|
|
Post by greenboy on Oct 19, 2020 12:47:21 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. I've found most EB drivers very friendly and are often on first name terms with their regulars..... K5 must be a lovely route for drivers once they've got it sussed. |
|
|
|
Post by greenboy on Oct 19, 2020 12:51:01 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! I remember a driver complaining about it being nigh on impossible to keep to the timetable even with the nippy SNBs. |
|
|
|
Post by jackthelad87 on Nov 12, 2020 17:20:20 GMT
367 must be a contender. Two busy town centres at either end, and lots of back roads inbetween. B14 is another one.
|
|
|
|
Post by Busboy105 on Nov 12, 2020 17:44:13 GMT
The 86 has to be one of the easiest routes to learn. It’s essentially a straight line with a couple of turns at Ilford and Romford.
|
|
|
|
Post by vjaska on Nov 12, 2020 18:34:18 GMT
367 must be a contender. Two busy town centres at either end, and lots of back roads inbetween. B14 is another one. The 367 is a good shout although I rode it so many times, I could pretty much get around it without any issues despite living nowhere near it. |
|
|
|
Post by TB123 on Nov 12, 2020 18:41:17 GMT
405 has gotta be one of the easiest routes to learn.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 18:53:17 GMT
The hardest route I ever learned was the 386. Too many lefts and rights everywhere. Must be one of the most circuitous routes in London!
The easiest I learned was 1 - mainly because I live in Bermondsey so I already knew it 😂 - although it is a very straightforward route for anyone who has a general knowledge of London's geography.
|
|
|
|
Post by LondonNorthern on Nov 12, 2020 18:59:22 GMT
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. The 147 is awful through East Ham |
|
|
|
Post by LJ17THF on Nov 12, 2020 19:26:32 GMT
405 has gotta be one of the easiest routes to learn. Yeah, other than the junction leading to Merstham from Coulsdon, the route can be fairly easy. However, taking the wrong exit could mean that a Gatwick to Croydon route could exist  ! |
|
|
|
Post by Paul on Nov 12, 2020 20:57:35 GMT
367 must be a contender. Two busy town centres at either end, and lots of back roads inbetween. B14 is another one. I didn’t find the B14 particularly hard to learn. It’s a little tricky between Sidcup and Cleeve Park School but I got it within one rounder. Nearly missed the turn onto Hadlow Road the first time I drove it in service though! |
|
|
|
Post by northlondonbuses on Nov 12, 2020 21:14:03 GMT
The C11 must be hard to drive/learn
|
|
|
|
Post by northken on Nov 13, 2020 9:13:06 GMT
I reckon the 70 isn't the easiest. On the first day of RATP operation I saw a driver or two go the wrong way after the Ladbroke Grove Sainsbury's loop.
16 must be pretty easy - short and direct!
|
|
|
|
Post by M1104 on Nov 13, 2020 13:32:42 GMT
I imagine the 49 may've been a bit of a nuisance to route learn between Sydney Street in Chelsea and South Kensington, what with the twists and turns with the junctions between those two points. As a kid we used to take this route from Colliers Wood¹ to the Science Museum yet when i first route-learned it (obviously now as an adult) i still guessed the South Kensington area wrong towards Clapham Junction. This was back in the day when the old gyratory was still in place, which was then effectively two gyratories in a row towards Clapham Junction (towards Shepherd's Bush was much more straightforward for the 49 in particular). When we first got part of the route in Battersea (BB shared with SW) one driver missed the turn from Kings Road into Sydney Street and ended up going via Sloane Square and Knightsbridge, him knowing the C1 goes that way to put him right. Another driver went via the 345 along Fulham Road and Beaufort Street for his entire first half, never realising his error until during his break when i mentioned Kings Road...to which he replied, "but we don't go down Kings Road". Suffice to say that I wasn't the only one in the mess room to then reply. lol Generally route learning is a matter of perception, if you know the area it's that bit easier to remember, even with the G1....ish!!  ¹ - then regular garage journeys between Merton Garage and Tooting Bec |
|
|
|
Post by 6HP502C on Nov 13, 2020 21:08:20 GMT
The 147 is awful through East Ham Agreed between East Ham and Ilford but a very interesting experience to ride - the rest of the route is pretty boring! |
|
|
|
Post by thekbq14 on Nov 14, 2020 15:25:38 GMT
367 must be a contender. Two busy town centres at either end, and lots of back roads inbetween. B14 is another one. That along with the 289 are my two local routes that I grew up on and I still get confused on the Beckenham to Bromley Part of the route. Saying that though if I sat down and actually tried to remember the route properly I don't think it'll be too tough. The Croydon to Beckenham part for in my opinion is not too tough especially Croydon to Elmer's End as except for Shirley Oaks and the Glade it's still on main roads and the Shirley Oaks even though almost a loop requires no turning and the Glade part requires just staying on the main straight even though it's bendy. |
|
!
