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Post by southlondon413 on Aug 27, 2022 11:44:54 GMT
Copied from Stagecoach thread as I’m about to go off topic with it
ThinLizzy said:
What happened with Easylink? All I know about them is that they went bust and were absolutely abysmal at operating TfL routes, but what routes did they run and why did they go bust? Essentially the boss committed fraud and the company was ruined by it. These news articles are from when the boss was sentenced, it goes into a little more detail on what the money was spent on... news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3536133.stmwww.theguardian.com/uk/2004/mar/06/ukcrime.martinwainwrightHot take but I still think it was lovely to see him pay what he thought she was worth not just her usual night rates. But in hindsight you just have to laugh at how ridiculous it was.
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Post by M1104 on Aug 27, 2022 12:00:36 GMT
Hot take but I still think it was lovely to see him pay what he thought she was worth not just her usual night rates. But in hindsight you just have to laugh at how ridiculous it was. The whole tale could easily portray a different perception to the name Easylink, something straight out of a Carry On film.
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Post by ThinLizzy on Aug 27, 2022 13:38:14 GMT
Hot take but I still think it was lovely to see him pay what he thought she was worth not just her usual night rates. But in hindsight you just have to laugh at how ridiculous it was. The whole tale could easily portray a different perception to the name Easylink, something straight out of a Carry On film. I think it became known as "sleazylink" for quite a while after. The aftermath of Easylink was brilliant with Blue Triangle and a host of other operators running all sorts of vehicles on the 185 until East Thames Buses took over.
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Post by 6HP502C on Aug 27, 2022 16:50:42 GMT
The whole tale could easily portray a different perception to the name Easylink, something straight out of a Carry On film. I think it became known as "sleazylink" for quite a while after. The aftermath of Easylink was brilliant with Blue Triangle and a host of other operators running all sorts of vehicles on the 185 until East Thames Buses took over. I remember that. Metrobuses from various operators including TOLST, Dennis Arrows, brand new 02 plate Connex Tridents. Used to love riding the R plate ex Harris Olympians that remained on the route for a few years after!
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Post by Dillon95 on Aug 28, 2022 13:40:01 GMT
I waited an hour for a 269 to Bromley this afternoon. I gave up in the end, crossed over the road and went to Bexleyheath instead.
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Post by TB123 on Aug 28, 2022 21:09:50 GMT
I know WH is the garage that can hold the most buses but which one does actually hold the most at the moment. Guessing it's RR in first place but what would come second and third? Courtesy of londonbusroutes.net the top 10 in terms of total PVR are as follows (obviously this is not the same as total number of vehicles allocated, but it gives you a good idea):
1. RR 222
2. Q 205 3. NX 201 4. LI 193 5. QB 184 6= HT 183 = SW 183 8. W 163 9. AL 162 10. AR 161
Surprising not to see NP in there (currently on 141) but they'll be back up there soon with their new gains.
Thought this would be interesting to look at now 2.5 years later: 1 - W 186 2 - NP 185 3 - HT 179 4 - Q 179 5 - RR 169 6 - PD 169 7 - NX 165 8 - WL 152 9 - N 151 10 - AL 149 This will soon change further with NP set to surpass 200 when the 91 arrives, with Q, W and HT likely to see bit drops if the proposed central area changes (likely) happen.
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Post by twobellstogo on Aug 28, 2022 22:25:58 GMT
I waited an hour for a 269 to Bromley this afternoon. I gave up in the end, crossed over the road and went to Bexleyheath instead. Arriva at Dartford seem, like many at the moment, to be very short of drivers. The 269 is probably the worst service at DT currently, it has been very poor of late, and too many 229s get as far as Erith and are never seen again for lack of a driver.
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Post by greenboy on Aug 28, 2022 22:56:01 GMT
I waited an hour for a 269 to Bromley this afternoon. I gave up in the end, crossed over the road and went to Bexleyheath instead. Arriva at Dartford seem, like many at the moment, to be very short of drivers. The 269 is probably the worst service at DT currently, it has been very poor of late, and too many 229s get as far as Erith and are never seen again for lack of a driver. Both Dartford and Northfleet seem to be particularly badly hit, just so many other vacancies for drivers in the area.
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Post by SouthLondoner468 on Aug 29, 2022 0:01:40 GMT
Courtesy of londonbusroutes.net the top 10 in terms of total PVR are as follows (obviously this is not the same as total number of vehicles allocated, but it gives you a good idea):
1. RR 222
2. Q 205 3. NX 201 4. LI 193 5. QB 184 6= HT 183 = SW 183 8. W 163 9. AL 162 10. AR 161
Surprising not to see NP in there (currently on 141) but they'll be back up there soon with their new gains.
Thought this would be interesting to look at now 2.5 years later: 1 - W 186 2 - NP 185 3 - HT 179 4 - Q 179 5 - RR 169 6 - PD 169 7 - NX 165 8 - WL 152 9 - N 151 10 - AL 149 This will soon change further with NP set to surpass 200 when the 91 arrives, with Q, W and HT likely to see bit drops if the proposed central area changes (likely) happen. MB would come above AL with a total PVR of 150. Also, NX is 166 not 165
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Post by capitalomnibus on Aug 29, 2022 9:24:56 GMT
Copied from Stagecoach thread as I’m about to go off topic with it
ThinLizzy said:
What happened with Easylink? All I know about them is that they went bust and were absolutely abysmal at operating TfL routes, but what routes did they run and why did they go bust? Peter Lee was on the other bus group Yahoo Groups IIRC. He did then conspire with us enthusiasts to create the ideal London spec bus, which were the B7TL/Presidents on the 185. They were the first to spec more opening upper deck windows etc. It was a shame he had lead that other kind of life. He did in effect ruin the bus company due to spending on escorts. He seems to have kept a very low profile since coming out of prision.
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Post by M1104 on Aug 29, 2022 10:07:51 GMT
Peter Lee was on the other bus group Yahoo Groups IIRC. He did then conspire with us enthusiasts to create the ideal London spec bus, which were the B7TL/Presidents on the 185. They were the first to spec more opening upper deck windows etc. They were also the only London spec B7TLs with four speed ZF boxes despite London Central's slightly older examples (PVLs and AVLs) delivered as five speeders.
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Post by Dillon95 on Aug 29, 2022 13:20:34 GMT
I waited an hour for a 269 to Bromley this afternoon. I gave up in the end, crossed over the road and went to Bexleyheath instead. Arriva at Dartford seem, like many at the moment, to be very short of drivers. The 269 is probably the worst service at DT currently, it has been very poor of late, and too many 229s get as far as Erith and are never seen again for lack of a driver. If Arriva can’t run the service properly, TFL should strip the contract away from them and offer it to Stagecoach or Go Ahead.
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Post by DT 11 on Aug 29, 2022 13:22:58 GMT
I waited an hour for a 269 to Bromley this afternoon. I gave up in the end, crossed over the road and went to Bexleyheath instead. Arriva at Dartford seem, like many at the moment, to be very short of drivers. The 269 is probably the worst service at DT currently, it has been very poor of late, and too many 229s get as far as Erith and are never seen again for lack of a driver. Indeed. Has been going on for a while now.
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Post by DT 11 on Aug 29, 2022 13:28:35 GMT
Arriva at Dartford seem, like many at the moment, to be very short of drivers. The 269 is probably the worst service at DT currently, it has been very poor of late, and too many 229s get as far as Erith and are never seen again for lack of a driver. If Arriva can’t run the service properly, TFL should strip the contract away from them and offer it to Stagecoach or Go Ahead. Many garages are short of drivers at the moment not just DT, MG are also very short I have heard. Stripping the route away at short notice will not happen. Who is to say that the firms you mentioned cannot fully staff the route either. Stagecoach have staffing issues at the moment too... If there are staffing issues nothing can be done except recruit more staff. In addition you really have time to wait 1 hour. I would have checked the countdown instead and gone an alternative route.
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Post by COBO on Aug 29, 2022 14:21:50 GMT
I wish that they would put the dates of when the diversion is taking on place on diversion boards.
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