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Post by riverside on Mar 4, 2024 12:00:28 GMT
Me neither, I can't see it as anything other than an election gimmick and it remains to be seen what the long term effects are on parallel services. Is this like Boris's pledge to introduce a whole network of orbital express buses prior to the 2008 Mayoral election that materialized as increasing the X26 from hourly to half-hourly and diddly squat else? Sadiq has just gotten on and delivered on this promise. Action vs bluster. This is the crux of the matter about Superloop. Investment in new bus routes is to be welcomed, but we will have to wait to objectively judge the success of the network. Boris Johnson did promise something similar, but I thought that when he faced the reality of power TfL were not keen on the matter because of the projected poor cost recovery of suburban express routes charging standard fares. This advice led the then mayor to park the plan. The figures must have been convincing because Boris was not somebody who would have been shy posing with nice shiny new buses. Move forward to 2023/2024 the economics of operating buses in London,seems to have changed at a time when Sadiq Khan and TfL regularly complain about lack of funding. Now a reasonably comprehensive network of express buses that do not charge a premium fare have been launched. They are appearing popular and look like they are here to stay. It will be great if this initiative attracts so many new passengers to the network that they both have a good cost recovery ratio and do not lead to a significant abstraction of passengers from parallel/nearby routes. Only time will tell. Did timidity lead Boris to ditch his promise? Has Sadiq remembered that fortune favours the brave? Why seemingly has TfL changed its position on bus operating economics in the intervening period? My only ride on a Superloop route proves nothing, but around noon on Boxing Day a trip on the SL1 from North Finchley to Walthamstow Central was an amazingly quick trip across suburban North London
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Post by riverside on Feb 5, 2024 20:40:51 GMT
Going off on a tangent, I'm intrigued by the "to & from White City" slipboard in that photo. I don't think the 91 ever served White City so I guess that display was intended for another route.
I've had a quick look at various bus maps that I have from the period and can't find any that show the route as going to White City so think you are right! I have seen this photo many times but never noticed the slipboard, which I found intriguing having grown up in Hammersmith during the 1960s. Yes, the 91 has never served White City at any time. The former Turnham Green garage was the main provider of buses for the route, but no route from the garage went to White City, so that location would not have had a selection of these slipboards. In October 1965 Riverside that had a minor allocation on the 91 during the 1950s returned to the route, but on Saturdays only. By then the 91 only went to London Airport Central on Monday to Friday. So it can't be a Riverside working. Having consulted Stuart Robbs book RT Family Garage Allocations (Garages MH -X) I think I might have an answer. RT 1931(LUC 11) was never allocated to Turnham Green garage, but was allocated to Riverside between 1965 and 1970. I imagine that Turnham Green was short of an RT and Riverside supplied an emergency sub for the day, presumably at short notice. The largest RT allocation at Riverside at that time was for the 72 that did pass White City. It looks like the inside staff at Riverside forgot to remove the board and Turnham Green either didn't notice it or did not remove it as they rushed to get the bus out. It is a theory and is the only explanation I can offer. At least the mystery has brought back for me fond memories of RTs on the 91 and the days when roofboxes were still used for route displays.
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Post by riverside on Jan 29, 2024 16:04:50 GMT
And it was often well worth the wait for one going through to Tolworth before it became driver-only. Traffic delays farther up the line often resulted in an RT hammering down the Kingston By-Pass (no deviations through housing or slip-roads in those days) at some rate of knots to regain time. A fast trip down the Kingston-by -Pass on the 72 was an exhilarating ride whether on an RT to Esher or Hampton Court Station or an RM to Tolworth Broadway or Chessington Zoo. Equally thrilling was a trip on a Green Line RMC on the 715.
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Post by riverside on Jan 25, 2024 20:46:48 GMT
According to TfL:
'Passengers using the 188 for access to the St Mary Magdalene School sites could use alternative bus routes 129 and 488'!!
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Post by riverside on Jan 22, 2024 15:35:33 GMT
The 18 is a very hard route to drive, yesterday I was on time, the bus got full hell it got overloaded between Euston and Royal Oak, and when the bus is full passengers don’t really get of untill Harlesden or Wembley Central. Then you get the one or 2 that want to get off at every stop and when you do stop every one is pushing their way in overloading the bus even more, ended up being 20 minutes late while 3 of my followers overtaking me. Then I e been going in out in out until my controller finally turned me at Ladbroke Grove so I can run light to the garage and have my break. Ladbroke Grove isn’t even a proper curtailment. Route 18 is in fact the worst route in our garage and it’s in dire need of an update cause everyday we drive this route we risk loosing our license at the risk of bus overloading. This route is carnage What is the current frequency of the 18. Sounds like what it needs is another route overlapping it to assist with the demand. I know it’s the busiest route in London, but I didn’t know it was that bad. In the days of London Transport to assist over this section the 293(renumbered 18a) used to help out in peak hours. Obviously not a solution in 2024, but looks like TfL need to review the Harrow Road corridor. You won't encourage people to continue to uses buses if they regularly experience vehicles not stopping despite seats being available.
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Post by riverside on Dec 30, 2023 22:02:57 GMT
Route 3 last had conductors on New Year's Eve 1992. Has any other route last had conductors on New Year's Eve? New Year's Day was a Bank Holiday, hence the buses opo, and a Friday. The opo conversion was officially on Saturday January 2nd. The 95 (Cannon Street to Tooting Broadway) and 220 last had conductors on New Year's Day 1971. In those days, the 1st of January was just an ordinary working day, so both routes operated their Routemasters to the normal Mon-Fri schedule. Next day, Saturday 2nd January things went downhill with the arrival of the DMS on both routes. Forgot to add that the 85 converted from Routemaster to SMS on the same day and the 181(Victoria to Streatham Garage) converted from RT to SMS. Poor Tooting really suffered with the 95, 181 and 220 all losing conductors on the same day.
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Post by riverside on Dec 30, 2023 21:58:40 GMT
Route 3 last had conductors on New Year's Eve 1992. Has any other route last had conductors on New Year's Eve? New Year's Day was a Bank Holiday, hence the buses opo, and a Friday. The opo conversion was officially on Saturday January 2nd. The 95 (Cannon Street to Tooting Broadway) and 220 last had conductors on New Year's Day 1971. In those days, the 1st of January was just an ordinary working day, so both routes operated their Routemasters to the normal Mon-Fri schedule. Next day, Saturday 2nd January things went downhill with the arrival of the DMS on both routes.
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Post by riverside on Dec 19, 2023 21:10:46 GMT
I cannot see any reason why they could not last till 2062. The problem is, many vehicles are culled way before their time, especially in London Historically, the RTs and Routemasters were able to survive for so long because they were extensively (and expensively) rebuilt every few years, effectively emerging as new vehicles. The whole set-up at Aldenham was designed around a bespoke overhaul facility for the Routemaster project - if you think New Bus for London was a vanity project for Mayor Johnson, the Routemaster project was a huge ego trip for post-war London Transport. The working life of the RT and Routemaster was also extended by the poor performance and premature withdrawal of unreliable 1970s vehicles (although part of the failure was due to a shortage of a spare parts, a lot was also down to London Transport's engineering not being geared up to deal with the new types). Also there was a lot of political fudging about removing the last Routemasters from busy central London routes due as fare collection and change-giving by drivers was unacceptably slow. It was the move to flat fares and Oyster card, coupled with increasing concern about the safety of open rear platforms, that finally killed off Routemaster operation. The Routemaster was not a huge ego trip for post war London Transport. It was a planned part of the evolution of London bus design by skilled professionals who after much trialling produced a bus that more than proved its worth to the people of London. Unfortunately the reliability of London buses in the 1970s would probably have been better if the FRM project had been allowed to progress beyond one model. Unfortunately it was killed off by British Leyland's absorption of AEC and Park Royal Vehicles and by the government's insistence that the 75% Bus Grant would only be available for 'off the peg' buses. I for one am grateful I was able to enjoy the heyday of the Routemaster. As a ten year old boy I particularly remember on Saturday 1 July 1967 going to the Brook Green Hotel stand in Hammersmith to see the first day in service of Riverside garage's brand new RMLs on the 255. A journey at speed down the Kingston by Pass on the 72 to Tolworth or later Chessington Zoo on a Routemaster was exhilarating.
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Post by riverside on Dec 16, 2023 18:51:29 GMT
mkay315 - your Barnet-Uxbridge trip got me thinking of the furthest points that can be connected on 3 TfL (day) routes eg Orpington - Edmonton Greem 208/47/149 West Norwood - Watford Junction 2/113/142 Loughton - Penge 20/55/176 West Croydon - North Finchley 264/44/13 Dorking-North Finchley - 465, 65 & 112 Redhill-Hampstead Heath - 405, 468, 1 These suggestions brought back memories. Superloop is now providing some longer distance connections with North Finchley being a connecting point. Back in the days of Green Line there were lots of long distance connections, Dorking to North Finchley would have been possible on one bus, Green Line 714.
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Post by riverside on Nov 21, 2023 11:02:45 GMT
Some people would like a stop on the 323 named Bow Locks, but I don't think it will happen.
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Post by riverside on Oct 24, 2023 11:46:08 GMT
Between 6 March and 16 April 2023, we consulted on proposals to extend bus route 315 from Balham Station to the new development at Springfield University Hospital in Tooting. We have now completed our analysis of the consultation responses and are able to publish our report which you can find here: haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/route-315. Following careful consideration of all the feedback we received to the consultation, we have decided to proceed with our proposal to extend route 315 to Springfield Hospital. Details of the additional bus stops are still subject to discussions with officers from the London Borough of Wandsworth. We intend to introduce this change at a date to be confirmed, subject to funding and the provision of supporting infrastructure. The main issues raised during the consultation and our responses to them as well as other frequently raised issues can be found in the consultation report. Our response to these matters and other frequently raised issues can be found in Appendix A of the consultation report. Looks like a useful extension that accords with TfL's aim to improve public transport links to hospitals. One minor point needs to be corrected by TfL in the consultation as they have unintentionally created a hybrid member of the post war 1945-51 Labour cabinet. In the written text there are several mentions of Ernest Bevan School. The map correctly names the school as Ernest Bevin School. Two giants of post war Labour politics had similar names. Ernest Bevin was a Londoner who served as Foreign Secretary. Anuerin Bevan was the charismatic Welsh man who set up the NHS in 1948.
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Post by riverside on Oct 23, 2023 19:31:21 GMT
266 have a small rerouting down Anson Road then via the Crown that because bit of Chichele Road is offend block/stuck due to traffic on Cricklewood Lane and Badly Times Traffic Lights on Cricklewood Broadway that lets like 4 cars a turn Surely the solution is for traffic engineers to retime the traffic lights. The 266(and its predecessor the 666) has used this route for years, taking people to where they want to go. Hopefully TfL can arrange for the traffic light phasings to be retimed.
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Post by riverside on Oct 23, 2023 19:16:29 GMT
The replies from London TravelWatch and Future Travel London seem to indicate that they believe that the proposal is for the 202 to form part of the Wembley network!
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Post by riverside on Sept 27, 2023 10:12:29 GMT
The test case for all this was acted out here in the North West. The Widnes-Runcorn Bridge over the River Mersey(opened in 1961) was always free to cross. Increasing traffic levels led to calls for a second Mersey crossing, the Mersey Gateway Bridge was built. On the opening of the new bridge, the old bridge was closed for repairs. When the old bridge reopened several years later it was also tolled. At the time some people did question whether you could place a toll onto what had always been a free facility but legally it was permissable. Most drivers have an account with the Mersey Gateway company, so that money is automatically deducted for every crossing. The two Mersey tunnels here in Liverpool have always been tolled. You have to travel up the Mersey Estuary as far as Warrington to cross the river by road for free.
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Post by riverside on Sept 25, 2023 19:22:50 GMT
The complaints were from passengers waiting in Bolton Bus Station and elsewhere. They were talking about their actual experience of the service this morning, rather than just having a general moan about the unreliability of buses.
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