Should New Routemasters Be Named?
I know they’re not called New Routemasters officially, but will they ever be called anything else?
I think all of the buses should be individually named, perhaps in series to reflect the area they run through.
After all, there a lot of Londoners to name them after.
If we take the 38 route, famous people with strong Hackney connections who would be suitable might include.
I would like the list to be quirky and slightly educational and without any trace of politicians or jobsworths.
They could also be named indirectly. So for instance Edmond Halley might be commemorated by a bus named Halley’s Comet or Jessica Tandy, who was born in Clapton, by one called Miss Daisy. And then what about The Italian Job for Michael Caine, after all one of the stars was a coach.
Local heroes would be allowed, like the named after Dave Gardner.
Take a New Routemaster to Romantic Clapton Pond on the 20th of February 2012
I’d thought that the new Routemaster was going to be introduced on the route 38 between Victoria and Clapton Pond and today it was confirmed that they’ll start on the 20th of February. Initially, they’ll just be eight of them.
I went to a presentation on the bus some months ago and I think it will be a good addition to London’s bus fleet.
The choice of route 38 is an interesting one. But in my view a correct one.
At the southern end, it starts at Victoria, which is a major transport interchange, where lots of visitors arrive. I hope that they make sure that the route keeps its prime stop in front of the station. I doubt anybody with any marketing nouse would do anything, except make it more obvious.
It then goes straight through the West End, past or close to, some of London’s most important places and landmarks, like Buck House, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, many of the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue, and the British Museum. The route in this area, is only a short walk from places like Soho, Covent Garden, Bloomsbury, and Leicester and Trafalgar Squares. So I think, if they get the hop-on/hop-off right in this section, I think it will be a very valuable addition to the transport landscape of this part of London. As I have experienced several times, getting a bus in this area at times is often a long wait because of all the traffic that shouldn’t be there. But at least with a hop-on/hop-off bus, you won’t have to wait for the stop. But even when it is working as a normal bus, it’ll have an extra door, which will mean that it unloads and loads quicker.
After Bloomsbury, the route does its more mundane work, through Clerkenwell, Islington and down the Essex Road to Dalston and on to Hackney and eventually to Clapton Pond. This is where I use the route a lot as none of the Underground or Overground lines, really get you from Hackney to Islington or on to the West End. Having seen the inside of the mock-up, I feel that the bus will suit this part of the route well, as passengers often have large amounts of shopping and cases and I have a feeling that New Routemasters might be better at handling, this type of passenger, as they have three entrances and two staircases, which will enable the more mobile and unencumbered passengers to get quickly and easily upstairs and out of the way.
As an aside here, it will be interesting to see if two staircases, raise the average loading on the top deck.
Hackney and Clapton are not really leisure destinations in London. But could putting New Routemasters on the major route to the area, help in that direction. Clapton Pond, may not sound romantic, but if you were say walking the Lea Valley, it is one place to start. Uniquely, the 38 bus terminus at Clapton is in the middle of a roundabout, which means it is easy to turn the buses back to Victoria.
If I was Hackney Council, I’d put a very small amount of work into the roundabout, as the arrival of the buses, will attract bus anoraks from all over the world, if the scrum in Trafalgar Square last night is anything to go by. Note the link is from the Belfast Telegraph.
Wonga Moments All Over London
I don’t like Wonga and I don’t think I’m alone judging by the excellent press they are getting.
Now they are advertising on the sides of London buses.
I hope that this advertising has the wrong effect from the company’s point of view. It may put the company’s name in the minds of possible punters, but if they don’t need a loan yet, it will also attract them to articles in the media, which is probably a good thing, as I’ve yet to see one that is the least bit positive towards Wonga!
Slogans I’ve seen so far include :-
THIS IS OUR SMALL PRINT
Pay back early, pay less.
How much? How Long? You decide.
Straight talking money.
Need wonga now? Just add .com
All seem to me to be rather too subtle for their target market.
Christmas, Bloody Christmas
Oh! How I hate Christmas!
I shall have lunch with my son and his friends.
On the other hand, it doesn’t cost me much. I will buy just three presents and a couple of good bottles of wine for Christmas lunch.
I can’t even get to the football on Boxing Day, as there are no trains and I can’t drive.
I think this could be my worst Christmas ever!
Let’s ban it!
After all, the only people who like it are children and I don’t know any of them!
Christmas has never been the same, since you could go down Spurs on Christmas morning to see the match and then come home to a late Christmas lunch!
And now it appears the Underground will be on strike on Boxing Day! They were last year and that was a day to forget. It incidentally looks to be the same argument about triple pay and a day off as well.
The sooner we take the numan element out of the trains the better.
Using Mobile Phones whilst Driving
According to this piece on the BBC, the police are cracking down on people, who use their mobile phone whilst driving.
Edward King was on and e told how an AA man, had said the only punishment needed was to lose your phone number, so you’d have to get another.
What a simple idea! Often the simple ideas are the best.
I’m certain it would work well.
Improving the High Street
I have two High Streets close to me, Upper Street at the Angel in Islington and the Kingsland Road in Dalston.
I would use them more, but the trouble with both of them, is that they are just too cluttered to navigate easily.
At the Angel the problem is chuggers, who always want to stop me. I just make sure, I don’t give to the charities they promote. On the Kingsland Road it’s the endless boards put up to block the pavements by the various money and pound shops.
I’m sure more people would go to the various High Streets in this country, if it was easier to walk between the places you want to go. Because of this, when I go to either the Angel or the Kingsland Road, I usually go to visit a specific place like Waitrose or the station and usually plan my walking route carefully, so I avoid the main road.
It is also interesting to compare the centre of Liverpool, with say Oxford Street. The former is pedestrianised and it is a joy to walk around with no traffic, whereas the second is a nightmare and no wonder it’s such a dump, with just a few good shops, like John Lewis, Selfridges and M & S, standing out from the dross.
I can’t remember the last time, I bought anything in Oxford Street, except at those stores!
Yesterday, Oxford Street had been blocked off and effectively pedestrianised and it was so much better.
An RF Bus and the Wombles
The only obstruction was this RF or Regal Four bus and the Wombles.
I didn’t actually buy anything though.
On the subject of buses, which are very important in getting people to the shops, at The Angel, they have two big lay-bys on either side of the road, which accommodate the bus stops. So if I’m going to say Waitrose, it’s just get off the 38, 56 or 73 bus, walk across the road on a light-controlled crossing and then I’ve just a few metres from the shop. Going home, I don’t even have to cross the road and just walk down a few steps to the bus stop. The system works well and could probably be implemented in many places. But then they’ve lost a few car parking spaces. But then how many normal unselfish people drive in Islington?
They could certainly improve the bus access and walking routes on the Kingsland Road, which would probably improve the interchange between the two Dalston stations.
The problem in both these High Streets, is that they can be improved, but usually the motorist is the one to be inconvenienced. I should say, that in both places, there are car parks, close to the High Streets.
Jams In The West End
There has been a lot of controversy lately about the City of Westminster, bringing in parking charges in the evenings and on Sundays. Here ‘s a report from the Telegraph.
It seems to me that most of the opposition is led by celebrities such as Peter Stringfellow, who claim they are worried about jobs and of course where to park their own limos and excessive people carriers.
As I said the 38 bus was delayed getting to Shaftesbury Avenue and it took half an hour to travel the last bit from Bloomsbury. My progress after alighting from the bus, wasn’t helped by the fact that a coach was parked on the pavement, making both walking and driving difficult.
After the play it was worse and getting back up Shaftesbury Avenue was not easy, as drivers were blocking pavement and trying to go at speed into and out of the side roads. It wasn’t helped by the fact, that a large number of police cars and ambulances were trying to get through.
I finally got to the stop for the 38 bus and after checking by text, I found I had seven minutes to wait.
Whilst waiting you realised that what was holding up the traffic was the vast number of cycle rickshaws, which were illegally touting at the bus stops. A guy in the queue near me, who had the aura of a taxi-driver, said that mos of the rickshaws aren’t insured and he wouldn’t go near them. He was actually a van driver, who’d had a nght out with his family and was also waiting for a 38. There’s more on illegal rickshaws here.
It was also a night, when I wished I’d had my camera with me, as I would ave got a picture of a 19 bus, seemingly pushing a rickshaw slowly along the road.
Finally, I got my 38 back to the local stop.
So what would I do to improve matters?
It would appear that the 38 bus, might be one of the first routes to get the new Routemaster in 2012. Certainly, as they are quicker to board and exit, they should help a bit. Banning the rickshaws from bus lanes would also help.
I’ve always been in favour of pedestrianising Oxford Street or perhaps building a raised walkway above the middle of the street to speed people from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch and perhaps relieve the Central line. Although a bit to the north of theatreland, it would make it easier to get to Soho and then come south to Shaftesbury Avenue. My thoughts on the walkway are in this post.
I think I would make a large area of Soho a pedestrian only zone, as this would increase the capacity of the area dramatically. And the more visitors it gets, the more money gets spent. Perhaps, small electric buses could be used on the north-south routes to move people about.
But perhaps what will help most is already being built; CrossRail. Although it only goes to Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations, the high-capacity trains will probably run later than the Underground and they will at least get a lot of West End traffic away after the theatres and shows finish. I would run a shuttle service through from say Stratford to Heathrow to aid those, like essential workers, who had to travel in the middle of the night.
It has always puzzled me why there is no Underground station at Cambridge Circus. Perhaps the walking routes to Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road stations need to be improved.
Hampstead Heath Station
I went to Hampstead Heath station on the North London line yesterday.
It has been updated with some original artwork. The work is entitled Evenings’ Hill and it is by Clare Woods.
Whilst I was waiting, two freight trains passed through in opposite directions. Not unusually on the North London line, but it did seem a bit strange. One was full of new Ford vehicles.
All the station needs now is a pair of lifts. But it’s a big improvement on the station I first used about ten years ago.
Where Are All The Containers Going?
I found this table in the December 2011 edition of Modern Railways. It shows the total number of freight trains per day at a number of points on the rail network for the three years 2011, 2020 and 2030.
Colchester – 39 21 32
March – 34 85 98
Huntingdon – 10 38 63
Kettering – 18 19 19
Tring – 65 87 132
Pangbourne – 53 93 125
Action Grange – 60 130 171
As many of these trains will be 30 to 40 boxes long, I’m sure that there will be a lot of complaints from the Nimbys, who thought they’d bought a quiet cottage in the countryside and now find they’ve got one heavy freight train every half hour. Some will even run in the depths of the night.
But at least the increase will get the trucks off the road.
The Anonymous Widower 