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Post by sid on May 5, 2018 5:16:59 GMT
Earlier in the evening, on my bus journey heading home a group of tourists politely asked the driver if the next stop was Marble Arch, at that point it actually was but the driver replied "No" in an abrupt manner, there was then an awkward moment of silence without any further assitance before the tourists returned to their seats. Much to my confusion, at that moment I told them it was indeed Marble Arch and then I deliberately mentioned "I don't know why he said no but it is the next stop" to ridicule that driver. They then smiled and thanked me before leaving the bus. I'm not generalising, but what is it with some bus drivers in London? Some drivers can be unhelpful and downright miserable, I've witnessed many occasions like this before. In contrast, every bus driver I encountered in Paris during my seven day stay there last week (and several times before) were helpful and some even politely greet/welcome you upon boarding. Sorry, but if a bus driver is going to be unhelpful and rude then they should change their profession and leave it to others willing to be more polite and enthusiastic as it certainly helps being so for London's image to those visiting the city. I agree that miserable sods like this are in the wrong job although I'm not sure what would be the right job for them. Dealing with questions like that is part and parcel of the job and by contrast I saw a very friendly and helpful driver on the 507 recently. The most recent miserable sod I encountered was on a Brighton & Hove bus, and most of their drivers are great, an elderly lady gets on and greets the driver with a cheery good morning only for him to completely ignore her. I was stood near the front of the bus and said good morning to her and said loud enough for the miserable sod to overhear "I'll say good morning to you even if that miserable sod won't", he didn't say a word but hopefully he got the message!
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Post by ServerKing on May 5, 2018 5:58:06 GMT
Hi I am coming to London for a week in August from Beijing and would like to know any best bus routes to do, (day’s journey - my bus trip today)! But I want routes just for speed, none of this regulation of service rubbish, furthermore I want the best from LHR Travelodge (Bath Road) to Highams Park Station obviously by bus because I want to see what’s changed in London, (also for thrash) hopefully you guys can help me out! Off the top of my head: H91 Hounslow West Station to Hammersmith. 27 Hammersmith to Chalk Farm Morrison, a favourite of mine. 393 Chalk Farm Morrison to Clapton Pond. 48 Clapton Pond to Walthamstow 212 or 275 Walthamstow to Highams Park. Once you are in East London, check out the 123, we have adapted a VDL DB300 to sound like a an old MCW Metrobus complete with engine clatter and slow performance. DW496 can be seen and heard on the route daily
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Post by Nathan on May 5, 2018 6:10:29 GMT
So all the countdown displays along the 87 route are displaying a message saying that it's been curtailed due to gas works. No ETA for any routes. Just this message. On all the displays. Come on, TfL... Just had look on LVF, that buses that normally head to Aldwych are being curtailed at Parliament Square Well I kinda gathered that after seeing all the buses curtailed. I'm more annoyed that they weren't showing any ETAs at any of the bus stops. How does that help anyone not wanting the bus route?
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Post by YY13VKP on May 6, 2018 11:01:41 GMT
A rather non London rant here, but I visited my old haunts of Caterham Village yesterday after riding the 404 from Coulsdon, and after having a look at the bus times at the bus stop there, I'm so glad I don't live there any more. Before the Caterham route changes, the Village was served by the 409 and 509 and used to have a bus service from 06:00 until 20:00, however now, only one route serves there, Southdown's new "Caterham Hoppa" route 411 which I thought was a recreation of routes 541/542 from 2011 but it only serves The Village during off peak hours only, before 9am and after 3pm, there is no bus service. When I used the 409 in the mornings to get to Caterham Station from The Village, there were three shuttle services that ran, and more often than not they were fairly busy, and that would be the time when most people who live in the Village estate would use the bus. Running a bus service into The Village during off peaks only is rather pointless IMO, either serve it full time or withdraw buses from there altogether, otherwise you'd just have low bus patronage from The Village. Surely TFL could take the opportunity to help out by sending the 404 down there, since there's only one bus and contract has just been renewed, and although its Surrey territory, its purely a loop section which is within the TfL network. Or maybe even introduce peak only 466 journeys that serve The Village? Another rant is that while speaking to one of the drivers who I knew from my work experience when I was on the 434 on Thursday, he was telling me how much the Hail and Ride system is abused along the route, with people stopping the bus from the other side of the road, and others in places that would block the traffic. Surely they'll introduce fixed bus stops now that the new contract is about to start? A consultation was supposed to take place last year for fixed stops, but there's still no sign of it! I also thought TfL wanted to to abolish Hail and Ride completely. Even the 404, which should really have a Hail and Ride section in some places, has fixed stops along the route. Even though the Kenley Residents Association would oppose the move because it'll remove parking spaces, it'll help more people to leave their cars at home and use the 434 instead. I'm sure ibus246 would agree here, being another resident 434 user.
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Post by ibus246 on May 6, 2018 15:57:04 GMT
A rather non London rant here, but I visited my old haunts of Caterham Village yesterday after riding the 404 from Coulsdon, and after having a look at the bus times at the bus stop there, I'm so glad I don't live there any more. Before the Caterham route changes, the Village was served by the 409 and 509 and used to have a bus service from 06:00 until 20:00, however now, only one route serves there, Southdown's new "Caterham Hoppa" route 411 which I thought was a recreation of routes 541/542 from 2011 but it only serves The Village during off peak hours only, before 9am and after 3pm, there is no bus service. When I used the 409 in the mornings to get to Caterham Station from The Village, there were three shuttle services that ran, and more often than not they were fairly busy, and that would be the time when most people who live in the Village estate would use the bus. Running a bus service into The Village during off peaks only is rather pointless IMO, either serve it full time or withdraw buses from there altogether, otherwise you'd just have low bus patronage from The Village. Surely TFL could take the opportunity to help out by sending the 404 down there, since there's only one bus and contract has just been renewed, and although its Surrey territory, its purely a loop section which is within the TfL network. Or maybe even introduce peak only 466 journeys that serve The Village? Another rant is that while speaking to one of the drivers who I knew from my work experience when I was on the 434 on Thursday, he was telling me how much the Hail and Ride system is abused along the route, with people stopping the bus from the other side of the road, and others in places that would block the traffic. Surely they'll introduce fixed bus stops now that the new contract is about to start? A consultation was supposed to take place last year for fixed stops, but there's still no sign of it! I also thought TfL wanted to to abolish Hail and Ride completely. Even the 404, which should really have a Hail and Ride section in some places, has fixed stops along the route. Even though the Kenley Residents Association would oppose the move because it'll remove parking spaces, it'll help more people to leave their cars at home and use the 434 instead. I'm sure ibus246 would agree here, being another resident 434 user. I agree, broadly, that London wide there is an abuse of H&R - I was on the W4 not so long ago and it seemed the Bell was being pressed every 100 metres! But, it will be difficult to introduce fixed stops on the 434 - more so on streets like Northwood Avenue where the k my option for residents is off street parking as some don’t have driveways or garages
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Post by snoggle on May 6, 2018 22:56:31 GMT
I agree, broadly, that London wide there is an abuse of H&R - I was on the W4 not so long ago and it seemed the Bell was being pressed every 100 metres! But, it will be difficult to introduce fixed stops on the 434 - more so on streets like Northwood Avenue where the k my option for residents is off street parking as some don’t have driveways or garages Must vary by area. Only very rarely have I seen any divergence from the "usual" stops on the W11 through Priory Court. Certainly not seen people pressing the bell every nanosecond to force the bus to stop. I suspect the drivers would ignore them anyway and just stop where they usually do. Seen pretty much the same on the W12 through Walthamstow Village - regular stopping points and no game playing.
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Post by vjaska on May 6, 2018 23:38:00 GMT
I agree, broadly, that London wide there is an abuse of H&R - I was on the W4 not so long ago and it seemed the Bell was being pressed every 100 metres! But, it will be difficult to introduce fixed stops on the 434 - more so on streets like Northwood Avenue where the k my option for residents is off street parking as some don’t have driveways or garages Must vary by area. Only very rarely have I seen any divergence from the "usual" stops on the W11 through Priory Court. Certainly not seen people pressing the bell every nanosecond to force the bus to stop. I suspect the drivers would ignore them anyway and just stop where they usually do. Seen pretty much the same on the W12 through Walthamstow Village - regular stopping points and no game playing. The 315 is usually like that, certain places they stop rather than any random point.
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Post by DOE27 on May 8, 2018 18:35:29 GMT
Random question.. But
Is there a way that you can find out any route’s running numbers and their timetables?
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Post by galwhv69 on May 8, 2018 18:42:36 GMT
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Post by sid on May 8, 2018 18:54:08 GMT
Random question.. But Is there a way that you can find out any route’s running numbers and their timetables? www.londonbusroutes.net/
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Post by busoccultation on May 8, 2018 20:03:35 GMT
Random question.. But Is there a way that you can find out any route’s running numbers and their timetables? mjcarchive.www.idnet.com/wt_index.htmlThis website has all the current schedules with running numbers and when there is a driver changeovers are happening. It also have old schedules that are no longer in use if you are interested
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Post by 6HP502C on May 9, 2018 7:33:19 GMT
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Post by galwhv69 on May 10, 2018 6:19:11 GMT
*Rant Approaching* When you stick your hand out,you expect the bus to stop,don't you?Well I expect that aswell!The driver of E124 decided to completely bypass me at the bus stop causing me to unnecesarily have to wait extra at the stop! *Rant Over*
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Post by sid on May 10, 2018 6:25:16 GMT
*Rant Approaching* When you stick your hand out,you expect the bus to stop,don't you?Well I expect that aswell!The driver of E124 decided to completely bypass me at the bus stop causing me to unnecesarily have to wait extra at the stop! *Rant Over* I would certainly report the incident. tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-bus-staff
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2018 7:48:53 GMT
Earlier in the evening, on my bus journey heading home a group of tourists politely asked the driver if the next stop was Marble Arch, at that point it actually was but the driver replied "No" in an abrupt manner, there was then an awkward moment of silence without any further assitance before the tourists returned to their seats. Much to my confusion, at that moment I told them it was indeed Marble Arch and then I deliberately mentioned "I don't know why he said no but it is the next stop" to ridicule that driver. They then smiled and thanked me before leaving the bus. I'm not generalising, but what is it with some bus drivers in London? Some drivers can be unhelpful and downright miserable, I've witnessed many occasions like this before. In contrast, every bus driver I encountered in Paris during my seven day stay there last week (and several times before) were helpful and some even politely greet/welcome you upon boarding. Sorry, but if a bus driver is going to be unhelpful and rude then they should change their profession and leave it to others willing to be more polite and enthusiastic as it certainly helps being so for London's image to those visiting the city. The other day I got on the 269 in Bexleyheath when a young girl politley asked if it goes to Sidcup. He said no. I wanted to say something but it was too hot to argue.
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