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Post by MKAY315 on Oct 18, 2020 15:14:14 GMT
It ends at Kingston - where does it loop back? I think he is referring to the Hanworth to Hampton section which in fairness does take a less orthodox route than you would imagine. EDIT: guess he wasn't then  I actually forgot about that too funny enough 😂😂 |
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Post by ThinLizzy on Oct 18, 2020 19:02:54 GMT
Hardest - G1: feels like you're going down every side road in Tooting, some road names you go onto twice on the same journey because of a few loop arounds. Saint George's Hospital is the worst as it takes more than five minutes to get around, by which time you can easily forget which direction you're suppose to be going when back on Garrate Lane. Easiest - 109: very nearly every stop is along the A23, physically the same road from Brixton to West Croydon remember route learning the G1 at QB- sure we went a different way each time |
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Post by redexpress on Oct 19, 2020 7:24:29 GMT
Surely the easiest must be W7, despite its alphanumeric designation. Believe it or not I have seen a driver get lost on the W7! Took the wrong lane at the bottom of Muswell Hill and didn't know what to do once he was on Priory Road.
It should be an easy route to learn but not necessarily to drive - too many parked cars on the narrow stretches of Park Road.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2020 8:27:51 GMT
The pokey routes around housing estates are the ones I find most difficult - K5, E11 etc come to mind. The K5 is probably the most complicated, with number of turns, and part of the opposite direction uses different roads to add extra complication, and there is a loop done in both directions. From memory it is 50+ turns at junctions (ie not straight ahead) each way I love the K5. |
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Post by greenboy on Oct 19, 2020 8:47:07 GMT
The K5 is probably the most complicated, with number of turns, and part of the opposite direction uses different roads to add extra complication, and there is a loop done in both directions. From memory it is 50+ turns at junctions (ie not straight ahead) each way I love the K5. It's a nice little route but not the easiest to memorise. |
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Post by greenboy on Oct 19, 2020 9:05:28 GMT
Surely the easiest must be W7, despite its alphanumeric designation. Believe it or not I have seen a driver get lost on the W7! Took the wrong lane at the bottom of Muswell Hill and didn't know what to do once he was on Priory Road.
It should be an easy route to learn but not necessarily to drive - too many parked cars on the narrow stretches of Park Road.
One or two drivers have gone wrong on relatively short and easy to memorise 403 and 412 routes and hit the low bridge in Selsdon Road. The correct route via Sussex Road must be one of the most potentially difficult sections of road on the TfL network, it's a fairly narrow residential road with cars parked on both sides and if two buses, or any other large vehicles, meet on the brow of the hill and something is parked on the double yellow lines it's gridlock. Other than that the 403 and 412 are nice routes to drive. |
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Post by bottomless on Oct 19, 2020 9:08:24 GMT
Of the routes I have learned I would say the hardest was the K5, if you’re on a main road then you are probably lost. Also the 224 as in several places you have to remember which direction you are travelling. Easy routes to learn would include the 81, 65, 71, 267, 220, and one for the older members the 408express. I personally found the 111 easy but knew the area well. Also the N9 and 18 weren’t too hard either.
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Post by planesandtrains on Oct 19, 2020 9:14:54 GMT
The 969 is quite indirect and serves a bunch of different housing estates, spend a lot of time doubling back on the A316! Not only that, the regulars will notice if their usual driver isn't present. It is an expectation of those regulars that the driver will help secure their shopping trolleys to various handrails usually in the wheelchair area.
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Post by greenboy on Oct 19, 2020 9:15:37 GMT
Of the routes I have learned I would say the hardest was the K5, if you’re on a main road then you are probably lost. Also the 224 as in several places you have to remember which direction you are travelling. Easy routes to learn would include the 81, 65, 71, 267, 220, and one for the older members the 408express. I personally found the 111 easy but knew the area well. Also the N9 and 18 weren’t too hard either. I remember the 408 express, I think running times were a bit optimistic. Generally straight line routes like the 109 and 207 must be easy to learn and routes with all sorts of twists and turns the most difficult. |
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Post by ​galwhv69 on Oct 19, 2020 9:19:08 GMT
The 969 is quite indirect and serves a bunch of different housing estates, spend a lot of time doubling back on the A316! Good though, also have to loop around on the A3 to serve the stop closest to the entrance, then another loop to get back onto the stand which you passed 3 minutes ago! Then back again to the alighting stop to pick up passengers then loop around the roundabout then exit use Stag Lane and exit onto the A3 |
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Post by southlondonbus on Oct 19, 2020 9:32:50 GMT
I'm guessing the 408 only stopped at the 726 stops between West Croydon and Sutton? I remember the 726 didn't just stop at the main stops like the X26 but also stops like Carshalton/Windsor Castle, Beddington, cheam Road/Gander Green Lane I think were some additional stops.
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Post by wirewiper on Oct 19, 2020 9:58:14 GMT
The D3 must cause a headache for a lot of WH drivers - especially those who live in outer London or Essex and are not familiar with Tower Hamlets. 309 could be awkward too.
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Post by MKAY315 on Oct 19, 2020 10:30:23 GMT
Oh yes. I forgot to add the 149 as an easy straight route to drive though going past that dirty stadium in N17 (Boo to spurs 😂😂) would slyly annoy me. Can't lie though their stadium looks nice
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Post by bottomless on Oct 19, 2020 11:20:03 GMT
You might think the 408 was quite hard to keep to time with just 1 hour 40 minutes to get from Croydon to Guildford, but in practice you were usually ok. It was 1 hour 2 minutes to Leatherhead Bus Garage then another 38 minutes to Guildford. The run from Leatherhead could be done in 25 minutes so you could make time up there as usually very little traffic on that section. And yes just 726 stops from Croydon to Cheam Village meant unless traffic was very bad you could normally not be too late over that section. Derby day could be interesting though! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2020 11:32:20 GMT
It's a nice little route but not the easiest to memorise. It's especially nice between Morden and Raynes Park. Then it serves a tucked away community in New Malden before emerging into Norbiton, which is also a nice alternative place to eat and drink if you don't fancy hustle bustle of Kingston. Then it twists and turns around North Kingston and passes a site where I had several teeth abstracted after being given gas and air when I was young. Then serves suburban Ham and terminates in what seems, the middle of nowhere. But even there you have Ham Parade with a couple of lovely coffee shops. The drivers on it are very friendly, often chatting with regulars. The buses are great too. |
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