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Post by snoggle on Jan 30, 2014 19:33:09 GMT
123 to Ilford, 25/86 to Manor Park, 474 to North Woolwich then the Woolwich Ferry? Or what about swapping the 25/86 for the 366 to Beckton for the 474?
I wish luck to all the staff helping out people that day (and obviously those getting around) , especially because they will probably receive a lot of hostility to the public who will have a go at the first person who looks like staff (or on Twitter feeds like SWT here today and yesterday due to signalling issues).
That's terrible complicated! 29 to Trafalgar Sq, walk down to Whitehall and get the 53. And you've both had time to think about your answers without the person standing in front of you with a queue of others behind them. People who use rail to get around London really *hate* being dumped on to buses. They also hate being told to travel to somewhere close to their destination and then be told to walk. People simply cannot cope with breaks to their routine. Oh and you have to then tell how long it will take and what bus stop to go to to get their bus. An alternative now available is 230 to Walthamstow, 97 to Stratford International, DLR to Woolwich. Another would be 29 to T Sq / 141 to London Bridge, train from Charing Cross or LOB respectively. Or 41/123/230 to T Hale and then train to Stratford and DLR from there.
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Post by guybowden on Jan 30, 2014 19:59:03 GMT
London Bus Company could be providing RM/RML/RTs as replacement buses as my dad had a phone call asking if he was available for driving on either or both the days of the strike.
With what I have read on this thread and my dad getting that phone call, it could turn into an old London Transport replacement service, with proper buses!! (Especially if Ensign and London Bus Company bring out RM/RML/RTs).
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2014 20:35:51 GMT
We have seen Ensign running on route 25 in the past so you never know Is it me or are TFL really trying it;s best to keep the strike at a minimum?
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Post by snoggle on Jan 31, 2014 0:31:54 GMT
We have seen Ensign running on route 25 in the past so you never know It's a standard tactic to have a propoganda war via the media and press releases. Of course TfL will wish to present a reasonable face to the public and to show it is trying to minimise the impact of the strike. Unless there is a last minute breakthrough I suspect the disruption to services will be severe. What is a little telling is the public's response to losing ticket offices. A vox pop on the telly the other day (not a representative sample I accept) showed most passengers were against LU's plans and were supportive of the union's opposition. This suggests LU may struggle to get the public on side no matter how many times they repeat the same message. My own view is that LU will simply implement the changes and push all the staff through the "reapply for your job" process even if it means repeated strikes. The stakes are too high for LU not to "win" given the way the financial numbers are set in the business plan. What might get interesting is if RMT officials, who work for LU and are in scope for the changes, end up not retaining their jobs via the restructuring process. That could really bring the pains on.
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Post by Steve80 on Jan 31, 2014 6:00:56 GMT
TfL Press Release about the LU strikes and mitigation measures. The usual "100 extra buses" appears in the list of measures. Note Tramlink drivers are on strike on 5 Feb. Tramlink on strike? You got to be kidding
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Post by TA1 on Jan 31, 2014 6:33:21 GMT
what practical use is a token 100 buses. A peak hour tube train holds 1000 so covering 9 trains out of a few hundred trains. This is a PR stunt rather than London wide measures to move people. I take your point but London simply does not have enough spare buses and drivers hanging around to replicate the tube's peak time capacity. If TfL did nothing to try to bolster the bus service then it would be criticised to hell and back. I agree 100 buses is a pin prick in trying to deal with 3+m tube journeys being disrupted. Now should I be completely horrible on the day of the strike and go and ask the tube ambassadors infeasibly complex journey requests? (I have done strike cover in the past so have been on the receiving end of hundreds of such requests! - Turnpike Lane to Woolwich Arsenal with no Picc Line running was one that was hard to deal with.) I feel that some 'Tube ambassadors' may lack some general alternative travel knowledge, I saw not too long ago on a job site an advertisement for individuals who stand at Bus stops in the blue hi-vi's jackets. Sometimes boarding buses and stating the station. Within the job description,it was stated that. - You'll be required to stand for long periods of time -prior to starting your shift, be aware of any closures. With those individuals being Agency staff, how many will take the job as seriously * disclaimer - not taking anything away from temp staff. I feel that on strike days , despite mass amounts of publication being advertised in the run up to strikes. As customers normal conviences are temporarily withdrawn, they take it out on any individual affiliated to LU, noticed it myself in many instances especially in times of severe distruption. I look towards twitter feeds (TFL Bus Alerts & GA). As for the request from TPL to Woolwich Arsenal, I feel that a quicker suggestion could brought to the table. 141 to Bank/Monument - DLR to Woolwich Arsenal, but if Bank is closed for whatever reason 141 to Monument, 15/15H to Tower Gateway, DLR to Woolwich Arsenal. Neither suggestion took long to come up with, may have an advantage as we may have a good sense of direction and travel.
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Post by snoggle on Jan 31, 2014 9:19:36 GMT
When I have done the "strike cover" role - it's nothing new despite all the media hype this time - it has involved standing for hours and hours either in freezing ticket halls or in the street. I have often been on my own with no source of accurate information on the service - when I did Turnpike Lane I had to run down into the station to speak to the supervisor about the service and then go back up again. No smartphones and apps then! When at Turnpike Lane I had two bus inspectors stand 10 feet behind me and watch how I dealt with people. After about 10 minutes observation they sauntered over and declared "oh, you do know where the buses go" and I just said "yes". They then wandered off to corral the crowds at the 29's bus stop. I have had similar responses from LU station staff "oh, someone from head office who knows where the trains go".
When I have done this work with colleagues from LU / TfL they have all been astounded at the extent of my transport system knowledge. It's evident that the majority of employees have no real knowledge of the system beyond the bits they use on a regular basis. I "coached" a few people at work about what to expect and what info to take with them - they didn't know about spider maps or anything like that. Many have a limited geographic knowledge of London. I'm not criticising here - it's just how things are - and it means there is a risk that an "ambassador" has little more clue than the person they are helping. As an example at Walthamstow someone wanted to go to Debden and a colleague started trying to send the person via Central London (the Vic Line was running). I had to interrupt and say "go upstairs and catch the 20 bus". The colleague lived locally but had clue there was a bus to Debden!
During the Olympics I was at Trafalgar Square one Saturday morning waiting for a w/b 9. There was an Olympics ambassador near the stop and he was asked by some tourists why the 9 was apparently "stuck" 8 minutes away (according to Countdown). Of course the bus was simply at Aldwych awaiting its departure time. I had to intervene to explain what was going on. The ambassador said "oh you should have volunteered they don't tell us anything like that". I just smiled and said that I had offered my services but no one had contacted me.
I feel sorry for the drivers on the 123 and 230 if there is a strike next week. If the Vic line only runs from Seven Sisters they're going to have a load of cross people from Walthamstow being dumped at T'ham Police Station / Bus Garage for the station.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2014 12:36:18 GMT
TFL are plugging these coach services in addition to over 100 extra buses on "key" routes....
Golders Green - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Brent Cross - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria (Green Line) Hillingdon - Shepherds Bus/Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria (Oxford Tube & X90) Hammersmith - Kensington - Hyde park Corner - Victoria (Green Line) Stratford - Bow - Aldgate - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Bexley - Canary Wharf - Aldgate - Embankment - Victoria Street (Commuter) Coulsdon - Wallington - Streatham - Stockwell - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Sutton - Wallington - Streatham - Stockwell - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Eltham - Lewisham - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Victoria Coach Station (NX)
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Post by snoggle on Jan 31, 2014 14:32:53 GMT
TFL are plugging these coach services in addition to over 100 extra buses on "key" routes.... Golders Green - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Brent Cross - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria (Green Line) Hillingdon - Shepherds Bus/Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria (Oxford Tube & X90) Hammersmith - Kensington - Hyde park Corner - Victoria (Green Line) Stratford - Bow - Aldgate - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Bexley - Canary Wharf - Aldgate - Embankment - Victoria Street (Commuter) Coulsdon - Wallington - Streatham - Stockwell - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Sutton - Wallington - Streatham - Stockwell - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Eltham - Lewisham - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Victoria Coach Station (NX) You beat me to it. I saw this extra info on the press release earlier and I think this is the first time the suburban stops have been advertised. I suspect people will turn up at Hillingdon saying "can I use my Oyster card?" What is quite telling is that there are no mentions of Heathrow Airport being served by any coach services from London even though I think some National Express routes do stop. EDIT - I checked some fares earlier. Victoria to Lewisham by coach is about £3.80 single. Both the Oxford Tube and Espress X90 charge £4 peak single Victoria to Hillingdon but same day / next day return is only £6. That's £4 cheaper than a peak return on the tube. A 10 journey ticket is only £36 on either route so if the coach stops were convenient it's way cheaper than an equivalent Z16 weekly Travelcard. Makes me wonder whether a lot of people do commute on the coaches from Hillingdon into London. Peak frequencies are certainly impressive.
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Post by rambo on Jan 31, 2014 19:56:25 GMT
As usual, the poor bloody buses will have to pick up the pieces..............
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Post by moz on Jan 31, 2014 20:40:38 GMT
As usual, the poor bloody buses will have to pick up the pieces.............. I hear ya brother! I'll see how the first one goes, if it's rough they're not seeing me for the second one! Moz
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2014 20:49:50 GMT
TFL are plugging these coach services in addition to over 100 extra buses on "key" routes.... Golders Green - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Brent Cross - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria (Green Line) Hillingdon - Shepherds Bus/Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria (Oxford Tube & X90) Hammersmith - Kensington - Hyde park Corner - Victoria (Green Line) Stratford - Bow - Aldgate - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Bexley - Canary Wharf - Aldgate - Embankment - Victoria Street (Commuter) Coulsdon - Wallington - Streatham - Stockwell - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Sutton - Wallington - Streatham - Stockwell - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Eltham - Lewisham - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Victoria Coach Station (NX) Almost like the old Green Line days
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Post by rambo on Feb 1, 2014 16:48:46 GMT
As usual, the poor bloody buses will have to pick up the pieces.............. I hear ya brother! I'll see how the first one goes, if it's rough they're not seeing me for the second one! Moz Without doubt, the most stressed ive ever been is when the tube strikes are on. Packed buses, people moaning, running late and not one passenger appriciates the fact that london buses always run.
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Post by snoggle on Feb 1, 2014 19:23:46 GMT
TfL Press Release about the LU strikes and mitigation measures. The usual "100 extra buses" appears in the list of measures. Note Tramlink drivers are on strike on 5 Feb. Tramlink on strike? You got to be kidding The Tramlink strike has apparently been called off. I saw a tweet from TfL earlier today saying this.
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Post by snoggle on Feb 2, 2014 20:20:03 GMT
Advance notice via BBC's Tom Edwards as to possible tube services during the strike. Looks very like what has happened before but the Victoria Line service looks more sparse than in the past - cue murder on the Wood Green 123 and 230s from not serving Seven Sisters . Stratford looks guaranteed to be murderous without the Central Line. Tweet no 1Tweet no 2TfL Official infoObviously the reality may well differ from the predictions just before anyone refers back to this to say it is / was wrong!
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