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Post by enviroPB on Nov 4, 2019 13:16:33 GMT
@dannyb don't you think I'm more local to Barking when I make most observation posts from that area?! I don't want to clutter the west London thread with east London chatter but the round the corner links the 300 provides from Barking Road up to Prince Regent will be sorely lost. The 147 as an alternative on Prince Regent Lane isn't really good enough as the 147 terminates at Canning Town Station and doesn't serve the shops on Barking Road. The only change I'd advocate along Freemasons Road/New Barn Street would be the N551 as it was extremely popular when it ran down there for the Crossrail works.
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Post by enviroPB on Nov 3, 2019 16:50:00 GMT
Will we see the rest of the changes of routes with regards to Crossrail in December. So far we now that routes 266/N266, 306, 391, 278, 218, 140,X140,N140 will all be seeing changes with in the next 2 months. what about the other routes such as: 104/304, 241, 300, 330, 428, 440, 474, B11 will there changes still be going ahead? There is absolutely no sign of some sort of mega bus stand (IIRC for up to 7 buses?) at Custom House; was at Excel for an event last weekend and saw nothing done with the proposed land site. I think TfL are getting cold feet about the Custom House changes and are quickly trying to think of alternative plans. The main problems: -no stand at Custom House for the 241& 304, or a potential double run of the 300/473 -the 300 reroute will break lots of journeys between Barking Road and Tollgate Road -the 304 can run up to Prince Regent but defeats the whole purpose of its proposal if it doesn't link with Crossrail at Custom House -the 330/474 changes along Silvertown Way could see patronage fall along that corridor with the 330's proposed terminus -overbussing at night of the 474N and the N551 from Canning Town to Prince Regent. As a local, I genuinely see no easy fix to these solutions. All I know is the 304 would be a welcome addition to Lonsdale Avenue, which has cried out for an extra route along it for years now. Propping up the 104's frequency simply shifts the problem of onward travel to the Boleyn at Upton Park and at High Street South.
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Post by enviroPB on Nov 3, 2019 15:33:36 GMT
Well then, it seems I always had pay as you credit on my oyster travel card until Jan 2017! I'd buy my onwards ticket from East Croydon so after re-entering with a rail ticket, thought none the wiser. Now let's move on from this embarrassing lapse of this East Croydon memory from the out of depth east Londoner?!
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Post by enviroPB on Nov 2, 2019 23:16:43 GMT
Interesting article and proposal. I'm pretty sure East Croydon was in zone 4 before January 2017. I say that because when I go to Gatwick, I normally half and half it with my travel card up to zone 4 and a National Rail ticket the rest of the way. Since then, the cost savings of me tapping out of Croydon to buy a rail ticket was offset by suddenly being charged for a zone I didn't have. The same can be said when I was canvassing a quick journey to Kingston for my brother in 2013, it was definitely in zone 5 then. East Croydon was certainly in Zone 5 when I was commuting there in 2004-06. If you were using a Z1-4 Travelcard to travel there you've been cheating! Depending on where you were starting your journey, it may have been better to buy an extension ticket to travel beyond your Travelcard zones.
Interesting article and proposal. I'm pretty sure East Croydon was in zone 4 before January 2017. I say that because when I go to Gatwick, I normally half and half it with my travel card up to zone 4 and a National Rail ticket the rest of the way. Since then, the cost savings of me tapping out of Croydon to buy a rail ticket was offset by suddenly being charged for a zone I didn't have. The same can be said when I was canvassing a quick journey to Kingston for my brother in 2013, it was definitely in zone 5 then. If what others have said about Westfield funding Stratford being in zone 2 is true, then we can only hope the same plans are implemented by Westfield officials when the one in Croydon opens up. As for the gentrification of the name of East Croydon station, hopefully that won't happen. What's that saying again about if someone isn't broken? Been commuting since late 90s with Z1-4 Travelcard ... never valid past Norwood Junction ... Extension needed whenever travelling to Croydon Maybe my memory is fading but I defo feel that East Croydon was in zone 4 when I've been commuting to the station before January 2017! In any case, if I wasn't with family I'd come back from Gatwick; grab a Subway breakfast meal with the money I'd save and bus it back to the east end from Croydon. If I was with family then they'd plead for me to pay extra as they detested changing trains 3 or 4 times. If only I had a tube and/or rail map between 2012-16 as a reference, otherwise that's a massive overlook on my part.
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Post by enviroPB on Nov 2, 2019 17:23:50 GMT
Interesting article and proposal. I'm pretty sure East Croydon was in zone 4 before January 2017. I say that because when I go to Gatwick, I normally half and half it with my travel card up to zone 4 and a National Rail ticket the rest of the way. Since then, the cost savings of me tapping out of Croydon to buy a rail ticket was offset by suddenly being charged for a zone I didn't have. The same can be said when I was canvassing a quick journey to Kingston for my brother in 2013, it was definitely in zone 5 then. If what others have said about Westfield funding Stratford being in zone 2 is true, then we can only hope the same plans are implemented by Westfield officials when the one in Croydon opens up. As for the gentrification of the name of East Croydon station, hopefully that won't happen. What's that saying again about if someone isn't broken?
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 22, 2019 0:29:13 GMT
Change of subject but not sure where suits best - what are the earliest start times and latest finish times for an N-prefixed night route on a normal weekday? I've seen that the first N3 departs Bromley North at 2345 with the last one arriving at 0658. Not sure if any have more range than that. Thought we've done this question ad nauseum but things fluidly change in the night bus network post Night Tube! In the past (before the N9 went to LT operation) the N9 took the crown for the earliest starting and the latest finishing night route. However now it's the N551 for the earliest night route at 23:20 departing Gallions Reach nightly and on Sundays it's the N8, arriving at Oxford Circus at 07:43 whatever redexpress said!
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 21, 2019 22:08:26 GMT
I drove the Canning Town to London City Airport route yesterday. The routeNot sure what the scheduled headway was on this one, think it was every 7-8 minutes during my late shift and the service finished around 10pm. The only calling points were Canning Town and London City Airport. The changeover point was at Canning Town. Single deckers were allocated, most likely because a lot of passengers would have bulky luggage and wouldn't want to go upstairs. The route was short and literally ran alongside the DLR line, on the 474 line of route from end to end. A lot, and I mean a lot of the people of West Silvertown and Pontoon Dock were really upset about the replacement bus arrangements. Some took to Twitter to make their views known, probably because there are no station staff on the DLR to complain to. I was subjected to expletives and rude/exasperated gestures from people waiting at those stations who were watching some lightly loaded rail replacement buses whizz past. At least 6 different people at Canning Town implored me to make extra stops at those stations, specifically citing poor reliability on the 474's evening service which is supposed to run every 15 minutes. No idea how true it was but the 474's stop at Canning Town seemed to be crowded all 7 times I drove past it, as well as most of the buses I saw leaving there. Somehow people at Canning Town were expecting to be taken to the Woolwich Free Ferry which doesn't actually run after 19:30 on Sundays. People were getting on the 474 and replacement service hoping to get closer to Woolwich Arsenal when the only river crossing for miles is actually the Jubilee Line at Canning Town. I decided to make announcements, welcoming people to the UK on leaving London City Airport and offering brief advice on onward connections. LoadingsMost of the buses were hammered. Some which left LCA in a bunch or between flight arrivals left lightly loaded, but this was the minority. Buses were filling up quickly at both ends until around 8pm. As flights were arriving, I picked up a full double deck load as late as 21:30 from City Airport. Abellio sent some long E200s and MMCs from the C10 but also quite a few shorter E200s from the 484 and one of the P13's legendary MMCs, 8344. It's not the first time that one has escaped onto a rail replacement route. The 474 was under severe pressure from Canning Town. Running timesThey were fine, well matched to actual running times. Vehicle ChoiceDue to the predicted heavy loads and risk of suitcases rolling around, I wanted a bus with extra smooth braking and acceleration. I initially had C10 MMC 8844 but failed it after one rounder. The spare bus happened to be a double deck MMC, 2618 which fit the bill perfectly. SummaryI quite liked the route as a one off. Busy and passengers didn't seem too put out at having to use a bus service to get to the Tube. Route difficulty rating - 1/3 (easy) Enjoyability - 3/5 (moderate) Next route review - Clapham Junction to Chessington South Sounds like Tfl called it right with the extras on the 474 then! The route has very little recovery at nights, especially at the Canning Town end. If any spanner is thrown in the works along the route towards Canning Town, then expect the return trip to Manor Park to be delayed as well. Why does everybody forget the foot tunnel between Woolwich and North Woolwich?! Passengers were likely requesting King George V so they are dropped closer to the foot tunnel. Sounds like Tfl botched the replacement service for local people by only having in effect a shuttle to and from London City. The cash-strapped planners in Tfl Towers found an easy way to charge Joe & Jenny Public by propping up the 474 bus route, and as eluded to very few local people do actually alight at London City DLR so it's clear to see who the express replacement buses were aimed for.
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 18, 2019 0:40:43 GMT
Yes sorry I did. I know I would be furious if someone was standing on top of the tube train I wanted to go home on, just like how they grounded a plane at City Airport the other day. I really do wonder how on earth one of them even managed to get that close to the plane in the first place, then let alone climb on. They were either very committed to a point they brought a ticket or someone at LCY has a lot of explaining to do regarding a very serious security breach. Thankfully due to the size of the airport it was easy to apprehend the protestor but I dread to think what that would have done at LHR. I better stop giving them ideas They [the protesters] actually tried to buy swarm tickets for a flight to gain legal access to a plane for their protests. I've been thinking about their 'strategy': pretty sure XR wanted to target stations that had no police presence or had close proximity to police forces that could respond to their protests quickly. Makes sense as to why there there is no footage of disruption at Stratford, BTP likely has officers stationed there or has a base very close to the station. The damage's been done today (yesterday), public support is now not on their side after recent events, and I'm happy people on social media picked up on their bias on targeting stations in east London particularly. They could easily have done their does at West Ruslip (unlikely, which is why I mentioned it), but their socio-economic bias meant they targeted mostly low paid workers at Canning Town. Safe to say it backfired spectacularly against them!
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 17, 2019 12:45:57 GMT
This is the main reason why I was not a fan of the X140. Along with this, it was sometimes quicker southbound to get the 140 from Harrow to South Harrow than the 395/H10 for example. I rather have a high frequency route that works together getting passengers from A to B. And I guess the X140's may just get stuck behind an ordinary 140. I rather have an X140 work alongside the existing 140 to get people from A to B much quicker! I agree. The 140 does a great job of linking Harrow and Heathrow Airport, and it was a relatively quick means of getting between these areas and those in between despite the route's length. The X140 idea is completely unnecessary, its purpose of being an express route won't be fulfilled if it won't be that much quicker than the current 140. Perhaps a few less used stops along the 140 could be removed or it could be cut to Harrow Bus Station to speed things up, if this indeed is what TFL want to do. TFL again are fixing something that isn't broken. However I do agree with the 278's introduction, this could be a useful route providing another means of linking North West London to Heathrow Airport, with scope to be given an extension further from Ruislip. I'm still eager to see how Tfl will find space for the 278 to stand at Ruislip station. Only been there twice and the station forecourt can barely cope with the routes that it currently has.
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 17, 2019 11:40:42 GMT
A "good ol’ Thrashing" is never "well deserved", however stupid the initial action. Agreed that a thrashing is not well deserved. Rightfully those that have committed a crime have been arrested this morning according to the BTP. My question is why have we not seen XR in the likes of Chelsea, Kingston or Kensington...? Instead targeting working class who have no option but tube or bus travel. Sorry for pruning your post but it was essentially what I wanted to comment about. News sources state 2 people have been arrested and there were only two protesters on top of the train. I think everyone can do the maths for themselves... Your other point is icing on the cake. ALL XR protests on the Tube network have been conducted in east London, why's that then?! A spokesperson suggested it's because it's safer* than doing it below ground, but there's loads of above-ground stations in west London. There's also a financial district in the Square Mile & there's some subsurface stations in the vicinity. Yet for some reason they choose to target Shadwell, Canary Wharf, Canning Town and Stratford stations for the eastern financial district but nothing for the Square Mile district. Just like me spotting a Chelsea tracktor (top end Range Rover to be precise) used to tow a trailer on the first day of these sets of protests, it's utter bias. They can't deny this middle class divide in their protests on public transport after today, and the class divide as a whole with their protests overall. *Don't underestimate how much east Londoners value public transport, or else!!
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 16, 2019 13:59:58 GMT
And you assume I don't have my fair share of mental health problems, such as suffering with chronic depression for 9 years?! The mere fact you didn't even quote me directly suggests you don't want to have a proper conversation about this, and create and us vs. them camp for others to galvanise around you. Some people, like myself, try to use laughter as a medicine. For example when I was hospitalised in March 2017 when the 5 group tender came out, I used humour then to rationalise me being in hospital; it's still a doozy of a shock now but I couldn't not link the two in my head. Pretty sure humour helped me then as my follow up visit period decreased from 4 months to one, and doctors were more than pleased with my upbeat attitude. Veering off course here but I assure you I'm not poking fun at mental health sufferers, just trying to make (I admit) a risqué comment regarding the Mayor. If he thinks he can decimate bus services in Labour heartlands like rif153 has mentioned with the 53 and think people will readily forget that come election time, well the son of a bus driver is in for a big shock! I'm pretty sure as well he chose to have a day out for PR on Monday so as to say he wasn't in office to view the chaotic tweets from the 48 withdrawal. I have depression as well been suffering since 2015 now when the 55 got NBFLs. Not sure what exactly causes my mood swings but I tell you it's so disturbing and annoying. One minute I'm feeling good then it changes for no reason that I can identify. Feels crap as I never had issues with low moods before but since 2015 it has just been getting worse not better. The Mental health services I find that there is a lack of resources. Not being funny but I highly doubt councillors or psychiatrists will diagnose a change of bus type as a reason for you getting depression. There are a couple life factors that I will not get into on a public platform such as this one that multiple experts have given as a reasoning for my problems. Maybe you don't like change in general, but I refuse to believe it's just one overall minor change that has triggered your mental health problems. I studied psychology and I never remembered seeing on the Holmes & Raye stress scale that the 55 allocation is one of the most stressful times in anyone's life. Now if anyone else wants to talk to me about this subject, you're free to private message me or at least find an appropriately titled thread. Somewhat surprised that I've been away from this thread for months and once I've come back, some are keen to ignore the title-related content I've brought forward. Let's get back on track line of route?
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 16, 2019 12:10:52 GMT
>>> Should've checked himself in and got his head checked out whilst he was at it! <<< In future, before you make comments like this please consider people like me who struggle with mental health issues. It isn't a joke for us. And you assume I don't have my fair share of mental health problems, such as suffering with chronic depression for 9 years?! The mere fact you didn't even quote me directly suggests you don't want to have a proper conversation about this, and create and us vs. them camp for others to galvanise around you. Some people, like myself, try to use laughter as a medicine. For example when I was hospitalised in March 2017 when the 5 group tender came out, I used humour then to rationalise me being in hospital; it's still a doozy of a shock now but I couldn't not link the two in my head. Pretty sure humour helped me then as my follow up visit period decreased from 4 months to one, and doctors were more than pleased with my upbeat attitude. Veering off course here but I assure you I'm not poking fun at mental health sufferers, just trying to make (I admit) a risqué comment regarding the Mayor. If he thinks he can decimate bus services in Labour heartlands like rif153 has mentioned with the 53 and think people will readily forget that come election time, well the son of a bus driver is in for a big shock! I'm pretty sure as well he chose to have a day out for PR on Monday so as to say he wasn't in office to view the chaotic tweets from the 48 withdrawal.
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 16, 2019 0:44:47 GMT
Seeing as I started posting on this subject and the thread has now gone... Knowing TfL, there's no way they're going to reinstate the 48 (think the LTs are earmarked for another route). If they were to do some sort of U turn, I imagine they'll have a localised route running from Ash Grove to Walthamstow Central. Ain't no way the 55's reliability or now lack thereof is going to continue, nor are people going to suddenly find train alternatives to the links [into the Square Mile] that the 48 provided. As I mentioned, I was reliant on that route for more than 6 months when my best mate lived near Hackney Baths and I worked in London Bridge at the time. The option of changing for trains two or three times for next to nil time savings as opposed to the 48 just wasn't attractive to me, hence why I mostly pined for the 48. It's only a matter or time till something gives: either the 55 is chopped at either end (should never have been extended to Walthamstow at full frequency imo), the 48 makes a comeback in its entirety (very unlikely) or TfL makes a halfway house route where they hopefully address the capacity issues on the 55 corridor north of Ash Grove. Find it ironic the son of a bus driver was in a hospital doing PR on Monday, the full working day after the savage cull of the 48. Should've checked himself in and got his head checked out whilst he was at it!
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 11, 2019 20:09:23 GMT
The WVLs aren't slow at all, it's just they're timetabled to be as such. If anything the WVLs can be faster than EHs at times. Newer examples I’d agree with but the 59 reg WVLs, I can’t say I agree with, they are incredibly slow. The 61 reg aren’t bad at all. Well considering the 59reg WVLs were from EL1/2 for 7 years without being refurbished, it makes total sense that they're slugs! I do try to not get on WVL345-349, if I do it's normally late, packed and soon overtaken by another bus. Saying that, 59reg WVL276 is lovely and keeps up with the 61reg models no problems at all.
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Post by enviroPB on Oct 9, 2019 19:41:40 GMT
Ever since 2012 when I started to go to the City on a regular basis, I'd avoid the 25 between Aldgate and Bow like the plague! I'd happily let a couple 25s go by in the hopes for a 205, knowing that the 205 will very likely overtake whatever bus(es) I let go. Nothing to do with operator, it's just the mass volumes of people using the route. I'd often get on a 25 at Bow if it was the first Stratford route to appear.
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