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Post by john on Feb 27, 2017 9:47:09 GMT
I've heard drivers getting earache from passengers, I think this a prime reason behind the drop in passenger numbers. People will accept traffic delays but when there is a clear road ahead and the driver is just dawdling along and waiting ages at every stop, grrrr!! I absolutely agree, and as passenger I find this dawdling incredibly frustrating and a good reason to avoid the bus. I often check to see how far behind the next bus is, and if it's close to the scheduled headway (as more often than not it is), I feel smoke coming out my ears from frustration! TfL really need to get a grip. I have a rule on headway routes, if I'm early by my time card and catching my leader, I'll hold back. If I'm bang on time or late and catching, well that's when the controller needs to step their game up and start controlling. Unfortunately there are drivers or are the opposite of slow and will floor it, run as early as possible and then leave the stand early just avoid issue, causing problems for the one behind. Really annoys me when I have a leader like that!
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Post by capitalomnibus on Feb 27, 2017 14:04:04 GMT
The 393 also takes meal relief there at Mildmay Park Really?, every driver I have met in there always talking about 38 or 73. Why would their meal relief be @ Mildmay Park anyway? its not even on route so where do the drivers changeover? as I thought this wall all done @ Clapton as I am always seeing 393s run light to Garage from the Pond @ various times of the day. They used to be all done at Clapton, but this was changed due to delays getting to and from the garage. So now its done at Highbury and Islington, with drivers walking or getting a bus down to mildmay park. Some may not bother and hang around in shops.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Mar 19, 2017 13:28:08 GMT
The London Bus Scene has got incredibly dull over the last 10 years or so personally on an enthusiast level - liveries started being removed to reveal the blandness that is 100% red, operators own specs have all been eradicated, vehicles are getting more and more dull due to emissions ratings and economical bits and bobs - a world away from the network I grew up with. As a kid, I had loads of interesting buses to grow up with in Brixton - Titans, Metrobuses, Leyland Olympians (those three buses becoming my all time favourites), Volvo Citybuses, Volvo Olympians, and even in the low floor era with Darts, DLA's, AVL's, PDL's (the double deck ones with London General), PVL's, DW's & the brilliant Connex Tridents - all that variety made every bus journey different. If I was growing up today, I very much doubt I'd be interested in buses at all on that front. All the lovely liveries that have been consigned to history - London & Country two tone green & red, red & cream branding on the 159's RM's, Cowies Yellow Stripes, the excellent Metrobus yellow & blue, Stagecoach stripes & then swirls, Arriva's cowhorn etc - I could go on. I did enjoy reading bus maps and seeing bus routes go further than they do now and the odd workings they did but whilst I miss it, there was good reasoning behind it personally. My favourite of these was the 109 - during the 90's, it ran in overlapping sections - Trafalgar Square to Croydon & Brixton to Purley with Sunday's running Trafalgar Square to Purley! Sadly being too young meant I never could ride these long routes and that would be one thing I'd love to go back and do. What also was great is bus journeys were much more quicker - in the 90's, 20mph speed limits practically didn't exist, there weren't nearly as many speed bumps as there are now and certainly main roads never had any unlike today not to mention there wasn't millions of traffic lights on the same road so even at worse, you were usually guaranteed a decent journey. Overall, I do think I've lost some love for the London network as it's nowhere near as exciting as it once was and now that I've done all the standard routes in London, I'll be heading out of London a lot more - I suggest many more on here, particularly the youngsters, to give the provinces a go as its such a vastly different experience altogether - I've done Luton, Maidstone, Dublin, Blackpool, Brighton, Crawley & Eastbourne as well as nearly the entire Abellio Surrey network and all the journeys were great. A further consequence of all the standardisation is that even routes changing operator can be less exciting on the road than on paper. Where cascaded buses are used, there is not even the joy of riding new buses. Even where new buses are used, these can be familiar types for the area in question eg more Enviro 400s when Metroline (HT) gained route 91 or when Stagecoach gained extra Romford routes in 2013. I'm glad that you are enjoying some travels outside London. I enjoy a trip most months locally or in London. In February I rode inevitable First buses to link Bury with Rochdale, Todmorden and Halifax. However, on the way I sampled Rosso, TLC and Yorkshire Tiger buses. The scenery there as well as liveries can be more refreshing than London's "red concrete", at the risk of exagerrating. Similarly, yesterday in Leicester my 5 Arriva buses (out of a total of 9 buses) were rare if not unique for Arriva. Unique were Sapphire Volvo B7TL & B9TL. Rare were refurbished ex-London bendibus and Enviro 400 with e-leather seating - both types Arriva only otherwise use in Merseyside - and Enviro 400-MMC, which Arriva otherwise only use in Herts & Essex.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Mar 19, 2017 13:36:35 GMT
Firstly , most of my life I've been interested in Londons buses. Back when I was younger, the variety of buses may not have been as varied as now, but the actual network of routes was far more interesting. Peak hour , daytime only & summer Sunday extensions were quite common. Different garages running on the same routes with different types of buses, and a sudden transformation on Sundays with no RM's out, and Titans and Metrobuses ruled the West End. That was interesting. Now, all I see is blandness around. A sea of all over red. Operators and garages pretty much identical, all trying to out do each other in terms of cost cutting, efficiencies and just more blandness. TfL seem to regard running buses as something they have to do as opposed to wanting to do. The never ending "temporary frequency reductions" , buses turning short because of roadworks or bridge closures, the total lack of inspiration and money to provide new services and better links. Just look at how many decent ideas people on this group come up with. Will any of that happen ? Of course not. It's pure fantasy. I love London and the variety of life within in it, and this is my most important interest, travelling through areas like Bethnal Green & Bermondsey will always interest me, and the best way , no matter where you are in the world, to savour local life , is to travel on a local bus. As for what bus, who operates it , I couldn't care less. It's red, has wheels. Like you, I miss Sunday variations. I often used to enjoy Bank Holiday travels to sample these. Indeed, there was a time when I used to feel that the August Bank Holiday and London could have been made for eachother! Since 1994, I have only spent 3 August Bank Holidays in London. (These were 2000, 2002 & 2011 in case you're curious). Also, although I like each company having its own moquette, this is lessening as some vehicles have LT moquettes, and regrettably not just LTs now. Furthermore, fewer vehicles change moquette upon refurbishment than a few years ago. I incidentally miss some cascades across LBL in the name of standardisation. The X/FW/BN reshuffle of 15.8.81 could of course no longer happen now for example.
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Post by ServerKing on Mar 19, 2017 15:06:15 GMT
The London Bus Scene has got incredibly dull over the last 10 years or so personally on an enthusiast level - liveries started being removed to reveal the blandness that is 100% red, operators own specs have all been eradicated, vehicles are getting more and more dull due to emissions ratings and economical bits and bobs - a world away from the network I grew up with. As a kid, I had loads of interesting buses to grow up with in Brixton - Titans, Metrobuses, Leyland Olympians (those three buses becoming my all time favourites), Volvo Citybuses, Volvo Olympians, and even in the low floor era with Darts, DLA's, AVL's, PDL's (the double deck ones with London General), PVL's, DW's & the brilliant Connex Tridents - all that variety made every bus journey different. If I was growing up today, I very much doubt I'd be interested in buses at all on that front. All the lovely liveries that have been consigned to history - London & Country two tone green & red, red & cream branding on the 159's RM's, Cowies Yellow Stripes, the excellent Metrobus yellow & blue, Stagecoach stripes & then swirls, Arriva's cowhorn etc - I could go on. I did enjoy reading bus maps and seeing bus routes go further than they do now and the odd workings they did but whilst I miss it, there was good reasoning behind it personally. My favourite of these was the 109 - during the 90's, it ran in overlapping sections - Trafalgar Square to Croydon & Brixton to Purley with Sunday's running Trafalgar Square to Purley! Sadly being too young meant I never could ride these long routes and that would be one thing I'd love to go back and do. What also was great is bus journeys were much more quicker - in the 90's, 20mph speed limits practically didn't exist, there weren't nearly as many speed bumps as there are now and certainly main roads never had any unlike today not to mention there wasn't millions of traffic lights on the same road so even at worse, you were usually guaranteed a decent journey. Overall, I do think I've lost some love for the London network as it's nowhere near as exciting as it once was and now that I've done all the standard routes in London, I'll be heading out of London a lot more - I suggest many more on here, particularly the youngsters, to give the provinces a go as its such a vastly different experience altogether - I've done Luton, Maidstone, Dublin, Blackpool, Brighton, Crawley & Eastbourne as well as nearly the entire Abellio Surrey network and all the journeys were great. A further consequence of all the standardisation is that even routes changing operator can be less exciting on the road than on paper. Where cascaded buses are used, there is not even the joy of riding new buses. Even where new buses are used, these can be familiar types for the area in question eg more Enviro 400s when Metroline (HT) gained route 91 or when Stagecoach gained extra Romford routes in 2013. I'm glad that you are enjoying some travels outside London. I enjoy a trip most months locally or in London. In February I rode inevitable First buses to link Bury with Rochdale, Todmorden and Halifax. However, on the way I sampled Rosso, TLC and Yorkshire Tiger buses. The scenery there as well as liveries can be more refreshing than London's "red concrete", at the risk of exagerrating. Similarly, yesterday in Leicester my 5 Arriva buses (out of a total of 9 buses) were rare if not unique for Arriva. Unique were Sapphire Volvo B7TL & B9TL. Rare were refurbished ex-London bendibus and Enviro 400 with e-leather seating - both types Arriva only otherwise use in Merseyside - and Enviro 400-MMC, which Arriva otherwise only use in Herts & Essex. Arriva also went for Voith E400s for The Shires & Essex which is nice. For those of us in North London, they're just a stone's throw away in Waltham Cross I get the bus *if I have to* in The City, most times a quick ride on an LT or whatever comes along if I don't feel like walking the length of Fleet Street, for instance. Back home, it's a trip to the dentist that will get me on a 243 (nice views of the goings on at WN from the waiting room window ) though I hate the 'feeding time at the zoo' frenzy when waiting for a driver to leave the stand at Redvers Road and everyone tries to barge onto the bus at once I used to like rides on the 123 to Ilford but noisy VLAs killed that for me though hopefully new HV's may stray from the 19/243/259 and pop up on the 123 in future the "waiting to regulate the service" thing killed it for me, or the crawling from stop to stop And as discussed the sheer dullness of the same old red and 'bargain basement' feel to each London bus (poverty spec with no nice seats like outside London, or WiFi)
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Post by Madstuntman on Mar 19, 2017 15:14:54 GMT
Wow . Did not know this happened. I always wondered about drivers stuck in traffic nearing their break or finish, but assumed they would speed up to catch time up, but to do the opposite? I mean thats worse than anything mentioned on the posts after this. I would take a bus regulating a service on an empty road, crawling along, getting overtaken compared to this. Now I am going to be paranoid everytime a bus slows down It really is nothing new, there have always been drivers like that who will just scratch about trying to get a turn and there is often nothing management can do about as it's difficult to prove that they are doing it deliberately. I think it's fair to say that the overwhelming majority of drivers do not act like this though. I remember driving 286's in the early 2000's. One day I signed on at DT and travelled in a ferry vehicle to Eltham Station with him. While I was driving the ferry he was going through his duty card deciding when and where he was going to get a turn on his duty. Low and behold when I passed him later on he was indeed showing destinations that he said he was going to get as turns. He did it most days as I soon learned... He did get the sack in the end for assaulting a controller.
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Post by greeny253 on Mar 19, 2017 18:18:16 GMT
Going back to the original topic of conversation, I just find buses too slow, busy and hassle, it takes an age to do any journey and buses craw along because of headway or just slow drivers messing with the service to get a turn Something ive noticed is that the majority of younger people say below 40 will say thanks when they get a bus driver that isn't hanging about, rather than one that's driving to an exceptional standard and lowering the bus at each stop for example but anyone above the age of 40 will prefer the latter. I'll never foget a time on the 55 where I was just having a lazy day in no hurry whatsoever and a passenger cane down and said for the last 3 days you've been driving like Lewis Hamilton, but today you are like a snail, what gives ? I couldn't help but laugh, safe to say someone prefers Lewis Hamilton Had a driver like that a DM. He was my leader on the 365 one night. Overtook him coming out of Abba Cross Lane and he was still 30 minutes late into Romford for handover! There was no traffic that night....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 4:34:35 GMT
It's such a shame when there are people who know so much about Stagecoach and London Buses, but aren't given any say if decisions. Really not liking Stagecoach anymore and as a loyal enthusiast need to disclose that my love ended for them in ending 2014. I can't wait to leave East London and move on. Does anyone ever wish they had a time machine? I do, and I'd immediately return to 2013 July and carry on doing things differently. I am really a fan of T and admire the way they manage and organise there buses. Funny how yesterday a driver from T asked me my favourite route in the garage, my answer was none at all at present. I live in Leyton and this may sound silly but I feel sick at the way the routes have changed, I hope enthusiasts can understand. This is not SLN's fault but I hate those shitmasters on the 55 as mentioned before. After 230 going to Arriva, the 55 was my favourite route with operated by Tridents, then the 56 operated by Scanias followed by the 48 with Scanias. If anyone noticed till the very end of 2014, the Tridents wing mirrors were yellow instead of black, that looked cool. It also shames me how they are messing up the roads in Waltham Forest and East London, the new bus stop on Lea Bridge Road by Rigg Approach is terrible, it is so hard for the buses to get back onto the road. Whoever comes on with these stupid cycle lane ideas needs a good lecture in their face. It's a shame that it has come this far for me to post my feelings but no one understands me and I hope the forum users will. The changes are effecting my daily life and making me want to leave the East London area.
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Post by sid on Mar 22, 2017 12:18:07 GMT
It's such a shame when there are people who know so much about Stagecoach and London Buses, but aren't given any say if decisions. Really not liking Stagecoach anymore and as a loyal enthusiast need to disclose that my love ended for them in ending 2014. I can't wait to leave East London and move on. Does anyone ever wish they had a time machine? I do, and I'd immediately return to 2013 July and carry on doing things differently. I am really a fan of T and admire the way they manage and organise there buses. Funny how yesterday a driver from T asked me my favourite route in the garage, my answer was none at all at present. I live in Leyton and this may sound silly but I feel sick at the way the routes have changed, I hope enthusiasts can understand. This is not SLN's fault but I hate those sh*tmasters on the 55 as mentioned before. After 230 going to Arriva, the 55 was my favourite route with operated by Tridents, then the 56 operated by Scanias followed by the 48 with Scanias. If anyone noticed till the very end of 2014, the Tridents wing mirrors were yellow instead of black, that looked cool. It also shames me how they are messing up the roads in Waltham Forest and East London, the new bus stop on Lea Bridge Road by Rigg Approach is terrible, it is so hard for the buses to get back onto the road. Whoever comes on with these stupid cycle lane ideas needs a good lecture in their face. It's a shame that it has come this far for me to post my feelings but no one understands me and I hope the forum users will. The changes are effecting my daily life and making me want to leave the East London area. But apart from that.....................everything ok?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 12:23:04 GMT
It's such a shame when there are people who know so much about Stagecoach and London Buses, but aren't given any say if decisions. Really not liking Stagecoach anymore and as a loyal enthusiast need to disclose that my love ended for them in ending 2014. I can't wait to leave East London and move on. Does anyone ever wish they had a time machine? I do, and I'd immediately return to 2013 July and carry on doing things differently. I am really a fan of T and admire the way they manage and organise there buses. Funny how yesterday a driver from T asked me my favourite route in the garage, my answer was none at all at present. I live in Leyton and this may sound silly but I feel sick at the way the routes have changed, I hope enthusiasts can understand. This is not SLN's fault but I hate those sh*tmasters on the 55 as mentioned before. After 230 going to Arriva, the 55 was my favourite route with operated by Tridents, then the 56 operated by Scanias followed by the 48 with Scanias. If anyone noticed till the very end of 2014, the Tridents wing mirrors were yellow instead of black, that looked cool. It also shames me how they are messing up the roads in Waltham Forest and East London, the new bus stop on Lea Bridge Road by Rigg Approach is terrible, it is so hard for the buses to get back onto the road. Whoever comes on with these stupid cycle lane ideas needs a good lecture in their face. It's a shame that it has come this far for me to post my feelings but no one understands me and I hope the forum users will. The changes are effecting my daily life and making me want to leave the East London area. But apart from that.....................everything ok? Not really mate but hoping I will progress
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Post by sid on Mar 22, 2017 12:57:31 GMT
But apart from that.....................everything ok? Not really mate but hoping I will progress The levels of doom and gloom on this forum really are something else !
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 13:01:52 GMT
Not really mate but hoping I will progress The levels of doom and gloom on this forum really are something else ! Lol!!!!! that's all I can say mate
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Post by Hassaan on Mar 22, 2017 15:11:45 GMT
Sunday reminded me why I rarely take buses in Z1 these days. Most bus routes were diverted away from Trafalgar Square due to the St Patrick's Day events, and there was nothing on the bus stop about where they could be picked up (information on the Duncannon Street stop was for Saturday). I only ended up there to try and take photos of the 139, and fully admit that I should have checked beforehand, like I did to see if there were services between Charing Cross and Waterloo East (which there weren't). Luckily a 176 turned up quickly and I was able to get to Waterloo by bus without getting stuck in traffic. But most people wouldn't​ be bothered to go looking for information and the bus stops, therefore they'd have given up and taken the Tube, especially as it is was direct in my case. Indeed travelling within Z1 I'd take the Tube (or National Rail) where it is direct or with a simple change. Why risk it with diversions or getting stuck in traffic, let alone taking longer?
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Post by mondraker275 on Mar 22, 2017 18:58:31 GMT
It's such a shame when there are people who know so much about Stagecoach and London Buses, but aren't given any say if decisions. Really not liking Stagecoach anymore and as a loyal enthusiast need to disclose that my love ended for them in ending 2014. I can't wait to leave East London and move on. Does anyone ever wish they had a time machine? I do, and I'd immediately return to 2013 July and carry on doing things differently. I am really a fan of T and admire the way they manage and organise there buses. Funny how yesterday a driver from T asked me my favourite route in the garage, my answer was none at all at present. I live in Leyton and this may sound silly but I feel sick at the way the routes have changed, I hope enthusiasts can understand. This is not SLN's fault but I hate those sh*tmasters on the 55 as mentioned before. After 230 going to Arriva, the 55 was my favourite route with operated by Tridents, then the 56 operated by Scanias followed by the 48 with Scanias. If anyone noticed till the very end of 2014, the Tridents wing mirrors were yellow instead of black, that looked cool. It also shames me how they are messing up the roads in Waltham Forest and East London, the new bus stop on Lea Bridge Road by Rigg Approach is terrible, it is so hard for the buses to get back onto the road. Whoever comes on with these stupid cycle lane ideas needs a good lecture in their face. It's a shame that it has come this far for me to post my feelings but no one understands me and I hope the forum users will. The changes are effecting my daily life and making me want to leave the East London area. Do you know the theory of the time machine? If you went back to July 2013, how would that change whether contracts changed? You have no influence over them. Have you not seen Back to the Future?
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 22, 2017 21:37:44 GMT
It's such a shame when there are people who know so much about Stagecoach and London Buses, but aren't given any say if decisions. Really not liking Stagecoach anymore and as a loyal enthusiast need to disclose that my love ended for them in ending 2014. I can't wait to leave East London and move on. Does anyone ever wish they had a time machine? I do, and I'd immediately return to 2013 July and carry on doing things differently. I am really a fan of T and admire the way they manage and organise there buses. Funny how yesterday a driver from T asked me my favourite route in the garage, my answer was none at all at present. I live in Leyton and this may sound silly but I feel sick at the way the routes have changed, I hope enthusiasts can understand. This is not SLN's fault but I hate those sh*tmasters on the 55 as mentioned before. After 230 going to Arriva, the 55 was my favourite route with operated by Tridents, then the 56 operated by Scanias followed by the 48 with Scanias. If anyone noticed till the very end of 2014, the Tridents wing mirrors were yellow instead of black, that looked cool. It also shames me how they are messing up the roads in Waltham Forest and East London, the new bus stop on Lea Bridge Road by Rigg Approach is terrible, it is so hard for the buses to get back onto the road. Whoever comes on with these stupid cycle lane ideas needs a good lecture in their face. It's a shame that it has come this far for me to post my feelings but no one understands me and I hope the forum users will. The changes are effecting my daily life and making me want to leave the East London area. [T]'s own downturn was focusing far too much on the big routes. No wonder they lost routes like the 230, 58, 69 and now the 48. Leyton went downhill years ago, well before 2013. Well the idiots in Waltham Forest keep getting voted in by the same people who moan against them, so glad some of the residents suffer from it.
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