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Post by enviroPB on Apr 16, 2024 12:38:13 GMT
The 414 can fill up at the first stop at Marble Arch at times! Yes, yes, it surprised me too. It isn't as useless as usually portrayed. These passengers also don't board the 137 suggesting they are going beyond Knightsbridge likely to South Ken and beyond (they arrive decently full at South Ken with most continuing onwards plus more passengers boarding there), would be link broken unnecessarily imo to force a change at Knightsbridge. That’s interesting, I think the 414 would be more useful and provide more unique links if it continued beyond Marble Arch to either Paddington, Portman Square or Oxford Circus. Getting to Paddington Station or St Mary’s Hospital from anywhere south of Hyde Park by bus is difficult at present and both South Kensington and Paddington Praed Street lack step free access so the Circle Line isn’t always an alternative. The 23 was the wrong route to try to provide a link between Paddington and the Knightsbridge/South Kensington areas, so not surprised that it wasn’t a success. The cutback of the 137 to Marble Arch was bad politics, take away the buses from Oxford Street and you take away the customers that actually shop there, it should be extended to Portman Square or Oxford Circus. It would be nice if the 414 was extended to Paddington Basin via the station. It would give the route a bit more life and would help passengers navigating the waterway there, it isn't the most accessible given the narrow footbridge and loads of foot traffic there. When the 15 was extended there over a decade ago there wasn't much in the way of housing, totally different story to today.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 13, 2024 0:27:34 GMT
Roadworks at Newham Town Hall and the closure of Blackwall tunnel was causing delays and bunching on the 115. Traffic diverted away from the tunnel before midnight despite the thoroughfare being open at the time didn't help matters. 115 to Upton Park, Boleyn 115 to Stepney, Arbour Square (x3) Two buses on the 69 departing Canning Town together A bus on the 135 from Crossharbour and a D3 from Bethnal Green terminating at Limehouse, Burdett Road at the same time. Both buses departed immediately 37577- 276 to Canning Town, Hermit Road (from Newham Hopspital). Spotted at 00:30 And I have also spotted tonight the Newham Town Hall stand (Wellington Road) is inaccessible due to the Thames Water works. That means the 376 is temporarily standing at Central Park and more annoyingly for operators, means little opportunity to stand buses in the area as the East Ham High Street routes are using the Ron Leighton Way stand as a bus stop whilst the High Street also has utility works going on. Oh well, guess that means I'm carrying on avoiding the area on weekends as I've done most of the year so far!
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 11, 2024 23:55:34 GMT
My advice to you if you are planning to do the N266 is to start at Brent Cross, preferably before 1am. Timings between this route and the 189N mean a hefty 20-25 minute gap if you change there, and Brent Cross bus station is not the most pleasant place at night. It is completely desolate and an addict's dream spot to beg as there's no chance to feasibly walk to the next stop. During the day the place is bustling, at night Brent Cross is very dystopian. Thanks for the thumbs up, my plan is to take the night tube (Piccadilly Line) to Hammersmith later on if there happens to be a ADE on the N266 if not I could ride an N33 or N72! On a personal note, I have many experiences with night buses back in the good old days when we would fly up and down without messing around regulating etc haha Outside of Covid, I don't believe I have ever been on a night bus that was held for regulation. Schedules are fairly tight and if you plan to do this on a weekend, even more so with generally more punters eating up timings with dwell times. You should be fine.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 11, 2024 23:51:18 GMT
Massive disruption in both Deptford and Surrey Quays because of temporary traffic lights on Evelyn Street and at the Lower Road/Surrey Quays Road junction. There was also an RTC by Bush Road which has now been cleared. As a result: . 1's are currently terminating on Grange Road, Bermondsey . 199s are currently terminating on Grove Street (Pepys Estate), Deptford . 225s are currently terminating at New Cross Station (with Sanford Street and Trundleys Road now left without any bus route despite the former being quite remote from other bus services in Deptford and New Cross) . Most northbound 47s were stuck in Surrey Quays for more than an hour with a few now turning at Deptford Bridge (from Catford) to run light further up the route via New Cross and Old Kent Road to make up time . Multiple Deptford Church Street turns on 188 earlier If possible, I think Go-Ahead should look into making Rotherhithe New Road a turn on the 1. It would allow the entire length of Southwark Park Road to be served while avoiding Surrey Quays gyratory by turning around at the Hawkstone Road roundabout. It should be mentioned that it's TfL who decide on stands for all routes, it is dictated on all tender specs. I am fairly sure the 1 had a South Bermondsey turn in the past (last stop Corbetts Lane then circumnavigate the roundabout back onto Rotherhithe New Road), but for some reason it isn't showing in the tender specs. Maybe I'm going senile or the late nights just aren't for me anymore! What I do rightly remember though is the Southwark Park Road turn used to alight passengers at Anchor Street and buses would use Raymouth Road to turn. Alas having spoken about this with @michiant Nevermind, I realise who I'm speaking to now!
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 11, 2024 22:54:07 GMT
All being well, I plan to ride some night bus routes tomm on the handful left operating with Diesels. Thankfully the Night tube will assist me to make some decent connections & progress. Plan to ride the routes with the N prefix as the 24hr ones can be rode at any time. Main route I have observed that has some Diesel workings is the N266 which would be the 1st time riding it! Is the route worth riding and anyway to tell what time the Diesel will come on from which end? Or is it just chancing? If the N266 fails, plan is riding the N83 again which is a decent route imo. My advice to you if you are planning to do the N266 is to start at Brent Cross, preferably before 1am. Timings between this route and the 189N mean a hefty 20-25 minute gap if you change there, and Brent Cross bus station is not the most pleasant place at night. It is completely desolate and an addict's dream spot to beg as there's no chance to feasibly walk to the next stop. During the day the place is bustling, at night Brent Cross is very dystopian.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 11, 2024 21:49:32 GMT
Sadiq Khan pledging to introduce a new Golders Green to Stamford Hill single deck bus route if re-elected. Mention of the 210 as I assume it would parallel it or be part of it in some way. This would link up two of London's largest Jewish communities. I cannot see the 210 going down to single deckers and being extended to Stamford Hill. TfL will either reroute the current 210 via Hornsey Road to Finsbury Park onto Stamford Hill, or localise a new Stamford Hill- Golders Green route with single deckers & the 210 likely truncated to Archway or possibly Hornsey Rise. I honestly cannot see the 210 being extended, regardless of vehicle type.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 11, 2024 15:30:04 GMT
I have just found out that 366 and 488 have special arrangements in which you can stay on the terminating bus at Bromley by Bow or Redbridge respectively (or get on the bus in front) and continue your journey. That makes sense for 366 but what is the benefit for 488? It is a legacy working after the S2 was withdrawn in 2008. Buses used to loop in both directions to serve the Tesco and the station, but primarily the latter is likely why the arrangement is in place. Put it this way; an able bodied and fit person like myself detests the mere thought of using that subway, let alone anyone with mobility issues or kids or bag-loads of heavy shopping. No amount of lighting can make using that underpass pleasant.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 8, 2024 15:46:31 GMT
Except it isn't a fact at all, it's a bigoted assertion. There is no qualitative research besides anything else. Just an opinion with an added dose of prejudice. Assuming they were talking in a foreign language how is it a "bigoted assertion" to say so? Personally I think having loud phone conversations in any language on public transport is rude and inconsiderate. Well over a third of UK adults are bilingual and in London that jumps to almost 50%. Inferring a foreign language in that complaint implies there are issues with the language spoken rather than the noise complaint itself. To speak a second language is a skill that's sought after in business and there's research to suggest it aids in memory retention, reducing the user's risk of Alzheimer's in later life. Speaking another language should never be an issue for complaints.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 7, 2024 17:40:36 GMT
Yesterday: Six buses on stand at Norwood Junction, guessing Crystal Palace played a home game with the 130s curtailed there Is this on Grosvenor Road or Clifford Road? Grosvenor Road, apologies. I was deliberately trying to be lazy by foregoing researching the specific road on Google, and tried to imply the one the 130 serves. Forgot route 130 drives by both stands! EDIT: SILENCED I should specify it was two buses off the 196 and four off the 130 at Grosvenor Road.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 7, 2024 15:01:35 GMT
Today marks 10 years since the introduction of live time on London's iBus display. Before it was a single dot on the bottom left of the display.
A good use of resources if you ask me. The bottom row still displays the odd Tube closure and other important info like strikes and service alterations, but was purely blank (bar the stopping sign when pressed). It's definitely positively added to bus travelling experience.
Let me leave before the "you can see how late your bus is" comments come flooding in! 😅😅
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 7, 2024 14:54:13 GMT
Yesterday: Six buses on stand at Norwood Junction, guessing Crystal Palace played a home game with the 130s curtailed there 11019 on the N550 last night. It was a regular driver as well, so hopefully more prefer the MMCs at HK! Today: Route 108 helping to plug a gap on the 115 on East India Dock Road WHV167- 147 to East Ham, Newham Town Hall
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 2, 2024 6:47:45 GMT
An educated guess says TfL are waiting for the carriage works at Old Street to finish before the small extension. I don't know if stand space is also a factor, considering there's technically no stand at Old Street for the N35. The 135 stands at its bus stop at New North Road, but that gets disruptive to other routes during the peaks. It doesn't have to be said but is worth noting, that Old Street and Shoreditch is a killer for traffic most weekends. The small extension on the N35 would be worth it in terms of scooping up more weekend revellers, the question remains how to achieve a sense of reliability for the rest of the N35 route in the process. I thought the N35 was axed I remember when it used to go to Tottenham Court Road. I am struggling to think of why it was axed and just made 24 hour route 35 cut back to Shoreditch. As vjaska mentioned, reliability was beyond poor south of Clapham Common. The 5bph struggled to cope with the Shoreditch crowds as well, which warranted an increase of some kind. Though the round the corner link from London Bridge & Liverpool Street to Clerkenwell was handy (for 24 hour Thameslink), controllers rarely sacrificed that part of the route. They instead turned buses in Clapham, Brixton and drivers have even been known to abandon buses at WL with no warning to passengers. When hundreds of people constantly cannot finish their journeys at night as advertised, a transport authority should rightly get flack until the situation improves. I remember it when it went all the way to Trafalgar Square when first introduced back in the 90's, never used it though. Can't remember why it was axed but I think it was documented on here about it's unreliability Possibly partly TFLs quest for standardisation but I think pre ELL night service loadings out of Shoreditch were really big and they wanted Shorts between there and Brixton and I think it was costed as better to shorten it in order to fund the increase needed. Standardisation had nothing to do with it if TfL then added shorts to the 35N. It was all about making the 35 reliable at weekend nights, which involved giving the Shoreditch- Brixton section 8pbh and Brixton - Clapham 4bph. Clapham's night scene is (was) just as big as Shoreditch's, and the 35N played an important part down south as it did in the City.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 1, 2024 15:54:22 GMT
Certainly are dominant in the Barking Road and south Newham area, but north Newham is still pretty solid Stagecoach territory. It's funny to think how Stagecoach once had every route in East Ham besides the 474, but now they only have 3 routes with one of them being the 474. 2005 was when it all went wrong for them there. The 58 changing to First and then the 474 extending to Manor Park the same year run by Blue Triangle. I'm sorry but the 474 extension was badly needed in 2005. When buses at East Ham Station towards Manor Park were packed to the point of leaving people behind, at 10pm with no gaps in the service, then I'd say the 474 was badly needed & a good extension indeed.
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Post by enviroPB on Apr 1, 2024 5:05:57 GMT
Service on the S2 has been an absolute joke. I've been waiting at Stratford for what feels like decades, only to find out the S2 was diverted to Sutton last month! No posters, no Ibus announcements, nothing.
A joke service by TfL, on today of all days...
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Post by enviroPB on Mar 31, 2024 17:10:14 GMT
Are there a lot of Stagecoach routes? Maybe years ago but Go Ahead are very dominant in most parts of east London now. Certainly are dominant in the Barking Road and south Newham area, but north Newham is still pretty solid Stagecoach territory. It's funny to think how Stagecoach once had every route in East Ham besides the 474, but now they only have 3 routes with one of them being the 474. Something that I realised last week when I was in the area was that Mile End's routes are 100% Stagecoach! Pretty sure that's the first time this has happened since tendering began, but happy to be corrected if it's otherwise.
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