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Post by greenboy on Jul 26, 2022 13:40:03 GMT
The schools are closed and I have immediately noticed an increase in roadworks/temporary lights. My 56 route has gone from a quick,reliable service to a nightmare. Not sure if schools closing/holidays is a link but I recall that being a strategy for previous line closures (Vic line a few years ago if I recall). Anyway, on the bus strategy I liked the mention of handling roadworks better. One issue for me is the traffic lights timings particularly how suddenly a two way traffic light system becomes the longest 4 -way traffic light system. Additionally, the one near Essex station, seems like they are working on such a small area that could have coped with things running normally but suddenly a whole section is closed off a section because it is probably unsafe. Anyway, frustrating. There needs to be something done about these roadwork companies in London causing unnecessary delays. Temporary traffic lights should only be used as a last resort, they almost always offer bad phasing and this then causes many people to break red lights. Even worse when the batteries are low and they then show on red in all directions. I have seen them used on roads that are wide enough to have 3 way traffic even with the roadworks, this is simply ridiculous and could easily be coned off into lanes or otherwise. I am beginning to wonder if some of these companies are profiting from using these pathetic temporary traffic lights. I agree completely and not only in London, near where my daughter lives in Kent a quiet residential road was closed for a small hole that had been dug even though there was plenty of room for vehicles to safely get past and nobody working there for days at a time. When residents found some contractors to complain to they said they were just following instructions and complaints should be directed to KCC and it was all to do with risk assessments etc. Eventually residents moved the cones themselves and reopened the road and there wasn't any problem. Emergency vehicles have often been delayed by unnecessary road closures and misleading signage.
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Post by southlondon413 on Jul 26, 2022 13:46:51 GMT
There needs to be something done about these roadwork companies in London causing unnecessary delays. Temporary traffic lights should only be used as a last resort, they almost always offer bad phasing and this then causes many people to break red lights. Even worse when the batteries are low and they then show on red in all directions. I have seen them used on roads that are wide enough to have 3 way traffic even with the roadworks, this is simply ridiculous and could easily be coned off into lanes or otherwise. I am beginning to wonder if some of these companies are profiting from using these pathetic temporary traffic lights. I agree completely and not only in London, near where my daughter lives in Kent a quiet residential road was closed for a small hole that had been dug even though there was plenty of room for vehicles to safely get past and nobody working there for days at a time. When residents found some contractors to complain to they said they were just following instructions and complaints should be directed to KCC and it was all to do with risk assessments etc. Eventually residents moved the cones themselves and reopened the road and there wasn't any problem. Emergency vehicles have often been delayed by unnecessary road closures and misleading signage. You under no circumstances should move road work signage without authority. It can land you a £1000 fine under section 65 of New Roads and Street Works Act of 1991. Word of caution to anyone attempting to follow the poor advice in the post above.
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Post by WH241 on Jul 26, 2022 14:19:06 GMT
I agree completely and not only in London, near where my daughter lives in Kent a quiet residential road was closed for a small hole that had been dug even though there was plenty of room for vehicles to safely get past and nobody working there for days at a time. When residents found some contractors to complain to they said they were just following instructions and complaints should be directed to KCC and it was all to do with risk assessments etc. Eventually residents moved the cones themselves and reopened the road and there wasn't any problem. Emergency vehicles have often been delayed by unnecessary road closures and misleading signage. You under no circumstances should move road work signage without authority. It can land you a £1000 fine under section 65 of New Roads and Street Works Act of 1991. Word of caution to anyone attempting to follow the poor advice in the post above. This happens an awful lot in my local area as the residents are a law to themselves.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Jul 26, 2022 22:32:15 GMT
I agree completely and not only in London, near where my daughter lives in Kent a quiet residential road was closed for a small hole that had been dug even though there was plenty of room for vehicles to safely get past and nobody working there for days at a time. When residents found some contractors to complain to they said they were just following instructions and complaints should be directed to KCC and it was all to do with risk assessments etc. Eventually residents moved the cones themselves and reopened the road and there wasn't any problem. Emergency vehicles have often been delayed by unnecessary road closures and misleading signage. You under no circumstances should move road work signage without authority. It can land you a £1000 fine under section 65 of New Roads and Street Works Act of 1991. Word of caution to anyone attempting to follow the poor advice in the post above. I do not think anyone that does this would be stupid enough to do this with people watching.
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Post by greenboy on Jul 27, 2022 11:59:37 GMT
Fraudulent card use.......I guess other operators must have had similar problems?
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Post by ronnie on Jul 27, 2022 15:49:55 GMT
Is it me or are buses joe forced to dawdle owing to too much running time and school holidays?
My 233 has been regulated 3 times, my 469 was regulated 2 times (including once for almost 4 min), B12 gir regulated twice and the 428 was also regulated despite being on a long diversion!
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Post by abellion on Jul 27, 2022 17:14:16 GMT
Is it me or are buses joe forced to dawdle owing to too much running time and school holidays? My 233 has been regulated 3 times, my 469 was regulated 2 times (including once for almost 4 min), B12 gir regulated twice and the 428 was also regulated despite being on a long diversion! My 119 this morning regulated twice and stalled twice, once right before Bromley Town Centre - a bit ridiculous to make a bunch of people wait 2 stops before the main objective. There was another 119 ahead (I let it go because it was a WHV and an E was 3 or so minutes behind in Croydon) but it was long gone by the time we were in Shirley!
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Post by ronnie on Jul 27, 2022 17:16:58 GMT
Is it me or are buses joe forced to dawdle owing to too much running time and school holidays? My 233 has been regulated 3 times, my 469 was regulated 2 times (including once for almost 4 min), B12 gir regulated twice and the 428 was also regulated despite being on a long diversion! My 119 this morning regulated twice and stalled twice, once right before Bromley Town Centre - a bit ridiculous to make a bunch of people wait 2 stops before the main objective. There was another 119 ahead (I let it go because it was a WHV and an E was 3 or so minutes behind in Croydon) but it was long gone by the time we were in Shirley! Yes it’s nuts. My 124 (in the first 5 stops) dawdled for a minute at each. Still managed to catch the one ahead (despite regulating 2 more times), and the “lead” changed 3 times before we stayed ahead
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Post by SILENCED on Jul 27, 2022 17:22:16 GMT
Is it me or are buses joe forced to dawdle owing to too much running time and school holidays? My 233 has been regulated 3 times, my 469 was regulated 2 times (including once for almost 4 min), B12 gir regulated twice and the 428 was also regulated despite being on a long diversion! My 119 this morning regulated twice and stalled twice, once right before Bromley Town Centre - a bit ridiculous to make a bunch of people wait 2 stops before the main objective. There was another 119 ahead (I let it go because it was a WHV and an E was 3 or so minutes behind in Croydon) but it was long gone by the time we were in Shirley! How can regulating a route that late in the journey ever be in the passengers interest. Yes we all want to spend 2 extra minutes on the bus rather than get there 2 minutes earlier! Any corporate diehards want to defend this practice ... other than let's get the bonus payment and to hell with the passengers?
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Post by WH241 on Jul 27, 2022 17:32:52 GMT
My 119 this morning regulated twice and stalled twice, once right before Bromley Town Centre - a bit ridiculous to make a bunch of people wait 2 stops before the main objective. There was another 119 ahead (I let it go because it was a WHV and an E was 3 or so minutes behind in Croydon) but it was long gone by the time we were in Shirley! How can regulating a route that late in the journey ever be in the passengers interest. Yes we all want to spend 2 extra minutes on the bus rather than get there 2 minutes earlier! Any corporate diehards want to defend this practice ... other than let's get the bonus payment and to hell with the passengers? GoAhead do seem guilty of this more than other operators! My new local GAL route (300) is still regulated most mornings as I pass it on the way to work.
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Post by ronnie on Jul 27, 2022 17:37:38 GMT
My 119 this morning regulated twice and stalled twice, once right before Bromley Town Centre - a bit ridiculous to make a bunch of people wait 2 stops before the main objective. There was another 119 ahead (I let it go because it was a WHV and an E was 3 or so minutes behind in Croydon) but it was long gone by the time we were in Shirley! How can regulating a route that late in the journey ever be in the passengers interest. Yes we all want to spend 2 extra minutes on the bus rather than get there 2 minutes earlier! Any corporate diehards want to defend this practice ... other than let's get the bonus payment and to hell with the passengers? That’s the only reason why mate. ££££ talks I also find it irritating when on routes with buses every 15 min, if one bus gets delayed due to whatsoever reason (could be driver changeover for example) the next bus gets regulated as well. This has happened twice in the past few days and today was especially annoying as I was doing end to ends: - just missed a 469 at Queen Elizabeth hospital (saw it disappear up the road while my 178 was about to get there) - wait 15 min for the next bus - both buses appear to be well on time - all of a sudden see the previous bus running late by 11 min - my bus then gets regulated twice and goes very very slow in the back lanes of abbey wood (I could have walked faster frankly!). One regulation while being in front of the Asda at Belvedere was for more than 4 min - the bus was supposed to reach Erith with 3 min handy for me to get the 428. Instead it arrived 5 min late and of course the 428 had left on time then! My wife almost ended up missing a doctor appointment as her 178 turned up 11 min late then regulated twice in what was a 15 min journey No wonder ridership is on its way down
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Post by SILENCED on Jul 27, 2022 17:46:27 GMT
How can regulating a route that late in the journey ever be in the passengers interest. Yes we all want to spend 2 extra minutes on the bus rather than get there 2 minutes earlier! Any corporate diehards want to defend this practice ... other than let's get the bonus payment and to hell with the passengers? GoAhead do seem guilty of this more than other operators! My new local GAL route (300) is still regulated most mornings as I pass it on the way to work. Was it not a Go-Ahead controller who said they are told, they don't care about passengers ... inconvenience the hell out of them to get our 30 pieces of silver. There is no justifiable reason, why regulating a service in the last third of its journey, is more beneficial for the passenger than letting it run to traffic conditions. Until such time as buses are operated in the passengers interests, and not the operating companies interest, ridership will continue to decline and TfL will be financially shafted.
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Post by abellion on Jul 27, 2022 18:07:28 GMT
How can regulating a route that late in the journey ever be in the passengers interest. Yes we all want to spend 2 extra minutes on the bus rather than get there 2 minutes earlier! Any corporate diehards want to defend this practice ... other than let's get the bonus payment and to hell with the passengers? That’s the only reason why mate. ££££ talks I also find it irritating when on routes with buses every 15 min, if one bus gets delayed due to whatsoever reason (could be driver changeover for example) the next bus gets regulated as well. This has happened twice in the past few days and today was especially annoying as I was doing end to ends: - just missed a 469 at Queen Elizabeth hospital (saw it disappear up the road while my 178 was about to get there) - wait 15 min for the next bus - both buses appear to be well on time - all of a sudden see the previous bus running late by 11 min - my bus then gets regulated twice and goes very very slow in the back lanes of abbey wood (I could have walked faster frankly!). One regulation while being in front of the Asda at Belvedere was for more than 4 min - the bus was supposed to reach Erith with 3 min handy for me to get the 428. Instead it arrived 5 min late and of course the 428 had left on time then! My wife almost ended up missing a doctor appointment as her 178 turned up 11 min late then regulated twice in what was a 15 min journey No wonder ridership is on its way down Driver changovers are the worst. Outside AL (every route that passes the garage is operated from there bar the 655 and N155!) there can easily be any of the 57, 131, 152, 200 or 219 doing changeovers for ages whilst crowds of people are forced to sit and wait. A few weeks ago there was a 152/200/219 convoy blocking the entire bus stop and a 57, 131 and 655 all wasted time trying to get around having to stop pretty much in front of the garage. More routes should changeover at termini if they are close enough to the garage, nobody wants to wait around for 10 minutes whilst their driver has a conversation with others by the garage - in AL's case, the 131, 200, 219 all finish close (the 280 also but I love having an excuse to get a DW or T rather than an obnoxious WSD/G2 WHV ).
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Post by rif153 on Jul 27, 2022 18:14:24 GMT
That’s the only reason why mate. ££££ talks I also find it irritating when on routes with buses every 15 min, if one bus gets delayed due to whatsoever reason (could be driver changeover for example) the next bus gets regulated as well. This has happened twice in the past few days and today was especially annoying as I was doing end to ends: - just missed a 469 at Queen Elizabeth hospital (saw it disappear up the road while my 178 was about to get there) - wait 15 min for the next bus - both buses appear to be well on time - all of a sudden see the previous bus running late by 11 min - my bus then gets regulated twice and goes very very slow in the back lanes of abbey wood (I could have walked faster frankly!). One regulation while being in front of the Asda at Belvedere was for more than 4 min - the bus was supposed to reach Erith with 3 min handy for me to get the 428. Instead it arrived 5 min late and of course the 428 had left on time then! My wife almost ended up missing a doctor appointment as her 178 turned up 11 min late then regulated twice in what was a 15 min journey No wonder ridership is on its way down Driver changovers are the worst. Outside AL (every route that passes the garage is operated from there bar the 655 and N155!) there can easily be any of the 57, 131, 152, 200 or 219 doing changeovers for ages whilst crowds of people are forced to sit and wait. A few weeks ago there was a 152/200/219 convoy blocking the entire bus stop and a 57, 131 and 655 all wasted time trying to get around having to stop pretty much in front of the garage. More routes should changeover at termini if they are close enough to the garage, nobody wants to wait around for 10 minutes whilst their driver has a conversation with others by the garage - in AL's case, the 131, 200, 219 all finish close (the 280 also but I love having an excuse to get a DW or T rather than an obnoxious WSD/G2 WHV ). I understand when routes pass a garage there is of course a most convenient stop to do a changeover at but sometimes it can become silly when there are several buses changing drivers at once blocking the road or holding other buses up, they could at least move the changeover point for some of the routes a stop down the road to try to prevent concentrating the issue on a single stop.
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Post by danorak on Jul 27, 2022 21:13:03 GMT
The schools are closed and I have immediately noticed an increase in roadworks/temporary lights. My 56 route has gone from a quick,reliable service to a nightmare. Not sure if schools closing/holidays is a link but I recall that being a strategy for previous line closures (Vic line a few years ago if I recall). Anyway, on the bus strategy I liked the mention of handling roadworks better. One issue for me is the traffic lights timings particularly how suddenly a two way traffic light system becomes the longest 4 -way traffic light system. Additionally, the one near Essex station, seems like they are working on such a small area that could have coped with things running normally but suddenly a whole section is closed off a section because it is probably unsafe. Anyway, frustrating. There was an utterly potty set in Charlton Road a couple of weeks back. The lights were in place and switched on but with no roadworks underway, so traffic had to stop despite the road being entirely clear!
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