Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2019 11:06:22 GMT
As expected, the 303 diversions are still in place with no updates from TfL. According to londonbusroutes.net whos website was updated 2 days ago, the diversion ends next month... though again I find this extremely unlikely. The 303 return to Capitol Way via the new bus gate has been deferred till 18/5 No surprise there... I assume this is the same date when it will return to Corner Mead?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2019 18:49:52 GMT
Two stops named "Greyhound Hill" and "Church End" have appeared on the TfL website interactive bus map. I assume that these are just temporary names, as the stop before is also called Church End...
I think "St. Mary's Church/The Greyhound" and "Sunny Hill" are more suitable names.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2019 13:03:27 GMT
A new bus stop named "Fairway Avenue" has been installed on Stag Lane, to be served by route 302 (and route 303 in the near future).
|
|
|
Post by londonbuses2018 on May 16, 2019 20:26:15 GMT
Two stops named "Greyhound Hill" and "Church End" have appeared on the TfL website interactive bus map. I assume that these are just temporary names, as the stop before is also called Church End... I think "St. Mary's Church/The Greyhound" and "Sunny Hill" are more suitable names. I am looking forward to this extension I feel like the route could have been extended from winchmore hill or extended back to Golders Green via the 143,326 then 240,183. But that doesn’t matter.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 22, 2019 12:40:39 GMT
It has now been confirmed that route 125 is to be extended to Colindale as planned on the 25th, with route 303 still being diverted until 15th June at the earliest.
|
|
|
Post by evergreenadam on May 22, 2019 19:43:23 GMT
It has now been confirmed that route 125 is to be extended to Colindale as planned on the 25th, with route 303 still being diverted until 15th June at the earliest. And proposed frequency reduction on route 125 is abandoned. Which makes a change.
|
|
|
Post by snoggle on May 22, 2019 21:29:03 GMT
It has now been confirmed that route 125 is to be extended to Colindale as planned on the 25th, with route 303 still being diverted until 15th June at the earliest. And proposed frequency reduction on route 125 is abandoned. Which makes a change. Interesting new M-F timetable with short journeys starting from North Finchley in the AM peak.
|
|
|
Post by busaholic on May 22, 2019 23:15:09 GMT
It has now been confirmed that route 125 is to be extended to Colindale as planned on the 25th, with route 303 still being diverted until 15th June at the earliest. And proposed frequency reduction on route 125 is abandoned. Which makes a change. I still can't get my head around the fact that the 125, once Finchley garage's most insignificant route with a 40 minute Sunday headway for most of the day when converted to opo, now has a weekday headway on a par with the mighty 11. Good for the 125, of course.
|
|
|
Post by kmkcheng on May 28, 2019 15:29:31 GMT
It’s been mentioned on another forum that the reason the 303 hasn’t had it Capitol Way diversion stopped is because the new DLEs can’t do the left turn from Edgware Road onto Colindale Avenue. Anyone confirm or deny this? I do find it odd as there was never any issues when Arriva ran it with all sorts it use to put on it
|
|
|
Post by vjaska on May 28, 2019 16:06:54 GMT
It’s been mentioned on another forum that the reason the 303 hasn’t had it Capitol Way diversion stopped is because the new DLEs can’t do the left turn from Edgware Road onto Colindale Avenue. Anyone confirm or deny this? I do find it odd as there was never any issues when Arriva ran it with all sorts it use to put on it I could be wrong but didn't the LWB VLA's go out on the 303 from time to time? They'd be wider and only 0.3m shorter than the DLE's. Also, possibly 6036 could of went out a good few years back - again, wider & just 0.3m shorter which isn't a lot. I did look at Google Maps and it does seem a little bit tight but I've certainly seen worse also - I suspect the narrower left lane on Edgware Road doesn't help things?
|
|
|
Post by VWH1414 on May 31, 2019 20:18:13 GMT
It’s been mentioned on another forum that the reason the 303 hasn’t had it Capitol Way diversion stopped is because the new DLEs can’t do the left turn from Edgware Road onto Colindale Avenue. Anyone confirm or deny this? I do find it odd as there was never any issues when Arriva ran it with all sorts it use to put on it I could be wrong but didn't the LWB VLA's go out on the 303 from time to time? They'd be wider and only 0.3m shorter than the DLE's. Also, possibly 6036 could of went out a good few years back - again, wider & just 0.3m shorter which isn't a lot. I did look at Google Maps and it does seem a little bit tight but I've certainly seen worse also - I suspect the narrower left lane on Edgware Road doesn't help things? All of 6028-6036/6041 have been out on the 303 before (6036 aka DW145 actually spent its second last day in TfL service on the route). I think every DD that has ever been at AR (nearly) has at some point worked the 303, so this is a strange reason. I remember towards the end of its time at GR it would have 2-3 DDs on the route per day (usually a VLA and VLW95). Speaking of the 303 the new routing has been the biggest flop of all time, your lucky if you have more then 5 people on the bus at any 1 time usually, even I usually opt for the 221/240 if I want to get to Edgware as they are a quicker route compared to the dumb new 303 routing, even to this day I hear people complaining of how they "miss the 305" and "miss the 303s old routing" and I can't say I blame them, the new route is actually the most pointless thing ever tbh.
|
|
|
Post by snoggle on May 31, 2019 21:15:18 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 31, 2019 21:48:42 GMT
I actually find the new route quite handy as I use it between Mill Hill and Colindale. Its now only 4 stops to my destination whereas the 186 I used to be forced to take passes double that! I can totally understand why the residents aren't too keen on the merged routes though, especially around Corner Mead where there is now no bus service at all! Fittingly, a petition has recently been set up by the residents of Capitol Way asking TfL to sort out this long-term diversion issue. I have noticed flyers around bus stops and leaflets left on buses asking people to sign! www.change.org/p/transport-for-london-restore-the-original-bus-route-303-service-immediately
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2019 22:27:29 GMT
UPDATES TO ROUTE 303:
23 February: Unfortunately, to get the double yellow lines painted at Corner Mead was proving difficult due to the condition of the road edge, coupled with heavy parking early in the morning and throughout the day. The Service Delivery Manager attended a route test which failed due to the lack of double yellow lines or hatching near the traffic island at the crossing into the school.
1 March: TfL received confirmation that the yellow lines were now in place and a further route test was in progress. However, an area of concern needed to be revisited and TfL requested that London Borough of Barnet move the stop line back a few metres to allow the bus to better manoeuvre during left hand turns into Colindale Avenue from the A5. During the route test, 2 cars waiting to exit Colindale Avenue had to reverse to enable the bus to safely make this turn. A decision was then made for the route to remain on diversion until the Colindale Avenue stop line issue was resolved.
18 April: TfL received information from their Network Performance team advising that they were undertaking a scheme assessment for junction A5/Capitol Way and a proposed junction at A5/Montrose Avenue, as part of the wider Colindale Area Action Plan. Following a discussion with the Traffic Signal Engineering Services, it was confirmed that there is no standard stop line set back distance, as it’s dependant on the location layout. They also advised that if the borough agrees to move the stop line back temporarily, by just a couple of metres, and monitor the situation, TfL could then decide if they could live with the consequences until the Area Action Plan for Colindale is complete or keep route 303 on diversion until the scheme is built.
8 May: TfL's Bus Priority Manager advised that as soon as the stop line was moved back, they would need at least 4 weeks before they could reinstate the route back on to the correct line. If Barnet are able to move the stop line as soon as possible, TfL aim to get the route back by early June. The Service Delivery Manager confirmed that it was agreed to remove both diversions at the same time because 2 new schedules and rotas may need to be implemented and all drivers will need to be ‘route learned’ twice.
|
|
|
Post by foxhat on Jun 4, 2019 7:56:24 GMT
UPDATES TO ROUTE 303:23 February: Unfortunately, to get the double yellow lines painted at Corner Mead was proving difficult due to the condition of the road edge, coupled with heavy parking early in the morning and throughout the day. The Service Delivery Manager attended a route test which failed due to the lack of double yellow lines or hatching near the traffic island at the crossing into the school. 1 March: TfL received confirmation that the yellow lines were now in place and a further route test was in progress. However, an area of concern needed to be revisited and TfL requested that London Borough of Barnet move the stop line back a few metres to allow the bus to better manoeuvre during left hand turns into Colindale Avenue from the A5. During the route test, 2 cars waiting to exit Colindale Avenue had to reverse to enable the bus to safely make this turn. A decision was then made for the route to remain on diversion until the Colindale Avenue stop line issue was resolved. 18 April: TfL received information from their Network Performance team advising that they were undertaking a scheme assessment for junction A5/Capitol Way and a proposed junction at A5/Montrose Avenue, as part of the wider Colindale Area Action Plan. Following a discussion with the Traffic Signal Engineering Services, it was confirmed that there is no standard stop line set back distance, as it’s dependant on the location layout. They also advised that if the borough agrees to move the stop line back temporarily, by just a couple of metres, and monitor the situation, TfL could then decide if they could live with the consequences until the Area Action Plan for Colindale is complete or keep route 303 on diversion until the scheme is built. 8 May: TfL's Bus Priority Manager advised that as soon as the stop line was moved back, they would need at least 4 weeks before they could reinstate the route back on to the correct line. If Barnet are able to move the stop line as soon as possible, TfL aim to get the route back by early June. The Service Delivery Manager confirmed that it was agreed to remove both diversions at the same time because 2 new schedules and rotas may need to be implemented and all drivers will need to be ‘route learned’ twice. So the question that must be asked is why has it taken so long to get to this situation? More importantly why was none of this realised before the issue of the tender and even more importantly, before RATP ordered vehicles that wouldn't fit the route? Whilst TfL is mainly to blame, I cannot shrug off the feeling that RATP have a responsibility too. In the tendering process, the invitation quotes the maximum approved vehicle length for the route in question. On the Armstrong site, the 2011 tender states the current approved vehicle dimensions were 10.2m, however it specifies 10.8m vehicle subject to a satisfactory route survey. As 10.8m vehicles were ordered, and the current route not being suitable for the new vehicles, that leaves only two options: a - RATP/TfL did not conduct a route test with a 10.8m vehicle despite it being a requirement b - the route survey did take place and TfL passed it knowing full well that it didn't fit in certain places Correct me if I am wrong, but with the 303 tender result announced in Dec 2017, with the contract starting in Sept 2017, that is a whole seven month window in which one would have expected these issues to have been ironed out. Failing that, RATP should then not have been allowed to run the longer vehicles on the 303 until the issues had been sorted. This does also feel like one rule for some and one for another as Metroline got no dispensation (and quite rightly so) for the 393 when the unexpected longer buses turned up. So why is it that the Colindale and Graham Park residents should be lumbered with, not just a newly diverted route, but a route that is on a further [poorly advertised] diversion on top of that, away from one of the area's focal points?!
|
|