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Post by snoggle on Jun 21, 2018 11:22:10 GMT
Talking of election campaigns Mr Khan has said today that he intends to seek a second Mayoral term. Have to say I'm surprised. Interesting, but while I agree with lots of what you say, I am not that surprised. I don't want to do you any injustice, but I think you previously suggested he had, shall we say, greater political ambitions, and there I do agree. Unfortunately for him what has happened in the Labour Party in the last couple of years and following the last election means that much of that ambition is closed off at least for now. Therefore what else to do than be go for Mayor again. We shall see if he has opposition within the Labour Party to this, as I think it is not guaranteed he will be chosen as their candidate again. Having said that, declaring his hand now I think puts him in the best position to be the Labour candidate. He also needs to take care over his record, eg crime, bus cuts etc, otherwise he may find himself exposed with great British public who may not be guaranteed to vote him in again. That's a perfectly reasonable exposition. As you say what else can he do while the Labour Party is controlled as it currently is? I am extremely disappointed in his performance to date. Even allowing for the usual "it takes a long time to do stuff" argument (valid in some areas) I think an awful lot of people are fed up with up on his performance on housing (said a lot of good stuff, has done very little of it and what has been done are half measures or late) and crime. I never thought I'd be particularly concerned about living where I live but I am now. While I can understand some police tactics have to be kept under wraps for them to work I am afraid the lack of obvious comment from the Mayor and Met Commissioner in the face of an unacceptable level of murders is simply wrong. The Mayor is very controlling over media presence and I think this is a monumental error in the case of the police. In the past you'd expect the Commissioner to be saying stuff, if only to provide some level of reassurance. We never hear from Cressida manhood. Has she been locked in a cupboard? Has she been deemed to be ineffective in front of a TV camera? Why then was she employed? Being the public face of the Met is a key element of the job so far as the general public are concerned. I think crime will be the area that could sink the Mayor. It will be far too easy for opponents to attack him on this issue. We've done the transport stuff before. I don't think he will be too vulnerable on buses unless something goes very wrong. However if Crossrail doesn't work properly or tube performance worsens notably then he'll be in trouble. There are warning signs - too many problems on the Vic Line, the Picc is a shambles and likely to get worse, delays on Sub Surface resignalling and the risk that it doesn't work very well when switched on. IIRC the plans centre on getting much of the Circle line on the new system in the next 18 months. That has to work properly or else millions are getting their journeys affected in the run up to the next Mayoral election. There are also suggestions not all of Crossrail will open on 9 December this year which will be a huge embarrassment and which may "wrong foot" the ability to get later sections linked in as necessary. |
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Post by redbus on Jun 21, 2018 14:51:45 GMT
Interesting, but while I agree with lots of what you say, I am not that surprised. I don't want to do you any injustice, but I think you previously suggested he had, shall we say, greater political ambitions, and there I do agree. Unfortunately for him what has happened in the Labour Party in the last couple of years and following the last election means that much of that ambition is closed off at least for now. Therefore what else to do than be go for Mayor again. We shall see if he has opposition within the Labour Party to this, as I think it is not guaranteed he will be chosen as their candidate again. Having said that, declaring his hand now I think puts him in the best position to be the Labour candidate. He also needs to take care over his record, eg crime, bus cuts etc, otherwise he may find himself exposed with great British public who may not be guaranteed to vote him in again. That's a perfectly reasonable exposition. As you say what else can he do while the Labour Party is controlled as it currently is? I am extremely disappointed in his performance to date. Even allowing for the usual "it takes a long time to do stuff" argument (valid in some areas) I think an awful lot of people are fed up with up on his performance on housing (said a lot of good stuff, has done very little of it and what has been done are half measures or late) and crime. I never thought I'd be particularly concerned about living where I live but I am now. While I can understand some police tactics have to be kept under wraps for them to work I am afraid the lack of obvious comment from the Mayor and Met Commissioner in the face of an unacceptable level of murders is simply wrong. The Mayor is very controlling over media presence and I think this is a monumental error in the case of the police. In the past you'd expect the Commissioner to be saying stuff, if only to provide some level of reassurance. We never hear from Cressida Richard. Has she been locked in a cupboard? Has she been deemed to be ineffective in front of a TV camera? Why then was she employed? Being the public face of the Met is a key element of the job so far as the general public are concerned. I think crime will be the area that could sink the Mayor. It will be far too easy for opponents to attack him on this issue. We've done the transport stuff before. I don't think he will be too vulnerable on buses unless something goes very wrong. However if Crossrail doesn't work properly or tube performance worsens notably then he'll be in trouble. There are warning signs - too many problems on the Vic Line, the Picc is a shambles and likely to get worse, delays on Sub Surface resignalling and the risk that it doesn't work very well when switched on. IIRC the plans centre on getting much of the Circle line on the new system in the next 18 months. That has to work properly or else millions are getting their journeys affected in the run up to the next Mayoral election. There are also suggestions not all of Crossrail will open on 9 December this year which will be a huge embarrassment and which may "wrong foot" the ability to get later sections linked in as necessary. I entirely agree, so far he has been a complete disappointment in pretty much all areas. I really struggle to see how he improved anything very much that wasn't already set for improvement prior to him becoming Mayor. And as you say, that's not withstanding the disaster of crime, which he and Met urgently need to get a grip on. This is priority one. I think Londoners will measure him on what does to improve matters, not on passing the blame back to government spending however valid or not that may be.
In respect of transport and the tube you are right, but what are these suggestions re Crossrail? If Crossrail doesn't deliver through central London to Paddington in December the Mayor will have problems coming out of his ears from all angles. Some incomplete stations is one thing, trains not running through to Paddington is quite another!
As for buses, historically bus users have always 'rolled over' whatever cuts you inflict on them. Things may change if the 7% cut results in lots of people noticeably waiting longer for their bus, lack of available seats when before they were available, having to change buses to complete journeys previously done on one bus and so on. In itself nothing much will happen, but if people see the deterioration and one of the future Mayoral candidates decides to capitalise on bus cuts, the Mayor may be very exposed and have little to no defence.
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Post by redbus on Jun 21, 2018 15:01:06 GMT
Interesting, but while I agree with lots of what you say, I am not that surprised. I don't want to do you any injustice, but I think you previously suggested he had, shall we say, greater political ambitions, and there I do agree. Unfortunately for him what has happened in the Labour Party in the last couple of years and following the last election means that much of that ambition is closed off at least for now. Therefore what else to do than be go for Mayor again. We shall see if he has opposition within the Labour Party to this, as I think it is not guaranteed he will be chosen as their candidate again. Having said that, declaring his hand now I think puts him in the best position to be the Labour candidate. He also needs to take care over his record, eg crime, bus cuts etc, otherwise he may find himself exposed with great British public who may not be guaranteed to vote him in again. Khan't see anyone beating him!!!! You may well be right, normally I would say he would walk it.......but if his chickens come home to roost and there are problems with crime, transport and housing along with an alternative candidate who can exploit this, then all bets are off!! |
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Post by snoggle on Jun 21, 2018 15:16:21 GMT
In respect of transport and the tube you are right, but what are these suggestions re Crossrail? If Crossrail doesn't deliver through central London to Paddington in December the Mayor will have problems coming out of his ears from all angles. Some incomplete stations is one thing, trains not running through to Paddington is quite another!
As for buses, historically bus users have always 'rolled over' whatever cuts you inflict on them. Things may change if the 7% cut results in lots of people noticeably waiting longer for their bus, lack of available seats when before they were available, having to change buses to complete journeys previously done on one bus and so on. In itself nothing much will happen, but if people see the deterioration and one of the future Mayoral candidates decides to capitalise on bus cuts, the Mayor may be very exposed and have little to no defence.
I have seen it suggested that the December opening may only see trains running between Abbey Wood and Canary Wharf. Furthermore when I asked a "hedged" question to an official at the Farringdon site visit last week I got a distinctly non committal answer with a mumbled suggestion that not every station would be ready. It is worth bearing in mind that you can't have multiple stations not open and still run trains through because of evacuation concerns. If you get three stns closed in a row on the Tube then the service must be suspended. Now Crossrail will be to a more modern standard but there is still a reliance on evacuation through stations. If stations are a building site then it won't work. Even if one end of a station is not ready there may still be issues because the trains can carry so many people and one fire protected escape route may be insufficient. There is something like 177 days left to opening day. You can chop off a week because of the need to clean and prep stations and possibly hold an opening ceremony plus press launches etc. If you assume the operators need 3 months for training and familiarisation then you're down to 80 days to finish construction, fitting out, commissioning, testing, handover and clear the sites of all construction materials. Sorry but Farringdon won't be ready in 80 days and other sites are FAR behind Farringdon. The only place that might be ready in the centre is Tottenham Court Road. I am not convinced that Whitechapel, Liverpool St / Moorgate, Farringdon, Bond St or Paddington will be ready in 80 days or, even being generous, 110 days (by lopping off a month for operator familiarisation). This means you really can't run beyond Canary Wharf. It's very sad but I have been saying that this is the most difficult bit of the project for the last two years and I'm being proved right. They are rapidly running out of time and that's ignoring the ability of MTR to actually run the trains through the tunnels at line speed, at expected frequencies and with a fully functioning and signed off signalling system. Don't forget that ORR are struggling to process sign offs for NR rolling stock and infrastructure at the moment. Crossrail dwarfs all of these other initiatives. |
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Post by twobellstogo on Jun 21, 2018 20:36:36 GMT
In respect of transport and the tube you are right, but what are these suggestions re Crossrail? If Crossrail doesn't deliver through central London to Paddington in December the Mayor will have problems coming out of his ears from all angles. Some incomplete stations is one thing, trains not running through to Paddington is quite another!
As for buses, historically bus users have always 'rolled over' whatever cuts you inflict on them. Things may change if the 7% cut results in lots of people noticeably waiting longer for their bus, lack of available seats when before they were available, having to change buses to complete journeys previously done on one bus and so on. In itself nothing much will happen, but if people see the deterioration and one of the future Mayoral candidates decides to capitalise on bus cuts, the Mayor may be very exposed and have little to no defence.
I have seen it suggested that the December opening may only see trains running between Abbey Wood and Canary Wharf. Furthermore when I asked a "hedged" question to an official at the Farringdon site visit last week I got a distinctly non committal answer with a mumbled suggestion that not every station would be ready. It is worth bearing in mind that you can't have multiple stations not open and still run trains through because of evacuation concerns. If you get three stns closed in a row on the Tube then the service must be suspended. Now Crossrail will be to a more modern standard but there is still a reliance on evacuation through stations. If stations are a building site then it won't work. Even if one end of a station is not ready there may still be issues because the trains can carry so many people and one fire protected escape route may be insufficient. There is something like 177 days left to opening day. You can chop off a week because of the need to clean and prep stations and possibly hold an opening ceremony plus press launches etc. If you assume the operators need 3 months for training and familiarisation then you're down to 80 days to finish construction, fitting out, commissioning, testing, handover and clear the sites of all construction materials. Sorry but Farringdon won't be ready in 80 days and other sites are FAR behind Farringdon. The only place that might be ready in the centre is Tottenham Court Road. I am not convinced that Whitechapel, Liverpool St / Moorgate, Farringdon, Bond St or Paddington will be ready in 80 days or, even being generous, 110 days (by lopping off a month for operator familiarisation). This means you really can't run beyond Canary Wharf. It's very sad but I have been saying that this is the most difficult bit of the project for the last two years and I'm being proved right. They are rapidly running out of time and that's ignoring the ability of MTR to actually run the trains through the tunnels at line speed, at expected frequencies and with a fully functioning and signed off signalling system. Don't forget that ORR are struggling to process sign offs for NR rolling stock and infrastructure at the moment. Crossrail dwarfs all of these other initiatives. Wandering around locally, and admittedly not totally knowing the situation below ground, I am none too convinced Woolwich will be ready by December which would knock the whole lot back to 2019 combined with the zone 1 woe. |
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Post by busaholic on Jun 21, 2018 22:05:28 GMT
In respect of transport and the tube you are right, but what are these suggestions re Crossrail? If Crossrail doesn't deliver through central London to Paddington in December the Mayor will have problems coming out of his ears from all angles. Some incomplete stations is one thing, trains not running through to Paddington is quite another!
As for buses, historically bus users have always 'rolled over' whatever cuts you inflict on them. Things may change if the 7% cut results in lots of people noticeably waiting longer for their bus, lack of available seats when before they were available, having to change buses to complete journeys previously done on one bus and so on. In itself nothing much will happen, but if people see the deterioration and one of the future Mayoral candidates decides to capitalise on bus cuts, the Mayor may be very exposed and have little to no defence.
I have seen it suggested that the December opening may only see trains running between Abbey Wood and Canary Wharf. Furthermore when I asked a "hedged" question to an official at the Farringdon site visit last week I got a distinctly non committal answer with a mumbled suggestion that not every station would be ready. It is worth bearing in mind that you can't have multiple stations not open and still run trains through because of evacuation concerns. If you get three stns closed in a row on the Tube then the service must be suspended. Now Crossrail will be to a more modern standard but there is still a reliance on evacuation through stations. If stations are a building site then it won't work. Even if one end of a station is not ready there may still be issues because the trains can carry so many people and one fire protected escape route may be insufficient. There is something like 177 days left to opening day. You can chop off a week because of the need to clean and prep stations and possibly hold an opening ceremony plus press launches etc. If you assume the operators need 3 months for training and familiarisation then you're down to 80 days to finish construction, fitting out, commissioning, testing, handover and clear the sites of all construction materials. Sorry but Farringdon won't be ready in 80 days and other sites are FAR behind Farringdon. The only place that might be ready in the centre is Tottenham Court Road. I am not convinced that Whitechapel, Liverpool St / Moorgate, Farringdon, Bond St or Paddington will be ready in 80 days or, even being generous, 110 days (by lopping off a month for operator familiarisation). This means you really can't run beyond Canary Wharf. It's very sad but I have been saying that this is the most difficult bit of the project for the last two years and I'm being proved right. They are rapidly running out of time and that's ignoring the ability of MTR to actually run the trains through the tunnels at line speed, at expected frequencies and with a fully functioning and signed off signalling system. Don't forget that ORR are struggling to process sign offs for NR rolling stock and infrastructure at the moment. Crossrail dwarfs all of these other initiatives. In the light of all the Thameslink woes, if I was a London Assembly member I'd be asking A) If sufficient drivers exist, or have been recruited, to run the scheduled Crossrail service from December? B) Assuming the answer to (A) is yes, have they all been type trained, or will they have been by December? C) Assuming another affirmative, will they all have had sufficient route training to run ALL the scheduled services?
TfL, after all, are about the only people to have escaped culpability in the Thameslink fiasco, so they should at least be learning how to avert the driver scenario. Of course, it may not be relevant if so many obstacles still exist to anything other than a 'skeleton' service starting. There's a chance that the Millennium Dome affair may pale into insignificance besides this, although the former had the rather major challenge of having to be ready for a particular unchangeable date!
With absolutely no inside knowledge or contacts, my own gut feeling is that fire/explosion or whatever it was at Pudding Mill Lane has set back the project, not only in time but in morale. We, the public, are definitely not being told enough.
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Post by twobellstogo on Jun 24, 2018 12:07:02 GMT
Dear TfL
It’s so nice to be able to plug my phone into a lovely USB socket on this First Kernow bus. So, so nice.
Just saying.
Thanks for listening 😃
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Post by ServerKing on Jun 25, 2018 0:46:41 GMT
Dear TfL It’s so nice to be able to plug my phone into a lovely USB socket on this First Kernow bus. So, so nice. Just saying. Thanks for listening 😃
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately there are no plans for USB charging points or WiFi for this decade due to a shortfall in funding. The Mayor is keen to improve travel across London. We will soon be introducing a raft of improvements to ease congestion by easing the number of buses that have been shown in recent studies to slow down traffic flow. See our website for exciting news regarding Route 48, after sucessfully augmenting the 82 and 13. By diverting money away from our Bus Blind Presentation Fund, we have been able to reduce violent crime across the Capital in order to make your bus journey even safer. Thanks for your continued custom.
Every Journey Matters,
Customer Services Team |
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Post by enviroPB on Jun 25, 2018 8:03:45 GMT
Dear TfL It’s so nice to be able to plug my phone into a lovely USB socket on this First Kernow bus. So, so nice. Just saying. Thanks for listening 😃
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately there are no plans for USB charging points or WiFi for this decade due to a shortfall in funding. The Mayor is keen to improve travel across London. We will soon be introducing a raft of improvements to ease congestion by easing the number of buses that have been shown in recent studies to slow down traffic flow. See our website for exciting news regarding Route 48, after sucessfully augmenting the 82 and 13. By diverting money away from our Bus Blind Presentation Fund, we have been able to reduce violent crime across the Capital in order to make your bus journey even safer. Thanks for your continued custom.
Every Journey Matters,
Customer Services TeamIs this an extract from Server King News? It's been a long time since the last publication, I was starting to wonder if they stopped printing   |
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Post by busaholic on Jun 25, 2018 12:32:16 GMT
Dear TfL It’s so nice to be able to plug my phone into a lovely USB socket on this First Kernow bus. So, so nice. Just saying. Thanks for listening 😃
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately there are no plans for USB charging points or WiFi for this decade due to a shortfall in funding. The Mayor is keen to improve travel across London. We will soon be introducing a raft of improvements to ease congestion by easing the number of buses that have been shown in recent studies to slow down traffic flow. See our website for exciting news regarding Route 48, after sucessfully augmenting the 82 and 13. By diverting money away from our Bus Blind Presentation Fund, we have been able to reduce violent crime across the Capital in order to make your bus journey even safer. Thanks for your continued custom.
Every Journey Matters,
Customer Services TeamP.S. Who are First Kernow? Are they by any chance related to the First companies that pocketed sums from Tower Transit in return for walking away from London bus operation? |
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Post by twobellstogo on Jun 25, 2018 12:52:43 GMT
First Kernow is First Group’s operations in Cornwall.
Kernow is Cornish for Cornwall.
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Post by Alexis on Jun 26, 2018 21:28:59 GMT
Wasn't really sure where to post this but is the Potters Bar open day in July still going ahead?
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Post by busaholic on Jun 26, 2018 21:53:52 GMT
First Kernow is First Group’s operations in Cornwall. Kernow is Cornish for Cornwall. I didn't QUITE make myself clear in my obviously misplaced attempt at satire. The P.S. was meant to be from TfL. I live in First Kernow land, so am only too aware of who they are. WiFi, by the way, is only on selected buses, and you can never be sure that a route meant to be worked by branded buses with wifi (basically, MMCs) actually will be on the journey you're on. |
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Post by vjaska on Jun 26, 2018 23:58:47 GMT
Wasn't really sure where to post this but is the Potters Bar open day in July still going ahead? It's still on the events pages on classicbuses.co.uk for 28th July as is the one at Holloway on 15th September  |
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Post by Alex on Jun 27, 2018 0:05:17 GMT
I didn't QUITE make myself clear in my obviously misplaced attempt at satire. The P.S. was meant to be from TfL. I live in First Kernow land, so am only too aware of who they are. Well I wasn't, and possibly learned one of those facts which could provide that all important pub quiz answer or on a more local level, a chance to get one up on the wife answering questions on The Chase. Cheers Mr. Bells  |
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