoon shopping at Thamesmead (having Aldi, Iceland and Morrisons next to each other is pretty handy there!) I saw the three 601 buses zoom round the bus turnaround and disappear running light off into the distance, I did wonder where they went to next.......... Saying that about the Hayes garage and Uxbridge Road, the 177/472 roster must be a bit like that with trips up the Woolwich Road and traversing Crossway
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Post by Alex on Aug 14, 2013 10:08:52 GMT
Thanks for the replies all, the thing about the rotas being slightly mixed up (as first 122 on 53 rota) ties in with what I'd heard previously. Also, chatting to a roadside inspector yesterday it seems that indeed all 18 177 buses are out all day, it seems the 21 min stands at either end are needed as so much time can be lost on the route (same with the long stands on the 96 at Bluewater). Was also told the longer routes tend to do three rounders a day, but in the case of the 291 it's not uncommon for nine/ten rounders in a shift Doing two back-to-back 122s seems a tall order though. It's a fair old trek, but according to the London Bus Routes site it gets 32 mins stand at PD garage, so probably balances out that way. Anyhow, thanks again for the replies, interesting stuff indeed
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Post by Alex on Aug 12, 2013 20:42:59 GMT
Just a quick question about route 177: Does it use an all day PVR of 18 buses, or does it run with a lower off peak PVR with extras coming out in rush hours? From what I can see, and the fact the PVR is 19 on a Saturday, I'm guessing at the former....... The 18 bus all day idea gives a 21 minute stand at Peckham and at Thamesmead during the daytime (according to my workings out), but from what I've seen of Selkent's times the stands seem more generous across the board compared to some other operators, so makes sense. Also while I'm here, does anyone know the rosters at PD? I have heard 51/96 are together, 177/472 are together, and 291/469 are together also. I've also been told each rota does a bit of the 53 too.....is this right? Guessing 99, 122 and 386 are by themselves....... Sorry if this seems a bit random but I moved to PDs stamping ground a few months ago and it is all very interesting. Not to mention the BX crews (LC1 and Egg on here?) that come this way on the 422
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Post by Alex on May 20, 2013 12:36:52 GMT
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Post by Alex on May 18, 2013 14:01:56 GMT
The worst was when I woke up when I was due northbound at Mitcham. I nearly S**t myself thinking of all the complaints I was going to get for my punctuality, but fortunately I had a fast bus and not a soul to pick up till I reached Tooting Broadway... by which time I was suprisingly only five minutes late. I must admit that despite my slight worry I enjoyed thrashing that PDL throughout three boroughs to catch up with time. Ha ha ;D That made me smile. Were the PDLs good buses? I only ever recall riding on one (on the N87) and I was a 'bit tired' and probably not taking as much notice as I should have done. Some on the net seem to think they weren't very good (and hence withdrawn) but it'd be cool to hear an opinion from someone who drove them! As for the N44 and the stand time in Sutton, this was the basis I had for an idea (kind of which has cropped up in this thread already), I was thinking of sending the N44 via the 118 route (a change from the N133 idea mentioned earlier) to Morden, then via St. Helier Avenue to Sutton - by my workings out it could be done with no extra PVR (as the stand in Sutton gets shortened to make up for it) and kills two birds with one stone with connections at Morden - a new direct night link to Mitcham and Sutton in one. Was looking at Bishopswood Road, but with the N44 serving both ends, and of course St. Helier Avenue not too far away, there would still be reasonable access to a night bus. I would agree though, that the plan wouldn't be very good for night drivers having a quick rest in Sutton
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Post by Alex on May 13, 2013 9:01:16 GMT
I always used to find driving the 152 and 155 at night boring, though loved doing the N155 which was more lively. Ah yes! The N155, I used this very regularly up to about four years ago, and got to know some of the regular night drivers to chat to. At the time, Sutton did the N155, the N213 (when it was Croydon to Kingston) and the 93 of a night. Asking one driver what was the best and worst, he said "N155 best - a better class of drunk on there. At least it's mainly adults from London, the 213 is all kids..........." Of course the super fast Morden to London in 37 minutes was a feature, and looking at a recent timetable it's still like that! At the time I was using it a lot it had EVLs on it, I see it's DOEs now....... Back to the boring routes, has anyone been on the 116? Looking at the map it's basically a 30 minute straight line through the outer reaches of West London, looks tedious but I haven't been on it...........
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Post by Alex on May 12, 2013 18:47:25 GMT
Oi! Leave the 133 out of this, it's probably the best route I've done. The bit from Liverpool Street to Borough is a bit twisty and trafficy, but the rest is pure racetrack! Moz Guessing the N133 is quite satisfying, for the night-time running speeds and if all goes wrong there's 17 mins turnaround in Mitcham. I personally would like to see this extended to Morden via the 118 route at night, but that's another story............ I'm not a driver (of a bus anyway) but out of the routes I've travelled on recently the one which sent me to sleep the most was the 51. Miles upon miles of suburban houses that just looked the same (though 'The Oval' interested me, a bit like a village green somewhere in SE London)............
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Post by Alex on May 9, 2013 22:22:04 GMT
Ah, thanks for that - looking at a map it makes perfect sense but did seem strange as it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere! Thanks again
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Post by Alex on May 9, 2013 21:35:59 GMT
Hi all, been ages since I posted here but here goes..... ;D Decided to go out and have a decent ride on the buses again, to see what was happening out there. Saw something quite odd on the 320 earlier. It stopped somewhere that appeared very isolated (opposite some cottages in Keston) and Ibus announced that there would be a driver change! I spotted someone from a Metrobus van coming to take over the bus, and the previous driver got in the van. I can see how it works but it seemed so odd as the place was so far out of the way! Does this happen with every changeover on the 320 or is it just when drivers starting/finishing duties? As said the location of it opened my eyes a bit, quite like experiencing the open country run with narrow lanes on the 464 afterwards!
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Post by Alex on Jul 10, 2009 18:20:47 GMT
Even though a light visitor here now, I'm surprised the N213 wasn't commented on sooner. The Croydon end WAS busy! I don't know where TfL are getting their figures from. Just makes me wonder what's next......any night route getting cut is not a good sign in todays age....
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Post by Alex on Sept 11, 2008 14:29:18 GMT
I'm not keen on them. I like the EVL/PVL design, it to me is a lot more practical.
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