Rival to the H1 Loughton to Harlow

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Sept 23, 2008 12:22:12 GMT @busboylondon said:

Sept 23, 2008 11:07:48 GMT @bighat said:

If either or both these routes are subsidised by the local council, why not run BOTH and earn double bubble? ;D

I did not think of that the company is gaining a profit but don’t the council think its a rip off 2 routes nearly the same I guess its a bit like the 310 and 311 some of them are running under the council and some are not.

The 310/311 are commercial routes except for the evening & sunday service


Daftest HCC route seems to be the 324. I dont see what the purpose of it is.. It just duplicates the 310/11, 395., 724 & a number of other minor routes

[Deleted]

Thought id add, that TWH will be operating BMC Falcons on route X55.

[Deleted]

Route H1 will be withdrawn after 19th December 2009. It was started in 2001 by an incredibly useless bus company, Imperial Buses.
This corridor know looks open to TWH to restart the 55. In the local newspaper, it says TWH are considering the route again, but its not certain

[jrussa]

Route H1 use to be operated with routemasters. It was weird seeing routemasters in Loughton back in 2002/3 lol

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Nov 6, 2009 22:53:12 GMT jrussa said:

Route H1 use to be operated with routemasters. It was weird seeing routemasters in Loughton back in 2002/3 lol

Unfortunatly I never got round to using them I think they did use them in normal service, but mostly it was around Christmas time they used them on the H1
It was around that time that Imperial were a good bus company...good condition buses, polite drivers, good reliability....its all changed now though ;D

[Deleted]

The story continues! ;D

Route H1 will be withdrawn on 18/12/09 as mentioned, and Travel with Hunny route 55 will be returning once again on 04/ 01/2010 to replace it!

It will operate a circular route around Loughton and Debden, then up to the Wake Arms before a long and windy road down to Theydon Bois. Then it will continue up to Ivy Chimneys, Epping, North Weald and Harlow.

A bus route hasnt operated down the road between the Wake Arms and Theydon Bois since I dont know when! It will be quite a rollercoaster ride I can tell you ;D

I know most of you on here have probably never used the H1, or the new 55, but I thought this might interest you.

I just dont know when operations between Loughton and Harlow will calm down! ;D

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What a sad thing to happen I like the H1 better to the 55 the fares where very cheap £3.40 return and they used Ex London double Decks I never found them to be late and drivers was polite. when I saw a H1 turn up at Harlow bus station the bus as half full and at certain times packed.

I used route 55 only once I found staff polite but only 10/25 people boarded for the whole route and the fare was more was this TWH plan to make both services redundant then take it for their self

[Deleted]

Well, as the 55 wont be in competition with any other service, hopefully the 55 will have a better service.
The H1 has become unreliable over the past year, with the ex-Kentish Bus Leyland Olympians/Northern Counties getting very dirty and quite bad condition, with drivers very rude, and buses not turning up at all!

I have a few new updates about the Loughton Harlow corridor. Essex County Council have stepped in. The 55 will be brought forward to start on the 21st Dec 2009, and will be funded by Essex CC until the 4th Jan 2010, where it will operate commercially Mondays to Fridays.
Also, the H1 will remain!! but only on Saturdays with 4 return journeys. It will be operated under contract to Essex CC and with Regal Busways.

[Deleted]

Route 555 to be running between Harlow and a one way loop around Loughton and Debdon mon to sat every hour run by TWH www.intalink.org.uk/downloads/PDFS/issue%2063.pdf

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Mar 2, 2010 11:02:21 GMT @busboylondon said:

Route 555 to be running between Harlow and a one way loop around Loughton and Debdon mon to sat every hour run by TWH www.intalink.org.uk/downloads/PDFS/issue%2063.pdf

Yes, will now be quite a lenghty route- operating between Loughton & Debden to Waltham Abbey and then Waltham Cross in competition with Arriva route 250, then back to Waltham Abbey, and then in competition with the 505 up to Harlow.

This means there will be no direct route from Loughton/Debden to Harlow since at least 15 years ago. Also, many Harlow college students will now be put off by this route change.
A good point though, is that it will mean there is some competition on the Waltham Cross to Loughton corridor (which is much needed as the Arriva 250 is quite a bad service!), as well as competition for the 505 (also, quite a bad service). Also, it will give a much more direct link from Waltham Cross to Harlow (following in Regal Busways footsteps, which operated the 506 between Waltham Cross and Harlow a few years ago) .

I think Travel with hunny (TWH) get bored easily, as the 55 re-incarnation has only lasted a few months How are they going to make money if they keep changing routes?

[Deleted]

Mar 2, 2010 17:00:19 GMT @truffles1234 said:

Mar 2, 2010 11:02:21 GMT @busboylondon said:

Route 555 to be running between Harlow and a one way loop around Loughton and Debdon mon to sat every hour run by TWH www.intalink.org.uk/downloads/PDFS/issue%2063.pdf

Yes, will now be quite a lenghty route- operating between Loughton & Debden to Waltham Abbey and then Waltham Cross in competition with Arriva route 250, then back to Waltham Abbey, and then in competition with the 505 up to Harlow.

This means there will be no direct route from Loughton/Debden to Harlow since at least 15 years ago. Also, many Harlow college students will now be put off by this route change.
A good point though, is that it will mean there is some competition on the Waltham Cross to Loughton corridor (which is much needed as the Arriva 250 is quite a bad service!), as well as competition for the 505 (also, quite a bad service). Also, it will give a much more direct link from Waltham Cross to Harlow (following in Regal Busways footsteps, which operated the 506 between Waltham Cross and Harlow a few years ago) .

I think Travel with hunny (TWH) get bored easily, as the 55 re-incarnation has only lasted a few months How are they going to make money if they keep changing routes?

The Arriva service in the area and its previous companies have always provided very poor & unreliable service in the area and it never seem s to change. It is probably why they have lost most of their routes. With the changes at the end of the month where Arriva have lost almost all their HCC routes their Ware garage seems to be only left with the 395,724. 310/311 & 331 and most of those are shared with other garages or operators.

I have never worked out ho the 724 survives. There are busy sections of it but for a lot of the route it runs almost empty & I would guess it has to pay BAA to use the Bus station at Heathrow.

[Deleted]

I imagine the 724 survives the way all the other Arriva routes in the area survive, by charging exorbitant fares so quite a lot of money is made from a handful of passengers. I'm not normally a supporter of regulated bus services but, as a resident of Waltham Abbey, the efforts or otherwise of Arriva Shires & Essex are enough to make me change my mind.

Operating in the former Country area has its problems for sure, but it strikes me that Arriva are making a particularly p***-poor job of it.

Re the 555, the concept is fantastic. Unfortunately a look at the timetable (available now on Traveline) would indicate that a) it has been conceived by someone who isn't fully au fait with the needs of passengers in the locality and b) it is not going to be at all reliable. I won't go into extensive detail but for example, this morning the 251 I was on took 13 minutes to get from Waltham Abbey town centre at 0752 to Waltham Cross RAIL station at 0805, due to traffic, which is pretty much the same every day. The 555 however will apparently get to Waltham Cross BUS station (further on) in 6 minutes, before going back to Harlow, again with the same running time as the all day service. Even Arriva give the 505 extra time in the morning peak.

I would really like a decent operator to show Arriva how it's done in the area. Sadly I don't see the 555 being around for very long.

[Deleted]

The Arriva services are quite bad, especially with the 250, which regularly suffers delays when there are problems with the M25 at Honey Lane, as well as traffic around Waltham Abbey/Cross. Also, the Harlow based buses are usually dirty and have very bad maintainance, and usually use inappropriate sized buses.

The 724 does provide quite a handy link between Essex and Hertfordshire, and whenever I have got on the route at Harlow, there are quite good passenger loadings. The fares are very high though.

I dont know how the 555 will do well, and I can guarantee it will only last a few months (just like their original 55, the North Weald Flyer and the current 55). The section of the 555 between Waltham Cross and Harlow could do well, as that will give a much needed link- the C3 takes a very long time to get to Harlow. Another point is the competition to Arriva may be a kick up the backside (like when SM Coaches extended the SM19 to Ongar, Arriva extended the £2.20 Harlow zone ticket to Epping), but after the competition is gone they will be back to their normal ways.

[Deleted]

Mar 4, 2010 20:55:02 GMT @truffles1234 said:

The Arriva services are quite bad, especially with the 250, which regularly suffers delays when there are problems with the M25 at Honey Lane, as well as traffic around Waltham Abbey/Cross. Also, the Harlow based buses are usually dirty and have very bad maintainance, and usually use inappropriate sized buses.

The 724 does provide quite a handy link between Essex and Hertfordshire, and whenever I have got on the route at Harlow, there are quite good passenger loadings. The fares are very high though.

I dont know how the 555 will do well, and I can guarantee it will only last a few months (just like their original 55, the North Weald Flyer and the current 55). The section of the 555 between Waltham Cross and Harlow could do well, as that will give a much needed link- the C3 takes a very long time to get to Harlow. Another point is the competition to Arriva may be a kick up the backside (like when SM Coaches extended the SM19 to Ongar, Arriva extended the £2.20 Harlow zone ticket to Epping), but after the competition is gone they will be back to their normal ways.

when I use the 724 I get an explorer card so it works out cheaper

[Deleted]

Mar 5, 2010 9:52:11 GMT @busboylondon said:

Mar 4, 2010 20:55:02 GMT @truffles1234 said:

The Arriva services are quite bad, especially with the 250, which regularly suffers delays when there are problems with the M25 at Honey Lane, as well as traffic around Waltham Abbey/Cross. Also, the Harlow based buses are usually dirty and have very bad maintainance, and usually use inappropriate sized buses.

The 724 does provide quite a handy link between Essex and Hertfordshire, and whenever I have got on the route at Harlow, there are quite good passenger loadings. The fares are very high though.

I dont know how the 555 will do well, and I can guarantee it will only last a few months (just like their original 55, the North Weald Flyer and the current 55). The section of the 555 between Waltham Cross and Harlow could do well, as that will give a much needed link- the C3 takes a very long time to get to Harlow. Another point is the competition to Arriva may be a kick up the backside (like when SM Coaches extended the SM19 to Ongar, Arriva extended the £2.20 Harlow zone ticket to Epping), but after the competition is gone they will be back to their normal ways.

when I use the 724 I get an explorer card so it works out cheaper

Its £7 which isn't too bad, although to justify this, I usually go on loads of other buses to make sure I spend my £7 ;D
Something I can't understand is getting rid of the Explorer from Maple Cross to Heathrow Airport. Stupid idea.