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Post by Volvo on Oct 8, 2014 21:23:55 GMT
Wonder if they think the 109 might be a good idea given its fairly straight route though it's routing through Croydon would need a thorough looking at. Even though I live plenty of miles away from the 109, please don't
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Post by M1104 on Oct 8, 2014 21:27:12 GMT
Wonder if they think the 109 might be a good idea given its fairly straight route though it's routing through Croydon would need a thorough looking at. Similarly with the 87
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Post by Nathan on Oct 8, 2014 21:28:14 GMT
Wonder if they think the 109 might be a good idea given its fairly straight route though it's routing through Croydon would need a thorough looking at. Similarly with the 87 Route 32 also perhaps?
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Post by snoggle on Oct 8, 2014 21:50:33 GMT
Wonder if they think the 109 might be a good idea given its fairly straight route though it's routing through Croydon would need a thorough looking at. Somehow I doubt it. I expect the possibility of buying 200 extra buses has been under consideration by TfL for a fair while. They'd have had to talk with Wrightbus over a number of months to suss out if they and their suppliers could make the buses by April 2016. It's no small ask to boost manufacture like that - effectively a doubling over 18 months. I would also expect the operators to have been approached because of the potential logistical issues and impacts on their fleets. Not every operator can cascade vehicles and may face losses / high costs for breaking leases. If you were Tower Transit and faced the prospect of 70 Volvo double decks being made redundant (if the 25 converted) you might want to understand where you stood. Finally I would expect TfL to have also sounded out Board members and the Mayor / Deputy Mayor for Transport well before engaging with Wrightbus and anyone else. You don't put up papers to the Board without being reasonably confident that you've got buy in from the people who count. Given the lead times involved I'd have expected TfL to have sought competitive prices for a NRM option on the 109 and it wouldn't have been a big issue to equip that route in preference to something else *if* it had been a priority. I rather expect that euro6 hybrids are more than enough for the 109 to help with improving air quality on that busy corridor. I may be proved wrong but would TfL really allow Abellio to commit to a big order for E40H MMCs only to have them dumped for NB4Ls? I can't quite see it. I'm also wondering whether the MMCs will be on a long chassis given the obvious need to bolster capacity as much as possible and that Leon Daniels has said publicly that long two axle double deckers would have to be bought to get as many seats as possible. The 109 strikes me as a good candidate for such vehicles.
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Post by ServerKing on Oct 8, 2014 22:13:19 GMT
Wonder if they think the 109 might be a good idea given its fairly straight route though it's routing through Croydon would need a thorough looking at. Even though I live plenty of miles away from the 109, please don't Croydon needs a thorough look at in general, let alone any route for the WEfLs (White Elephant for London) to go down... traffic pinch points (Thornton Heath, Norbury, Streatham, Brixton Hill to name a few) and when it comes to hills, it will run out of puff quicker than West Ham United at the top of the League when the season starts Keep them off the 243 and 267 please
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Post by M1104 on Oct 8, 2014 22:27:02 GMT
@ Snoggle
Couldn't for example the MMCs then be used in bidding for retention of the 35, 40 or 381? By chance they are all due for renewal in 2016 and will most likely be spec'd hybrids anyway.
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Post by joefrombow on Oct 8, 2014 23:41:01 GMT
Winge winge winge ... Bring them on I say ! they are here now , so might aswell have some more ! Bring them to the suburbs I say speed up some routes like the 86 and the 5 , Everyone has to use smart cards so there really isn't a need for the driver to check everyone has the right ticket anymore , 3 doors speeds up boarding and alighting we have to move with the times however I do think for the cost we should of just kept the bendies for another few years then maybe trialled tri axle on the busy routes with the same 3 door concept but another 10/15 years and I reckon we will have Autonomous buses the technology is already out there, changing times ahead in the next 15/16 years !
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Post by vjaska on Oct 8, 2014 23:50:00 GMT
Winge winge winge ... Bring them on I say ! they are here now , so might aswell have some more ! Bring them to the suburbs I say speed up some routes like the 86 and the 5 , Everyone has to use smart cards so there really isn't a need for the driver to check everyone has the right ticket anymore , 3 doors speeds up boarding and alighting we have to move with the times however I do think for the cost we should of just kept the bendies for another few years then maybe trialled tri axle on the busy routes with the same 3 door concept but another 10/15 years and I reckon we will have Autonomous buses the technology is already out there, changing times ahead in the next 15/16 years ! The only way you'll speed up the 86 is remove all the traffic from its route.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2014 23:18:16 GMT
Winge winge winge ... Bring them on I say ! they are here now , so might aswell have some more ! Bring them to the suburbs I say speed up some routes like the 86 and the 5 , Everyone has to use smart cards so there really isn't a need for the driver to check everyone has the right ticket anymore , 3 doors speeds up boarding and alighting we have to move with the times however I do think for the cost we should of just kept the bendies for another few years then maybe trialled tri axle on the busy routes with the same 3 door concept but another 10/15 years and I reckon we will have Autonomous buses the technology is already out there, changing times ahead in the next 15/16 years ! The only way you'll speed up the 86 is remove all the traffic from its route. Or get monster trucks and run down all the pesky little cars. On a more serious note, Spirit of Ilford's are the only thing that can solve the traffic problem.
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Post by sid on Oct 16, 2014 9:30:19 GMT
Winge winge winge ... Bring them on I say ! they are here now , so might aswell have some more ! Bring them to the suburbs I say speed up some routes like the 86 and the 5 , Everyone has to use smart cards so there really isn't a need for the driver to check everyone has the right ticket anymore , 3 doors speeds up boarding and alighting we have to move with the times however I do think for the cost we should of just kept the bendies for another few years then maybe trialled tri axle on the busy routes with the same 3 door concept but another 10/15 years and I reckon we will have Autonomous buses the technology is already out there, changing times ahead in the next 15/16 years ! Yes all the whinging does get tiresome, there's nothing wrong with the buses themselves now that the aircon problems seem to be sorted, the question is about the way they are used. The whole point of them was an open platform and conductor and without those features they have no advantage over any conventional two door bus. I rode on an OPO 148 from Victoria to Bayswater Road recently and sat on one of the rear lower deck seats and I could count on one hand the number of people who got on or off through the rear entrance.
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Post by snoggle on Oct 16, 2014 13:28:01 GMT
Yes all the whinging does get tiresome, there's nothing wrong with the buses themselves now that the aircon problems seem to be sorted, the question is about the way they are used. Are the air con problems sorted? I haven't heard that. I've heard bland statements from TfL trying to deny that they've had public complaints [1] and that the NB4L is "no worse" than other buses. TfL state in the paper for 200 extra buses that more work is required on the air cooling system and the next batch will probably be modified in some way. [1] they've subsequently acknowledged there have been complaints.
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Post by sid on Oct 16, 2014 13:36:46 GMT
Yes all the whinging does get tiresome, there's nothing wrong with the buses themselves now that the aircon problems seem to be sorted, the question is about the way they are used. Are the air con problems sorted? I haven't heard that. I've heard bland statements from TfL trying to deny that they've had public complaints [1] and that the NB4L is "no worse" than other buses. TfL state in the paper for 200 extra buses that more work is required on the air cooling system and the next batch will probably be modified in some way. [1] they've subsequently acknowledged there have been complaints. I can only speak as I find and the LT's I've been on recently have been fine
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Post by vjaska on Oct 16, 2014 15:16:21 GMT
Are the air con problems sorted? I haven't heard that. I've heard bland statements from TfL trying to deny that they've had public complaints [1] and that the NB4L is "no worse" than other buses. TfL state in the paper for 200 extra buses that more work is required on the air cooling system and the next batch will probably be modified in some way. [1] they've subsequently acknowledged there have been complaints. I can only speak as I find and the LT's I've been on recently have been fine Coincidentally, the temperature has dropped recently so that could be why they are bearable at this time - I've certainly not seen anything to suggest that they've all been 100% sorted in terms of temperature control inside the saloon.
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Post by sid on Oct 16, 2014 15:34:06 GMT
I can only speak as I find and the LT's I've been on recently have been fine Coincidentally, the temperature has dropped recently so that could be why they are bearable at this time - I've certainly not seen anything to suggest that they've all been 100% sorted in terms of temperature control inside the saloon. I was talking about over the last few months, I know some people just love to find any stick to beat them with but......................
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Post by vjaska on Oct 16, 2014 15:51:14 GMT
Coincidentally, the temperature has dropped recently so that could be why they are bearable at this time - I've certainly not seen anything to suggest that they've all been 100% sorted in terms of temperature control inside the saloon. I was talking about over the last few months, I know some people just love to find any stick to beat them with but...................... Believe it or not, I wasnt making a criticism of the bus - all I said is that the temperature has dropped recently so that could be why they are bearable at this time. During the hot weather, they were certainly unbearable to ride as I rode some and they were far worse than any other bus I rode at that time. I rode one on the 8 last Saturday and it was fine no doubt because the temperature outside was much cooler than it was in the summer. Every bus becomes bearable heat wise as the winter sets in unless the heating is broke lol. As for people finding any fault with the NBfL, there are also some fans of the NBfL who just love covering up the blatant faults and abuse people who happen to disagree with their view. This is why I've decided to stay out of these discussions recently because if I was to state my view of the bus like I have done in the past, then there would be a massive uproar from most members of the pro NBfL club and I'd be vilified from pillar to post.
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