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Post by wirewiper on Apr 24, 2024 18:08:39 GMT
The 279 ran to Smithfield until 1st February 1992, being part-replaced by the extension of route 153 beyond Angel. From this date half the service terminated at Manor House and half the service continued to/from Holloway, Nags Head. The Holloway journeys were cut back to Manor House from 16th October 2004, the 259 received a substantial frequency increase from the same date. Was the introduction of the 254 a part of why the 279 was fully cut from Holloway, or were the 2 events unrelated? I would by no means want to have the corridor between Seven Sisters and Manor House with the solo 259, which is why I suggested extending the 149, which could save some money whilst also providing a bit more capacity North of Edmonton Green (whilst I know money isn't too much of an issue on TfL's end now, it could help move the budget to more useful bus routes than the 349). Any of the 149 / 259 / 279 could take a slight frequency increase, if things were to get too busy, and if reliability is a concern, the 149 could be cut to Liverpool Street, which whilst it would require a change to continue to London Bridge for most journeys, most links are not broken through the 388 to London Bridge Bus Station and the 35 and 47 just outside it. On another point, the 279 would benefit a lot from an extension to Finsbury Park as greg had said, with the Manor House terminus not allowing easy interchange to other buses such as the 29, due to the approximately 200 metre walk to the nearest 29 bus stop, and the large U-turn required to turn the 279 around, with Manor House also not providing nearly enough onward connections as Finsbury Park. Though I have a question that I'm unsure of how others would react to - would the A10 corridor benefit from a parallel bus route along Watermead Way, once the Meridian Water development has been completed - say, from Edmonton Green, up the North Circular, through part of the Meridian Water development, down Watermead Way, through Tottenham Hale and onward to Seven Sisters and beyond? I think it might work if appropriate bus priority measures are installed along Watermead Way (especially Southbound), and could benefit from being a much higher-speed bus service through faster roads (avoiding a lot of 20mph speed limits). No the 254 was unrelated and took place in May 2003. In effect the 253 was already operated as two overlapping sections (Euston-Hackney and Holloway-Aldgate) and the introduction of the 254 merely formalised that arrangement. I'm not convinced extending the 279 to Finsbury Park would be worthwhile. Finsbury Park is congested and such an extension would be time-consuming, and when journeys operated to Holloway they were generally under-used beyond Manor House. The 259 provides an alternative for most journeys.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 24, 2024 17:58:33 GMT
The 279 ran to Smithfield until 1st February 1992, being part-replaced by the extension of route 153 beyond Angel. From this date half the service terminated at Manor House and half the service continued to/from Holloway, Nags Head. The Holloway journeys were cut back to Manor House from 16th October 2004, the 259 received a substantial frequency increase from the same date. Thanks for the knowledge! Not that it is completely needed, but I wonder whether if an extension of the 279 to Finsbury Park may be one that is popular? Could help out the 259, and I think be really busy when Thameslink is acting up. Another idea I had is the 349 to Clapton Pond via Upper Clapton Road. The link from Clapton and Lower Clapton to areas such as Edmonton and Seven Sisters is one that’s extremely popular especially with school kids and is not connected by one direct bus already. Stamford Hill is just one big changeover area, and a small extension may just do the job. Keeps the roads a little safer with so many schoolkids around, and If I recall a few months prior two schoolchildren were hit by a swerving 76 bus at the main junction in Stamford Hill crossing the road? I think there is merit in sending the 349 on to Clapton. I would go one further and extend it to Hackney Central, and divert the 253 at Lower Clapton to run to Homerton Hospital direct via Urswick Road. I suppose the main issue would be driver changeovers for the 253, at present they take place at CT which makes them far easier to manage.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 24, 2024 17:09:44 GMT
Due to zoning, Manor House is a massive railhead and bus routes from there during the peak hours can be rammed. Leave the 279 alone. If I recall the 279 use to run up to Holloway quite earlier in the past and was then cut to Manor House? Or Finsbury Park before Manor House? Is there a specific reason why it cuts short- while the stand is a bit awkward with the U turn and works just fine - the 254 on LTs does it often. Only issue is the only time a route can curtail to Manor House is if its the 254/279 coming from the North/East. I don’t think Ive ever seen a 253/259 curtailment to Manor House and not the 29/141/341 either. Would there not be merit in extending the 279 3 stops further on a road with not much congestion (bus lane) to Finsbury Park Station?? There is a stand on Isledon Road aswell. The 279 ran to Smithfield until 1st February 1992, being part-replaced by the extension of route 153 beyond Angel. From this date half the service terminated at Manor House and half the service continued to/from Holloway, Nags Head. The Holloway journeys were cut back to Manor House from 16th October 2004, the 259 received a substantial frequency increase from the same date.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 23, 2024 17:35:03 GMT
As a local to the 1 and 88, might I add that the 1 has not been anywhere near the best of successes. The new 1 has very good links however it is crazy long, and its crazy nature means it is often delayed or bunching. And although not their fault, the 1 has not ran its intended route, not even a single day since it began as Hampstead Heath to Canada Water. This is because of the roadworks at Mornington Crescent, and quite oftenly the protests at Southampton Row/Aldwych. The random roadworks that close access for buses to get to Euston Bus Station so the 1 diverts between Holborn and Camden via TCR and Warren Street and the 91 loops Warren Street The closure of Canada Water Bus Station Extensive roadworks at Chalk Farm Road Im sure there are probably some other issues south of the route around Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. So merging routes definitely doesnt work for all, but in some instances it isn’t the worst of ideas. A trunk route fantasy idea I had (cannot because of low bridge at Finsbury Park) would be a merger of the 4/W3 between Blackfriars and Northumberland Park, with the 236 replacing the 4’s route to Archway. The W3 is also much more frequent than the 4. The W3 works well as it is, especially at the Finsbury Park end where it acts as a feeder for an area which doesn't have good rail links, and acts as a useful east-west route across Haringey.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 23, 2024 16:53:19 GMT
Narrow roads where? The section that needs the three routes is mainly High Street North and High Street South. Good luck trying to remove buses in this busy part of east London! High St North is extremely narrow, not helped by the fact that you have other vehicles coming out of roads bordering that. So is the 147’s section through Little Ilford, though I wouldn’t remove that because that gets very busy going towards Ilford. I wonder if it would be better to send everything via Ron Leighton Way in both directions because that road is wider. That would mean passengers having to cross two directions of traffic to get to northbound buses, not ideal for the less able.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 23, 2024 13:13:12 GMT
Some snippets: - Slightly out of area, but Stagecoach South West is taking over the Taunton Park & Ride service from 12th February after First (Buses of Somerset) announced it was pulling out of the contract. Stagecoach SW will operate three double-deckers at 20-minute intervals and these will be based at its Tiverton outstation, some 20 miles from Taunton. <snip> Photo (not mine) of former Torbay Scania/Enviro400 MMC 15327 in Taunton Park & Ride livery, but drafted in to work the Exeter Chiefs rugby shuttle service C (Exeter St Davids Station - Sandy Park Stadium) on Saturday 20th April: flic.kr/p/2pLPzyJ
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 23, 2024 8:01:29 GMT
The rollout of Oxford City's all-electric fleet has reached the half-way stage, with 52 of the 104 vehciles now in service. This includes the entire BrookesBus and City Sightseeing fleets, and the five single-deck Wright Kite Electroliners. The entry into service of the 60 Wright Streetdeck Electroliners with the redesigned front for Oxford City routes is now underway, so far all those that have entered service have retained their '73' registrations. Photo (not mine) of 740 operating route 300 on 8th April: flic.kr/p/2pHLH56www.route-one.net/news/oxford-bus-group-reaches-halfway-in-electric-bus-roll-out/
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 23, 2024 7:26:51 GMT
The DLR is running shorter 2-car trains on the Woolwich branch, to reduce the mileage operated by the B92 trains which are now 30 years old. The issue is that the trains are reaching the stage at which the mileage operated means that they would have to be taken out of service for a heavy overhaul. This is expensive, and not worth doing when the trains only have a few months life left before they are replaced by the new rolling stock. Unfortunately this has been delayed by a few months. Reducing the Woolwich trains to two cars means that stock can be rotated round and the mileage spread across the B92 fleet until they can be replaced. The Woolwich branch was chosen as it is less busy than the Lewisham branch, due partly to the Elizabeth Line opening. Running three-car trains less frequently was also considered, but running two-car trains more frequently reduces the waiting time at stations. When the new trains are all in service, overall capacity on the DLR will be increased by around one-third. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tfl-running-shorter-dlr-trains-to-keep-the-fleet-running-71790/
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 22, 2024 18:08:52 GMT
63/363 could be merged but im guessing there split due to traffic reason ill edit this when i can think of some more Yes - to have a higher frequency over the common section. Originally the 63 ran from Kings Cross to Honor Oak, in 1954 some journeys were extended to Crystal Palace as a partial replacement for the Crystal Palace High Level rail line but much of the service continued to terminate at Honor Oak. The present pattern of service came about in 2003, as part of the plan to increase overall bus capacity in Inner and Central London ahead of the introduction of Congestion Charging. The 63 was curtailed to Honor Oak again and an overlapping 363 was introduced between Crystal Palace and Elephant and Castle. This provided more buses over the busiest section to Elephant, where passengers not wanting to continue along the 63 route towards Kings Cross can interchange to other bus routes or to the Underground. There have been plenty of posts on other threads suggesting routes that could be merged. What is commonly overlooked is that the overlapping routes provide extra capacity over the busiest sections.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 21, 2024 8:37:33 GMT
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 21, 2024 8:29:42 GMT
We did the X prefix discussion to death last year. TfL went with SL and there is no reason why they would change that now.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 21, 2024 7:30:36 GMT
I’d say the 242 in a way ever since it got curtailed to Aldgate from Tottenham Court Road and is no longer a 24 hour route. Don’t see why and N242 had to exist I doubt anyone living in Clapton Park Estate would class the 242 as 'useless'. The 242 provides links to local shopping and nightlife in Hackney, London Overground connections at Hackney Central and Dalston Junction, and a link to The City. It also provides round-the-corner links across Dalston, and is the only bus route along Commercial Street between Shoreditch and Aldgate. It also supports the 38, 149, 243 and 277. Not to mention the links to Homerton Hospital. N242 was retained to Tottenham Court Road to provide a direct link to and from West End nightlife.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 20, 2024 16:42:24 GMT
A credible alternative as long as you travelling to points where the Superloop buses stop. Passengers using all stop regular services can end up disadvantaged when frequency reductions take place as a result of the express services being introduced. I think only the 183 had cuts as a result of Superloop? The 34 did too - but the cuts were hardly drastic and the routes still operate at turn-up-and-go frequencies. The Superloop routes cover the busiest sections of both routes and the busiest stops now have more buses and a greater choice of destinations. The new Superloop proposals are just that at the moment, proposals. There is still a lot of detailed work to be done on actual routes, stops and frequencies and adjustments to parallel routes, and then there are the consultation stages before the finalised routes go out for tender. Also don't forget that overall bus use has increased at a greater rate over orbital corridors where a Superloop route operates, as had already been seen along the X140 route before it was co-opted into the Superloop network. These routes are proven to increase overall bus use in the suburbs, which is the whole point of introducing more. I had thought I wouldn't be in favour of them - I am now.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 20, 2024 11:25:32 GMT
Converting the 165 to DD seems to be a rather contentious idea on here but I don't think it is required. Some buses do become full during morning and afternoon peaks but I'm not sure this warrants it to convert it to DD. If anything a route restructuring would probably be more appropriate. The route doesn't go anywhere unique and always follows other routes. Personally I find it inefficient to have 2/3 routes all running together all the way from Hornchurch/Abbs Cross Lane and Rainham/Cherry Tree Lane. 19805 is being converted to open top for City Sightseeing with 19804 also being earmarked. Apparently there will only be extra 2 buses this summer as that is what has been agreed amongst the Stagecoach / City Sightseeing / Groupo Julia trio. Im not sure there are plans to increase the amount of new buses above 2 but at this rate, the main RED route will be running on a reduced frequency in comparison to last summer (every 7.5m instead of 6m). Even last summer on a 6m frequency was seeing buses being fully filled up so I'm sure it would be in the best interests of Stagecoach to source as many buses as possible. If plans change then I'm sure they would use buses coming off of the 86 then use the remainder of buses to remove the remainder of the scannias. To be fair up until 2001 the 165 and 365 was literally side by side between Romford and South Hornchurch before the 165 continued onto Abbey Wood Lane and the 365 going to Orchard Village (I always remembered that area as Mardxke Estate) (The X is meant to be a Y but it would get censored) but then in 2001 they decided to demote it to single decker and divert it via Gidea Park the Drill to then go to Hornchurch Town centre to then come back into Abbs Cross, they probably thought the 248 and 365 could cope. Mard**e Estate was originally served by diverting a few 165 journeys into the Estate. These were renumbered 365 in September 1988 when Ensignbus took over the route. The 365 took over the Havering Park section from September 1991 and thereafter became the dominant route. The 165 was rerouted via Hornchurch and Emerson Park in 2001, this gave useful new local links into Hornchurch Town Centre from the south.
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Post by wirewiper on Apr 20, 2024 8:50:19 GMT
I suspect what the Mayor could do if he was so inclined is simply have an in-house company with its own facilities, garages, staff, buses etc and they would simply take over routes at end of contract. No need then to pay out anything to existing operators unless assets such as garages etc are bought. The private companies have enough difficulty securing land for new depots so that may be a non-starter for TfL. The private companies will want paying off for their depots, equipment and anything else. Worst case they just sell to developers and take their equipment elsewhere. TfL could use CPOs but I think it would get messy and I’d expect the private operators to challenge it in the high court. I don’t think it will be an easy process to completion. It's been done before though. The London Transport Act 1933 gave the newly-formed London Passenger Transport Board the power to buy out other bus companies, municipal tramways (including the London County Council's) and the Metropolitan Railway to create a near-monopoly for London's transport. And at the time LTPB wasn't even publicly-owned, it was a private company. In Greater Manchester, assets have been acquired and transferred to other companies or to Transport for Greater Manchester as part of the transition to franchising. This is not necessarily disadvantageous to the bus operators; Rotala was paid £30.1 million for vehicle and property assets that had an estimated book value of £24 million.
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