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Post by COBO on Aug 8, 2021 16:13:40 GMT
I find it weird how out all the routes I’ve been today that the 487 is the most busiest.
The 83, 92 and 182 were practically empty. All the bus routes that use double deckers that came out of Wembley empty. But the route coming out of Alperton that uses single deckers is nearly rammed packed.
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Post by cl54 on Aug 8, 2021 17:27:11 GMT
I find it weird how out all the routes I’ve been today that the 487 is the most busiest. The 83, 92 and 182 were practically empty. All the bus routes that use double deckers that came out of Wembley empty. But the route coming out of Alperton that uses single deckers is nearly rammed packed. I regularly use the 386 to get from Woolwich to my house. It is the lowest frequency route in the area (every 15 minutes except evenings and Sundays when 20 minutes). The buses are mostly short single deckers and the route and is getting back to being full a lot of the time. The route shares the first five stops with the more frequent 51 and 53 which have double deckers. People often walk away from one of them to get the 386 and then get off after 2 or 3 stops. This means that people travelling beyond the first 5 stops are left behind.
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Post by intro on Aug 8, 2021 20:56:24 GMT
This is not a rant, rather the opposite of one but I wasn't sure which thread to put it in. We are always so negative on this forum (myself included) about operators, types, performance data, drivers etc so I wanted to ask a positive question. Which route do you think is the best operated route in London? As in the operator does a brilliant job in every way? Even better if its a challenging, high PVR route. My nomination is the 65. Very reliable and a very professional group of drivers, FW make this challenging route look like a piece of cake. The 65 is a route that is relied on by so many but also has plenty of obstacles to a smooth service, whether that be Kingston, Kew Bridge, Ealing Broadway etc. Curtailments are dished out when required but not overdone, and helpfully usually to only two places (Ham and Great West Road, Ealing Road). For the enthusiast, It's also had an interesting mix of iconic types over the years. I truly believe RATP deserve this new contract and can't wait to see where this route goes next. I could go on for hours about how brilliant this route is! I'm interested to hear your responses. I have been on the route 49 a few times, and every time, the service was great, the drivers were nice, and drove very quickly, the vehicles were nice as well
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Post by capitalomnibus on Aug 9, 2021 10:29:50 GMT
This is not a rant, rather the opposite of one but I wasn't sure which thread to put it in. We are always so negative on this forum (myself included) about operators, types, performance data, drivers etc so I wanted to ask a positive question. Which route do you think is the best operated route in London? As in the operator does a brilliant job in every way? Even better if its a challenging, high PVR route. My nomination is the 65. Very reliable and a very professional group of drivers, FW make this challenging route look like a piece of cake. The 65 is a route that is relied on by so many but also has plenty of obstacles to a smooth service, whether that be Kingston, Kew Bridge, Ealing Broadway etc. Curtailments are dished out when required but not overdone, and helpfully usually to only two places (Ham and Great West Road, Ealing Road). For the enthusiast, It's also had an interesting mix of iconic types over the years. I truly believe RATP deserve this new contract and can't wait to see where this route goes next. I could go on for hours about how brilliant this route is! I'm interested to hear your responses. I'd say Arriva on the 29, Go Ahead on the 5 and Stagecoach on the 25 are all really good examples of routes doing well. While they are frequent, you can pretty much always rely on them to turn up and take you where you need to be. All three are among the busiest routes in London so the operation on these routes really shows. lol at 29, I would say the W3 is more reliable than the 29.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Aug 9, 2021 10:35:16 GMT
Another vote for the 29, encounters some pretty awful traffic along the length of the route but seems well run for it. WN have had it for decades and I've no doubt the quality of the service is down to how much expertise and experience is tied up in the day to day operation. It can be delayed by traffic and made unpleasant by some of the clientele, but you can be assured any problems aren't Arriva's doing. I can’t help but think they only reason you see the 29 run so well is because WN can chuck endless buses at it as it starts in the garage, this is why the 55 used to run so well as we could easily put extra buses on it and the majority of jobs were 1 break 1 [WN] do not chuck endless buses at the 29. You could end up in the situation where not all buses would be crew changes so you cannot then keep putting sub buses on. Also that would only be feasible if there are spare buses available at the time to use.
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Post by VPL630 on Aug 10, 2021 15:58:00 GMT
I can’t help but think they only reason you see the 29 run so well is because WN can chuck endless buses at it as it starts in the garage, this is why the 55 used to run so well as we could easily put extra buses on it and the majority of jobs were 1 break 1 [WN] do not chuck endless buses at the 29. You could end up in the situation where not all buses would be crew changes so you cannot then keep putting sub buses on. Also that would only be feasible if there are spare buses available at the time to use. Ok maybe not endless buses but it’s easier to throw an extra bus or 3 on the route to maintain headways as best as possible that it would be for for something that doesn’t run out of the garage
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Post by wirewiper on Aug 10, 2021 16:57:06 GMT
[WN] do not chuck endless buses at the 29. You could end up in the situation where not all buses would be crew changes so you cannot then keep putting sub buses on. Also that would only be feasible if there are spare buses available at the time to use. Ok maybe not endless buses but it’s easier to throw an extra bus or 3 on the route to maintain headways as best as possible that it would be for for something that doesn’t run out of the garage The 8 and 205 have that advantage too - if a driver is taking up duty and their bus hasn't arrived off its previous journey they can take out a different vehicle.
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Post by danorak on Aug 11, 2021 23:45:35 GMT
I wonder if we'll see any special liveries for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next year? I remember the SRMs for the 1977 Silver Jubilee (one of my earliest bus memories) and the 'ribbon' for Charles & Diana's wedding, plus the slightly underwhelming gold vinyl for the Golden Jubilee, but I don't remember anything for the Diamond Jubilee. If they were to do something, what could it be?
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Post by mkay315 on Aug 12, 2021 0:34:03 GMT
I can't lie but the 343 routing in Aldgate is a bit long winded I mean it sucks that it can't turn left from minories and it has to go down that long path to then come back on itself to start it's journey.
I wonder what could be done about this? I personally would put a designated stand at Mansell Street to save journey time.
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Post by greenboy on Aug 12, 2021 10:27:36 GMT
Has it been confirmed that the N9 is being reduced to half hourly?
Apparently there are problems on the route with rough sleepers travelling to Heathrow to crash out in the terminals? I'm not sure how cutting the level of service reduces the problem though? Surely it's a matter for security at Heathrow to deal with?
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Post by LondonNorthern on Aug 12, 2021 10:34:10 GMT
I'd say Arriva on the 29, Go Ahead on the 5 and Stagecoach on the 25 are all really good examples of routes doing well. While they are frequent, you can pretty much always rely on them to turn up and take you where you need to be. All three are among the busiest routes in London so the operation on these routes really shows. lol at 29, I would say the W3 is more reliable than the 29. Both the 29/W3 are run very well and as for the 29 not that bad reliability wise.
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Post by LondonNorthern on Aug 12, 2021 10:35:16 GMT
Has it been confirmed that the N9 is being reduced to half hourly? Apparently there are problems on the route with rough sleepers travelling to Heathrow to crash out in the terminals? I'm not sure how cutting the level of service reduces the problem though? Surely it's a matter for security at Heathrow to deal with? That's absolutely ridiculous, I can understand Heathrow is not bursting at the seams but that's absolute shambles to those who live in areas on the routes LOR.
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Post by greenboy on Aug 12, 2021 10:53:51 GMT
Has it been confirmed that the N9 is being reduced to half hourly? Apparently there are problems on the route with rough sleepers travelling to Heathrow to crash out in the terminals? I'm not sure how cutting the level of service reduces the problem though? Surely it's a matter for security at Heathrow to deal with? That's absolutely ridiculous, I can understand Heathrow is not bursting at the seams but that's absolute shambles to those who live in areas on the routes LOR. Could just reduce the service to Heathrow to 2bph and have 4bph as far as Hounslow with a view to restoring the full service to Heathrow when things get back to normal.
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Post by dlroper on Aug 12, 2021 10:56:41 GMT
The vast majority of travellers on the N9 (Weekdays) from my observations are foreign workers travelling to / from Hounslow / Isleworth - there's a regular group that drop off at Chiswick Sainsbury's for example ............... not noticed too many vagrants - at the weekends the worker numbers reduce but now it is transporting revellers back to those same places and the N9's I've caught have been absolutely rammed with the Drivers having to by-pass stops with waiting passengers .................... and they going to reduce the frequency - these tw*ts in charge need to get out and see what's actually happening out there .........................
and for me it'll f*ck-up the very conveniently timed connection into / out of the N551 at Aldwych ......... take even longer to get home ............ it's already 2 hours for just 21 f*cking miles across London !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by ThinLizzy on Aug 12, 2021 11:26:42 GMT
Ok maybe not endless buses but it’s easier to throw an extra bus or 3 on the route to maintain headways as best as possible that it would be for for something that doesn’t run out of the garage The 8 and 205 have that advantage too - if a driver is taking up duty and their bus hasn't arrived off its previous journey they can take out a different vehicle. Grey Green did the same when the 179 was operated out of DX where drivers would take their bus back for handover. If the bus was late back, another vehicle would be sent out- which is one of the reasons why the 179 always had such a variety of vehicles on it
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