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Post by snoggle on Nov 22, 2018 23:24:08 GMT
As a 97 driver this has got disaster written all over it , it's like a nightmare waiting to happen good old Waltham Forest and tfl Yep. I happened to get a bus from the Central the other day and we paused at the exit while a 69 pulled up. It was absolutely beseiged with people scrambling to get on. I dread to think what it will be like when the 97 is NOT serving a common stop with the 69 towards Leyton. I wonder how long it will be before the 69 needs *another* new schedule to cope with the longer stop dwell times? I think TfL have been badly bounced by Waltham Forest Council on this change. However TfL are funding the Mini Holland works so must have had a clue as to what the schemes were going to be like. To my mind it just shows the way in which bus passengers, never well supported by WF Council, have been pushed to the bottom of the pile. I note that the council have said nothing about any of the bus cuts in the borough. After two months I am still waiting to receive an acknowledgement, never mind a full reply, from one of my local councillors about my concerns over pedestrian safety near the new cycle lanes. Send a reminder yesterday, still no acknowledgement which I would have expected as a matter of courtesy.
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Post by johnhawk7686 on Nov 23, 2018 18:49:55 GMT
I do hear this a lot about Waltham Forest from other drivers who live in the area , it was running lovely around the central about lunchtime today reason being all the lights were not working it was lovely no delays anywhere lol 😂
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Post by snoggle on Dec 3, 2018 12:32:18 GMT
And so the chaos begins. Looks like I just timed it right with my photos yesterday of the 97 and 357 at the bus station.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2018 12:41:15 GMT
And so the chaos begins. Looks like I just timed it right with my photos yesterday of the 97 and 357 at the bus station. Is this permanent?
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Post by snoggle on Dec 3, 2018 12:49:02 GMT
And so the chaos begins. Looks like I just timed it right with my photos yesterday of the 97 and 357 at the bus station. Is this permanent? I assume so as the works to resurface the highway and alter the kerb line and traffic lights on Selborne Road are clearly being progressed with some urgency this week.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Dec 3, 2018 17:31:04 GMT
As a 97 driver this has got disaster written all over it , it's like a nightmare waiting to happen good old Waltham Forest and tfl Yep. I happened to get a bus from the Central the other day and we paused at the exit while a 69 pulled up. It was absolutely beseiged with people scrambling to get on. I dread to think what it will be like when the 97 is NOT serving a common stop with the 69 towards Leyton. I wonder how long it will be before the 69 needs *another* new schedule to cope with the longer stop dwell times? I think TfL have been badly bounced by Waltham Forest Council on this change. However TfL are funding the Mini Holland works so must have had a clue as to what the schemes were going to be like. To my mind it just shows the way in which bus passengers, never well supported by WF Council, have been pushed to the bottom of the pile. I note that the council have said nothing about any of the bus cuts in the borough. After two months I am still waiting to receive an acknowledgement, never mind a full reply, from one of my local councillors about my concerns over pedestrian safety near the new cycle lanes. Send a reminder yesterday, still no acknowledgement which I would have expected as a matter of courtesy. lol, your wasting your time. Buses are on the scrap heap in LBWF, they couldn't care less. They never even made a bleat about the 48 being withdrawn, so do not expect anything from them. Gone are the days in the 80's and 90's where they were pursuing for buses and even funding additional services.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Dec 3, 2018 17:32:30 GMT
I assume so as the works to resurface the highway and alter the kerb line and traffic lights on Selborne Road are clearly being progressed with some urgency this week. Not just yet....
December 3rd, 12:51:37 pm
SELBORNE ROAD - E17 - MOVED TO NOE N018/3793 Routes Affected: 97,357
1210hrs Due to a build-up in traffic caused by the works taking place in Selborne Road at the junction to Hoe Street the above services are requested to bypass Walthamstow Central Bus Station, by staying line of route through Hoe Street.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2018 18:02:18 GMT
Yep. I happened to get a bus from the Central the other day and we paused at the exit while a 69 pulled up. It was absolutely beseiged with people scrambling to get on. I dread to think what it will be like when the 97 is NOT serving a common stop with the 69 towards Leyton. I wonder how long it will be before the 69 needs *another* new schedule to cope with the longer stop dwell times? I think TfL have been badly bounced by Waltham Forest Council on this change. However TfL are funding the Mini Holland works so must have had a clue as to what the schemes were going to be like. To my mind it just shows the way in which bus passengers, never well supported by WF Council, have been pushed to the bottom of the pile. I note that the council have said nothing about any of the bus cuts in the borough. After two months I am still waiting to receive an acknowledgement, never mind a full reply, from one of my local councillors about my concerns over pedestrian safety near the new cycle lanes. Send a reminder yesterday, still no acknowledgement which I would have expected as a matter of courtesy. lol, your wasting your time. Buses are on the scrap heap in LBWF, they couldn't care less. They never even made a bleat about the 48 being withdrawn, so do not expect anything from them. Gone are the days in the 80's and 90's where they were pursuing for buses and even funding additional services.
Do we have a withdrawal date for the 48 yet?
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Post by snoggle on Dec 3, 2018 19:59:32 GMT
I assume so as the works to resurface the highway and alter the kerb line and traffic lights on Selborne Road are clearly being progressed with some urgency this week. Not just yet....
December 3rd, 12:51:37 pm
SELBORNE ROAD - E17 - MOVED TO NOE N018/3793 Routes Affected: 97,357
1210hrs Due to a build-up in traffic caused by the works taking place in Selborne Road at the junction to Hoe Street the above services are requested to bypass Walthamstow Central Bus Station, by staying line of route through Hoe Street.
Interesting because if you do an ETA search for a northbound 97 in LVF the stops at the bus station are not showing. They do still show for the 357 and southbound 97s. TfL Bus Alerts haven't bothered to answer an earlier query about whether this was permanent. It was certainly still operative in the rush hour as someone tweeted me saying the 215 they usually catch was ridiculously packed full of people tonight! In short yet another ridiculous mess.
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Post by snoggle on Dec 16, 2018 13:24:37 GMT
The revised stopping arrangements are now in operation. 97 and 357 removed from the bus station and stops on the Hoe St bridge now open. Unsurprisingly no one waiting for a bus towards Stratford and only one person waiting at the northbound stop. Thankfully I just managed to catch a 215 at the bus station having just missed a 34 and 275. With the two routes diverted away I'd have had at least a 12-15 min wait for a bus. What a shambles. Bizarrely despite the pavement having been widened to take over most of the old "arrivals" bus lane there is still a little niche of bus lane in operation to allow buses to turn right into the bus station. Furthermore the arrivals lane bus stop has been reopened too which is a surprise. I am guessing there is still a further phase of work to do to complete the pavement widening and alter the traffic lights at the bus station again.
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Post by snoggle on Dec 17, 2018 16:37:20 GMT
Had to take a trip to the Bakers Arms so had my first experience of the new arrangements. It's very odd because now you have to decide what bus to take rather than just knowing you can take anything to the bus station and change if you need to or remain on the bus if it's running through. I caught a 357 which trundled along Hoe Street and let a few people off at the new stop. As you might imagine no one was waiting on the bridge - in either direction. The bus sits there for two minutes. We then go along to Grosvenor Park Rd and sit there for 5 minutes. A fair number of people got off to wait for another bus - I'd guess in lieu of changing at the bus station. I asked the driver if the schedule had been changed and if he was early. He said no the schedule was still the same and he was 2.5 mins early. Having been overtaken by two buses we eventually headed off. So the whole premise of this scheme and change was to "save time" but you don't save any time at all because TfL and GAL haven't sorted themselves out. If you arrive at the new southbound stop and need to reach the tube or bus station you either have to cross via three separate pedestrian phases (great planning there - not!) or take you life in your hands and just dash across the road. How long before hurrying commuters get run down? On the return journey I got a 97. This was pretty busy with a lot of mums with buggies or primary school kids. Clearly many were expecting to go via the bus station as they didn't get off at the bridge stop - only a few people did despite the driver making an announcement. I also saw a 257 setting down at the bridge stop even though it's not supposed to. We then headed along Hoe St where we had a large number of people waiting at the High St stop and a mass of mums and kids having to get off and presumably wend their way to the bus station. To be fair the 97 journey was quick as I suspect the bus was late because the driver wasn't wasting any time. Hoever this is still a retrograde step - especially as the schedules have not yet been changed. Oh and I-Bus hasn't been changed either.
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Post by routew15 on Mar 4, 2019 0:09:43 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 4, 2019 0:19:23 GMT
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Post by snoggle on Mar 8, 2019 18:13:50 GMT
The roadworks on Selborne Road are causing delays back to Hoe St. Buses now have to wait for a separate phase of lights to enter the bus station which blocks all traffic. In consequence there are now even fewer buses using the bus station. 212 and 275 towards St James St Stn now set down and pick up on Selborne Road instead of serving the bus station. W15 towards Higham Hill and W19 to Argall Av now set down and pick up on Selborne Road instead of serving the bus station. This means passengers who want the High St / Palmerston Road now have to choose between the bus stn for the W11 or Selborne Rd for the W15 or walk half down Selborne Road to find a stop where all services stop. More inconvenience for passengers. What a farce. TfL might as well close the bus station and sell it off barring a bit of stand space. Buses could revert to serving Selborne Rd or Hoe St - think of all the money they could make from building shops and flats on the bus station site? Whoever "designed" this mess deserves to be publicly flogged and then sacked. It's just ridiculous having such an expensive asset sitting there woefully underused. EDIT - apparently the 230 towards Wood Green is also omitting the bus station and is stopping on Selborne Rd. Is it 1988 again? Stagecoach London SLD1 230 Selborne Rd Walthamstow by plcd1, on Flickr
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Post by rif153 on Mar 8, 2019 22:30:53 GMT
Abosoloutely agree. TFL don't seem to realise that a bus station should provide easy interchange between all routes. There's no point having a bus station if not all the routes serve it. Pulling the 97 and 357 out of the bus staion just created more confusion for passengers. If you're in Walthamstow and want to head up to Bell Corner, do you wait in the bus station for a 34, 215 or 275 or do you walk to Hoe Street in the hope a 97 or 357 will come first. I can see TFL reducing the number of buses through the town centre at peak hours; PVR reductions, merging/shortening routes and quite possibly withdrawal of the 357. With the disastrous removal of the alighting point on Selborne Road oustide Walthamstow Central, I think the northbound 97 and 357 outside the station should become a new alighting point. Whenever I have used buses in Walthamstow, the stop on Selborne Road always been more popular than the stop in the bus staion itself. Once the alighting point on Selborne Road is removed, this will be catastrophic for the 212 and 275 which will no longer have a stop for Walthamstow Central station.
In short, this whole situation is an absoloute farce and I wouldn't be surprised if TFL repeat this nasty trick elsewhere
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