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Post by snoggle on Oct 7, 2017 0:23:22 GMT
People knew their nearest night routes two - three decades ago. There was a feeling the West End was the place to go drinking. Now it may not be. Hence the hot dog sellers are no longer visible outside Canada House in the small hours. I think that's more to do with the police/Enviromental Health shutting them down. In my night bus riding days I would see the police move them on - only for them to return a few minutes later once the police busied themselves with something else. Well that and the fact that there are two 24 hour supermarkets at T Sq plus Maccie Dees. There are other places open near Leicester Square and some at New Oxford St. Obviously some people do still crave the "burger / hot dog of death" that those mobile grease wagons dispensed but they have to look to McDs or Subway for fulfilment. Can't recall seeing one grease wagon on my last Night Bus snapathon. |
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Post by snoggle on Oct 7, 2017 0:25:55 GMT
Back to more modern times, it will be interesting to see how recorded passenger levels hold up ( or not ) on these revised frequencies. I have a sneaking feeling that on the N9 for example, it’s probably now just a very busy 20 min route. I’ll be checking it out later to see. It's going to be interesting to see if TfL publish the patronage numbers next May at around the usual time. I am expecting an absolute "car crash" with the numbers and especially on night bus routes. I think it will be very depressing reading. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2017 0:30:51 GMT
Back to more modern times, it will be interesting to see how recorded passenger levels hold up ( or not ) on these revised frequencies. I have a sneaking feeling that on the N9 for example, it’s probably now just a very busy 20 min route. I’ll be checking it out later to see. It's going to be interesting to see if TfL publish the patronage numbers next May at around the usual time. I am expecting an absolute "car crash" with the numbers and especially on night bus routes. I think it will be very depressing reading. You may be surprised... Just seen a full (N)14 > Putney at Knightsbridge. People standing upstairs. Although the N97 behind it had 10 passengers. Piccadilly Line is up to its "severe delays" tricks again. N9's w/b are still busy .. Half full loading on 0149 ex Hammersmith This with the current w/b service on PL running OK at the moment. |
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Post by vjaska on Oct 7, 2017 1:04:09 GMT
It's going to be interesting to see if TfL publish the patronage numbers next May at around the usual time. I am expecting an absolute "car crash" with the numbers and especially on night bus routes. I think it will be very depressing reading. You may be surprised... Just seen a full (N)14 > Putney at Knightsbridge. People standing upstairs. Although the N97 behind it had 10 passengers. Piccadilly Line is up to its "severe delays" tricks again. N9's w/b are still busy .. Half full loading on 0149 ex Hammersmith This with the current w/b service on PL running OK at the moment. Whilst at the O2 yesterday (I was watching Mickey Flanagan - top notch comedian  ), I noticed the 108 double deck extras were all practically empty but the regular 108's were rammed full - not sure if that is normal but rather defeats the purpose of putting on extras in the first place? |
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Post by redexpress on Oct 7, 2017 1:40:55 GMT
It's going to be interesting to see if TfL publish the patronage numbers next May at around the usual time. I am expecting an absolute "car crash" with the numbers and especially on night bus routes. I think it will be very depressing reading. You may be surprised... Just seen a full (N)14 > Putney at Knightsbridge. People standing upstairs. Although the N97 behind it had 10 passengers. Piccadilly Line is up to its "severe delays" tricks again. N9's w/b are still busy .. Half full loading on 0149 ex Hammersmith This with the current w/b service on PL running OK at the moment. My N91 home was nearly full - not too busy leaving TrafSq, but by the time we left King's Cross there were no free seats on the upper deck, and lots of grumbles about the long wait for the bus (it was bang on time). Now some of this is down to the eastbound Picc being up the spout, but a lot of the custom came from local travel along the Caledonian Road, or to tubeless places like Hornsey Rise. North of Crouch End the bus was practically empty. The clear pattern is that people travelling further out will stick with the tube even if the service is disrupted, but for people travelling within inner London the N91 is still a very useful option. Busiest night bus seen by me tonight was the westbound N205 - packed to the rafters and with steamed-up windows, just like the good/bad old days. |
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Post by redexpress on Oct 7, 2017 1:45:01 GMT
Whilst at the O2 yesterday (I was watching Mickey Flanagan - top notch comedian ), I noticed the 108 double deck extras were all practically empty but the regular 108's were rammed full - not sure if that is normal but rather defeats the purpose of putting on extras in the first place? In theory the 108 DDs are timed to slot in between regular 108s to create an even service. But I think what sometimes happens is that the regular 108s are often running a bit late, so the DD departs just after a SD has mopped up most of the crowds. Of course it doesn't help that *some* 108D drivers seem to have a knack for leaving right behind a regular 108 so that they don't have to do any work. |
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Post by 6HP502C on Oct 9, 2017 2:01:35 GMT
A night trip doodle, if I may. It all started with me driving the 00.50 Hammersmith to Wimbledon RRBS yesterday (Saturday night/Sunday morning). I saw a westbound N9 making its way around Hammersmith gyratory with around 60 people on - very busy but mostly seated. Following this trip was the 01.17 dead run to South Mimms. I headed up through Wimbledon Common to the A3 and cruised down Roehampton Lane. At the bottom, I was surprised to see a 72 fully packed out with what mostly looked like students. Presumably they'd been out in Hammersmith. I wondered if passengers along the way had to be turned away. By this time of day the frequency had dropped to one single deck every 30 minutes. By the looks of things maybe a 15 minute headway could be justified until at least 2am. Continuing along towards Richmond, I dived north onto the South Circ and was on the A406 in no time. I overtook a N83 at Ealing Common which had a fair load on - maybe 30 or so people. I was again surprised to have been flagged at every stop between Ealing Common and Hanger Lane - nice to see a bit of demand for that route. After dropping my bus off at South Mimms and reaching Night Tube, I travelled to Canada Water where I was faced with a 25 minute wait for a 47. It was 03:20 by this point and I was sorely, sorely tempted to take an Uber for £7. If I wasn't so interested in seeing for myself if night buses are as underutilised as the cuts are suggesting, I would have. After 20 minutes or so minutes a N199 turned up and almost cleared the stop of the 30 or so people waiting. Looks fairly busy to me. I decided against taking it. Laziness played a part as it's a bit of a walk home from where it stops, but it also takes forever to get to Lewisham - I checked my app whilst waiting and it was like in 30 minutes, I'd only be in Greenwich Town Centre, whereas the 47 would have gotten me home. I know the N199 is long, but I wonder if it really needs to take the timetabled 115-6 minutes to complete a trip end to end  . I could hear the Euro 6 E400's fans going like the clappers well before the 47 came into sight. I previously stated this was an unattractive service to use due to the frustratingly excessive running times between Shoreditch and Canada Water. The bus was driven with spirit - it was superb. There were probably around 30 people on the bus on departure from Canada Water. We served a few stops along the way but I had to hold on at times. Despite the clear run, we got to Lewisham 2 minutes late. If it's like this I'll definitely be using it to get home from Canada Water again. If the wait is more than 15 minutes though, I can see myself going via the Overground to New Cross Gate where there are lots of buses, including the similarly fast 321. People are definitely interchanging from Night Tube to buses and it'd be a massive shame to see night services out of New Cross cut - the N21 and N89 are already well loaded at peak times leaving New Cross. |
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Post by snoggle on Oct 10, 2017 14:00:19 GMT
Ms Pidgeon has been reading the forum again!  Latest Mayor's Questions .... |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 14:11:27 GMT
Ms Pidgeon has been reading the forum again! Latest Mayor's Questions .... Don't stop at Forest Hill !! Croydon preferably! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 14:15:06 GMT
One strong trend I noticed was a fair few women , seemed to be using the night buses I travelled on ( weekend )
I wonder , whether they feel safer on a bus at night ?
I caught a Piccadilly line train from Hounslow West at 0240. Deserted platforms, staff member asleep in his box at the gates. Didn't feel very safe to me.
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Post by sid on Oct 10, 2017 14:31:39 GMT
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Post by sid on Oct 10, 2017 15:18:53 GMT
Ms Pidgeon has been reading the forum again! Latest Mayor's Questions .... Don't stop at Forest Hill !! Croydon preferably! Indeed, the N172 that I suggested. |
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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Oct 10, 2017 22:18:26 GMT
One strong trend I noticed was a fair few women , seemed to be using the night buses I travelled on ( weekend ) I wonder , whether they feel safer on a bus at night ? I caught a Piccadilly line train from Hounslow West at 0240. Deserted platforms, staff member asleep in his box at the gates. Didn't feel very safe to me. They probably take an Uber ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ As a young woman who isn't exactly terrified of night buses (last month was 1 year anniversary of me completing all N-routes), I can't relate here. Sure, I've had few dodgy types attempt to 'flirt' with me and so on, but most have backed off, or I've successfully got rid of them myself. Had things turned sour - I think I'd head to the driver for backup. Fortunately, never was this bad. As for the worst... I stay clear of side roads and avenues. I always wait at bus stops. And next to the bus at termini, too. I'm lucky enough to have lived at places never too far off from the main road, when it comes to the walk home. It is my right to feel safe, as it's the potential perpetrator's fault for any wrongdoing, not mine - I'm just there minding my own business and oughtn't feel scared at any point. See what I mean? I am careful enough not to "tempt fate" (whatever that means), but I won't hide and refrain from what I wanna do due to some bunch of arseholes, you know? Might scare some of you but I often walk with my camera out at night too… Not sure if I'm brave or just reckless  I know I shouldn't… But night snapping is fun! |
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Post by 6HP502C on Oct 11, 2017 0:36:17 GMT
Ms Pidgeon has been reading the forum again! Latest Mayor's Questions .... Maybe there's a case for this one, though also not convinced it's worth running beyond Sydenham Cobbs Corner where there's a convenient turning point. I often floor the late night London Bridge to West Croydon rail replacement bus service on a Saturday night and they are always ridiculously busy from New Cross Gate. I'm not sure how TfL would feel about double deck buses running along Honor Oak Park Road - low trees, narrow and it's entirely possible to tip a bus over if driving at the speed limit along there. A novel idea would be to run a half hourly temporary bus route from New Cross Gate to Sydenham until such a time a proper route could be put into place. The N171 is going to be even more hammered than it already is out of NXG from December so perhaps it could be interworked... Would be relatively cheap to run if only 2 buses were used. |
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Post by overgroundcommuter on Oct 11, 2017 11:24:17 GMT
The Forest Hill Society raised this with Caroline Pidgeon recently, alas the question as there is clearly demand for late night Overground services south of New Cross Gate.
Currently the RRB's run every 5 mins between NXG and Crystal Palace, with deckers between London Bridge and West Croydon. The NXG to Crystal Palace option using single deckers may be an option.
6bph NXG-CP
6tph - LBG-WCY.
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), I noticed the 108 double deck extras were all practically empty but the regular 108's were rammed full - not sure if that is normal but rather defeats the purpose of putting on extras in the first place?
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