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Post by VPL630 on Jan 11, 2013 21:45:22 GMT
39, What a stupid pointless route that takes the longest possible way to putney from CJ
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Post by DT 11 on Jan 11, 2013 21:58:28 GMT
Also, it may be my imagination, but route 314 seems to have more than its fair share of drivers who are poor drivers and/or lacking in customer care. Of the routes I drive, taking just the route, I don't hate any of them. They are all nice and simple and in most cases, fairly straight lines. But once you factor in clientele it all changes and I really, really dislike the 208. It's constantly busy and the people are not the most friendly in the world. But hey, it pays the bills and at least when you are constantly busy time seems to pass more quickly I don't blame you for disliking the 208. Sometimes I dislike both the 208 and 320. I dislike the 208 even more because its impossible to board at times! IMO the way both Routes are set out is poor the timetables are so timed that both buses arrive at the same time! This doesn't make any sense. The 320 reminds me of the 129 at times because at times thin air is all that can be seen via the windows on the bus. So passengers end up waiting 10-12 mins instead of every 6 like how it used to be! Waiting at Bromley Road / Lewisham Town Hall is where the fun starts. You'll get a 208 come, every passenger wants to get on then a couple of minutes later a 320 turns up and all passengers are on the 208, then halfway down Bromley Road the 320 following ends up becoming the leader and possibly catching up to the 208 ahead. It has happened to me once! ;D . Sometimes you can get a 208 and 320 arriving together, but if the 208 comes first strangely everyone ignores the 320 . If a 320 Comes First every gets on the 320 until they see a 208 they switch . Everytime I use those Routes they are constantly overtaking each other like Mario Kart! Most of the time with the 320 taking over the leading 208 because the 208 has come already and all of the passengers have filled up the bus and stopping at every stop ahead!. . One other thing that spoils the 208/320 is the stupid Routing around the one way system that the 320 does and of course it has no choice to do that . Sometimes I think the 320 should just run all the way to Lewisham and the Frequency of the 208 and 320 made to run every 15 mins.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2013 22:30:02 GMT
The 492. The route itself is boring, just to sidestep the semantic issue. Its ridiculously infrequent & often diverted away from North Cray bring the service to one bus per hour in those parts. The only saving grace is the DW thrash up Gravel Hill though they're so naff and, well, its DT so quite often Ts go out I did a round trip today involving Bluewater, which was basically 122 to Woolwich, 96 to Bluewater, 96 back to Bexleyheath, 132 to North Greenwich, 108 to Lewisham, P4 home. I was going to take the 492 back to Bluewater but I missed it as I was sitting in McDonalds ;D sounds like I might've avoiding a boring route but I thought the DWs might be quite good on the Dartford - Bluewater section, the 96's Omnicities were great on that section. I wonder if it was made better by the fact it was non-stop - the 492 follows a similar route but is stopping. Probably would've made the bits where we picked up speed suddenly go, so I imagine the 96 is marginally better. Not going to repeat that journey again though, the Omnicities (+ an old Trident on the 122) have destroyed my back! Route 492 has to be one of the best routes in London. Those DW's are amongst the best in London. I've been on one that went at just over 50 mph at Foots Cray. Don't expect to reach those speeds if there's an E400 on the route though (obviously).
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Post by DT 11 on Jan 11, 2013 22:34:18 GMT
I did a round trip today involving Bluewater, which was basically 122 to Woolwich, 96 to Bluewater, 96 back to Bexleyheath, 132 to North Greenwich, 108 to Lewisham, P4 home. I was going to take the 492 back to Bluewater but I missed it as I was sitting in McDonalds ;D sounds like I might've avoiding a boring route but I thought the DWs might be quite good on the Dartford - Bluewater section, the 96's Omnicities were great on that section. I wonder if it was made better by the fact it was non-stop - the 492 follows a similar route but is stopping. Probably would've made the bits where we picked up speed suddenly go, so I imagine the 96 is marginally better. Not going to repeat that journey again though, the Omnicities (+ an old Trident on the 122) have destroyed my back! Route 492 has to be one of the best routes in London. Those DW's are amongst the best in London. I've been on one that went at just over 50 mph at Foots Cray. Don't expect to reach those speeds if there's an E400 on the route though (obviously). I agree with you on the 492 fleet. I like it when they appear on the 160 time to time, they have a lot of character and are quite reliable.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2013 23:49:37 GMT
The 314 is one of my local routes, never found drivers any better or worse than elsewhere TBH.
The 367 seems a popular route with drivers.
The 123 is best enjoyed on a roaring VLA being thrashed to the extreme.
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Post by M1104 on Jan 12, 2013 1:09:52 GMT
39, What a stupid pointless route that takes the longest possible way to putney from CJ All it seems to do is link a few different bits of Southfields and Putney to Clapham Junction, otherwise there's the 37, 156 and 170 for that. But that's a heavily residentual area which must be more directly useful for many who live within the estates, similar to the 200 serving Phipps Bridge. Also note that the 39's been serving Putney Heath long before the 37, which only began serving Putney Heath initially at nights due to residentual issues at the old stand for Putney Station.
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Post by IanF on Jan 12, 2013 1:16:07 GMT
I detest one route and thats the 197 as everytme I use it I cant sit down or it stinks of b-o and dodgy food also I always get the old dlas with side facing seats and I really dont like sideways sitting which otherwise where I can sit.
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Post by M1104 on Jan 12, 2013 1:27:50 GMT
But that's a heavily residentual area which must be more directly useful for many who live within the estates, similar to the 200 serving Phipps Bridge. Also note that the 39's been serving Putney Heath long before the 37, which only began serving Putney Heath initially at nights due to residentual issues at the old stand for Putney Station. I'm not arguing for it to exist, I'm just saying you wouldn't have any reason to use it unless you lived in one of those bits. Ok, but there's also Southfields Tube Station to consider, which the 156 and 170 don't serve. There's also the Wimbledon Tennis Courts (summer seasons) which may make the 39 just as busy as the 493 for that occasion. Had forgotton to add the above in my original post.
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Post by IanF on Jan 12, 2013 1:32:04 GMT
I detest one route and thats the 197 as everytme I use it I cant sit down or it stinks of b-o and dodgy food also I always get the old dlas with side facing seats and I really dont like sideways sitting which otherwise where I can sit. Have to say I like the route and DAFs on the 197 (I always sit in the sideways seats on Darts) but it really does seem to always smell like sweat and chicken on there. I think its down to personal preference but I really dont like traveling sideways if I can help it as it's just weird to me but the smell just is totally disgusting.
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Post by mre81 on Jan 12, 2013 1:34:40 GMT
37- uses some of the worst buses in London and too many turns for my liking. 109- takes away passengers from the 50 and in general, a very boring route. 319- this route is always crowded and stuck in traffic. Also it usually runs empty to Telford Avenue rather than taking a more useful route. 345- the route is way too long and slow. Definitely the route I detest the most. 468- too many bus stops. The 37 has always struck me as a lonely route, providing many unique links, which may in part account for it's unreliability. Between Peckham and Brixton it is the only route to serve many of the areas it does and quite a few schools. When I used to live on the route I always thought it could do with a school service helping out on the Peckham-Clapham Common section. One other idea I had was to extend the 129 to help the 37 out and give the 129 a purpose. Extend the 129 via the 177 to New Cross then through the back streets of Nunhead (avoiding low bridges!) to Peckham Rye then onto Brixton via the 37. If the 319 is poorly used Telford Avenue-Streatham then it could be diverted from St Leonards Church to Crystal Palace via the 249. Thus adding an extra service on those roads where the dead runs of the 133 caused consternation. It could be tied in with an extension of the 432 to Elmers End, freeing up stand space at Anerley to extend, say, the 417 there to make more stand space at the Palace.
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Post by mre81 on Jan 12, 2013 1:39:55 GMT
Have to say I like the route and DAFs on the 197 (I always sit in the sideways seats on Darts) but it really does seem to always smell like sweat and chicken on there. I think its down to personal preference but I really dont like traveling sideways if I can help it as it's just weird to me but the smell just is totally disgusting. The 197 is awful for litter and bad smells, and still haunted by elderly DLAs, despite the contract renewal with refurbished DWs. About time Arriva LS had some new deckers methinks. There have been loads pouring into North London for ages now and all we get is their knackered cast-offs! The last ones we had are 10 plate- nearly three years since we had any new ones
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Post by M1104 on Jan 12, 2013 2:17:46 GMT
I think its down to personal preference but I really dont like traveling sideways if I can help it as it's just weird to me but the smell just is totally disgusting. The 197 is awful for litter and bad smells, and still haunted by elderly DLAs, despite the contract renewal with refurbished DWs. About time Arriva LS had some new deckers methinks. There have been loads pouring into North London for ages now and all we get is their knackered cast-offs! The last ones we had are 10 plate- nearly three years since we had any new ones There's the remote possibility that Arriva may get new buses for the 60.....if Arriva win the new contract due from September and assuming new Borismasters don't cascade almost new Ts/DWs to the 60.
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Post by vjaska on Jan 12, 2013 4:11:18 GMT
Nothing wrong with DLA's, a lot are in better shape than much younger buses running around thats for sure.
The 492 is a lovely route, many thrash sections & the 53 reg Gemini's are lovely, just like Arriva London's 1st gen DW's.
As for the 37, the eastern section isn't as packed as the western section - thats were the reliability issues seem to stem from. The busiest section of the route seems to be Wandsworth to Herne Hill. At least between Wandsworth & Clapham Junction, it's got some help in the form of the 39, 170 & 337 but the Clapham Junction to Clapham Common section needs some help.
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Post by londonbusboy on Jan 12, 2013 4:19:30 GMT
Also, it may be my imagination, but route 314 seems to have more than its fair share of drivers who are poor drivers and/or lacking in customer care. That's just because I didn't get on the rota Seriously, I'd be interested to know the problems in more detail since I know most of the drivers on the 314. The 'poor driver' label seems an odd one because I believe most of the 314 drivers have been around for a while. PM me if you don't want to go into too much detail in public As for the topic at hand, as has been discussed one must decide what criteria you are using in order to say you 'hate' a route. I've not been on a route I 'hate' - although I did once take a 273 from Petts Wood to Lewisham. Constantly swinging off the main road only to re-emerge a few metres down said main road 15 minutes later gets a little tiresome! Of the routes I drive, taking just the route, I don't hate any of them. They are all nice and simple and in most cases, fairly straight lines. But once you factor in clientele it all changes and I really, really dislike the 208. It's constantly busy and the people are not the most friendly in the world. But hey, it pays the bills and at least when you are constantly busy time seems to pass more quickly Alot of drivers dont seem to like the 208 ;D but all the drivers at Bromley are friendly, yes as in any work place you get the odd few who let the side down.
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Post by vjaska on Jan 12, 2013 4:24:48 GMT
That's just because I didn't get on the rota Seriously, I'd be interested to know the problems in more detail since I know most of the drivers on the 314. The 'poor driver' label seems an odd one because I believe most of the 314 drivers have been around for a while. PM me if you don't want to go into too much detail in public As for the topic at hand, as has been discussed one must decide what criteria you are using in order to say you 'hate' a route. I've not been on a route I 'hate' - although I did once take a 273 from Petts Wood to Lewisham. Constantly swinging off the main road only to re-emerge a few metres down said main road 15 minutes later gets a little tiresome! Of the routes I drive, taking just the route, I don't hate any of them. They are all nice and simple and in most cases, fairly straight lines. But once you factor in clientele it all changes and I really, really dislike the 208. It's constantly busy and the people are not the most friendly in the world. But hey, it pays the bills and at least when you are constantly busy time seems to pass more quickly Alot of drivers dont seem to like the 208 ;D but all the drivers at Bromley are friendly, yes as in any work place you get the odd few who let the side down. I've yet to encounter any on my many journeys on the 227 & 314
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