Are Transport for London Doing Bit Of Route Proving?
I noticed this evening that London bus route 453 is to be Routemasterised next month.
I obviously don’t have the figures that TfL do, but is it a choice with a lot of implications for future public transport in the capital.
Route 453 has its Northern terminus at Marylebone, which is on the Bakerloo line. The route then calls at the following stations, which are also on that line.
- Baker Street
- Oxford Circus
- Piccadilly Circus
- Charing Cross
- Lambeth North
- Elephant and Castle
It then continues to New Cross, New Cross Gate and a couple of places mentioned as possible stops on the Bakerloo Line Extension.
As buses these days have extensive data collecting capabilities through Oyster, are TfL hoping to get specific traffic information, that might help in deciding where and when to extend the Bakerloo line? They might also be hoping that a quality bus route might flush out a few more passengers. The numbers using route 38, since the full Routemasterisation in May, certainly hasn’t decreased markedly, although in the summer there have been a few half-empty buses.
TfL obviously knows what to expect, as they have now converted several routes to New Routemasters.
But the only fact we know about traffic changes when New Routemasters take over a route, is that no statistics have been published.
I’d have loved to write a software system to analyse bus route performance.
It’ll be interesting to see how it all works through in the future.
If I take the route I know best, the 38, what would happen if the buses got to be very full?
I am drawn to the conclusion, that all TfL would do, would be to draft a few more buses on the route, which will be very easy, if there is only one type working the route.
Try doing that in a hurry with a tram route!
The Anonymous Widower 
I think the 453 is entirely unsuitable for conversion to the ‘New Bus for London’. The bus users south of the River, in particular, Deptford/New Cross/Old Kent Road, are invariably those with children in pushchairs, shopping carts or goods bought from the many DIY outlets. The aisle is altogether too narrow for the volume of passengers. A lot of disgruntled people are going to be left standing at bus stops.
Comment by Anonymous | August 31, 2014 |
One of the differences between New Routemasters and the standard buses, is they are much better with parcels. I regularly come back to my house loaded with shopping and I always wait for a new bus, as you have more leg room and can usually put one bag around your feet.
I think too, the buggy space is bigger, but the undoubted benefit is the two sets of four seats on the lower deck, which often get bagged by groups and families.
It’ll be interesting what happens on the 453 and I shall be there on the first day.
I must admit, I was sceptical about the buses, but over the years we’ve had them in one of the less affluent parts of London, the residents of Hackney have really taken to their buses. We wouldn’t want the bendies or the standard buses back.
Comment by AnonW | August 31, 2014 |
I am a bus driver currently, albeit new to the job and 21 years of age. the buses are incredibly impractical as the overcrowding experienced at every stop with no control over the open boarding created by the three doors, which was fine on a bendy bus, but not at all fine on a double-decker bus, where you are not permitted to stand upstairs.
You end up with so many people onboard, without the space for them, but they have already paid so are reluctant to leave. A real headache, which is a shame as I was excited for the new bus, but just presents problems that never previously existed.
Also, the problems of fare dodging and night sleeping which hit the bends is very much back in the guise of a more glamorous looking environment. Daily there are breakdowns. A rather sas as I had high hopes.
Comment by M | September 10, 2014 |
I first encountered ‘the new bus for London’ in the guise of the 38 and in those days this route had a ‘conductor’ (now dispensed with), so am familiar with the concept. However, it has proved to be a very bad design – weak ‘air-conditioning’ and no windows making turning the bus into a furnace in hot weather.
Now that only route 11 has ‘conductors’ as a matter of course, the platform door is closed between stops thereby negating the idea of being able to hop on and off in slow moving or stationary traffic. The seating arrangement downstairs is crapped and, in fact, there are relatively few seats. The aisle is narrow and getting a buggy down it is impossible. Upstairs is dark and oppressive with the low ceiling height, and you risk heat stroke on a hot day.
This bus is a staggeringly incompetent idea and a huge waste of money. In hindsight, the bendy bus was not such a bad vehicle, but Boris hated them.
Comment by Anonymous | September 17, 2014 |
I’m straying from the theme a bit here I know but as an aside – the bendy buses would have been fine if they had been confined to long relatively straight busy routes such as the 253 across Hackney or the 207 straight along the Uxbridge road (both incidentally former tram routes).
I suspect that if they had been introduced on these routes they’d still be running now – rather than being sent into Central London to block often narrow winding roads!
Comment by Robin | November 10, 2015 |