Do Oxford And Regent Streets Need New Buses for London Now?
After breakfast, I walked down Regent Street and didn’t make too much progress, as the pavements were crowded. I eventually got on a bus, but progress was even slower due to an accident in Trafalgar Square.
This double congestion often seems to happen.
Would New Buses for London, with their hop-on and hop-off capability be an asset in getting pedestrians along these streets faster?
I think they would! Remember too, that London’s fare system means that say doing six or seven small journeys on a bus is the same price as one, so you wouldn’t be costing yourself anything.
After shopping, I actually caught a New Bus for London back towards home. Progress was slow due to the same problems as earlier and people seemed to be hopping on and off the bus all over the place.
When these buses were mooted, the dismal Jimmies predicted all sorts of accidents and consequent lawsuits. But I’ve never seen any reports of even any minor incidents.
Perhaps, those that jump off and on are on the whole sensible people? Or as I believe, most people actually know their limitations well. And that includes the ninety-year-old with a Zimmer frame!
Could London have reinvented the people mover? Only when most of the buses on somewhere like Oxford Street are New Buses for London, will we know!
An Orphaned Bus Shelter
I took this picture at Piccadilly Circus.
The bus stop sign was mysteriously ten metres to the left.
I suspect that they moved the shelter and forgot to move the sign.
The New Buses for London Are Arriving
Transport Engineer, which I would assume is a serious web site has just published this article about New Bus for London production.
The article doesn’t say directly, but it does seem to indicate that production is on schedule for the start-up of services on route 24 on June 22nd.
However, it does say this about emissions from the buses.
Emission testing on an early vehicle that has been in service for eight months and covered more than 15,000 miles show levels at 2.048g/km of NOx – around four times less than the fleet average for existing hybrid buses.
CO2 has been measured at 690.23g/km, which is marginally better than the fleet average for hybrids (864g/km) and almost half the fleet average for diesel buses (1,295g/km). As for diesel particulates, the figure is 0.012g/km, one quarter of the fleet average for hybrid and diesel buses together.
As to the local pre-production examples on route 38, they seem to be quietly trundling between Victoria and Hackney Central. The only negative reaction you hear, is when you joke that we’ll be losing the Hackney Eight to the toffs in Hampstead.
Cambridge Annoys Bus Passengers
Yesterday, I wanted to go to the football at Ipswich, but as there is no decent place to eat near Portman Road and I didn’t want to travel out in the rush hour, I decided to go to to Cambridge for lunch and then have a drink with an old friend at Thurston, just outside Bury St. Edmunds.
I haven’t been to Cambridge for a few months and when I got there I found I couldn’t find the bus stop to get me to the centre. I had missed the only information in the station.
Bus Information At Cambridge
There was nothing else and no-one to ask.
I did find a fellow passenger, who showed me to the stop, but she added the new stop position, meant that she regularly missed her train, because of there being no drop-off in front of the station, as there used to be.
It does strike me, that the new traffic layout at the station has been designed to get the buses out of the way of cars and taxis. But then how many councillors and City officials responsible for signing off the new layout actually use the buses.
I think with Cambridge’s unique traffic problems and large numbers of visitors, that something better could have been done.
But whatever is done, some better information in the station is needed.
Munich’s Information-Rich Buses
To get back from the English Garden, I used a bus.
They were on of the most information-rich buses I’ve ever seen.
As London buses do, they also give you a running commentary of the route.
The only thing they lack, is decent maps at the bus stops.
Note how they use real video displays, whereas British buses and trains use simpler displays using LEDs.
Bus-Only Tunnels Under Cambridge
This story popped up, when I displayed the previous one about the lorry on the busway.
i know Cambridge well, and as a study in the City showed in 2008, the concept might just work.
Cambridge is a traffic nightmare at the moment and will only get worse, unless something is done.
I suppose, a cross-city tram, powered as in Seville or Nice is another possibility.
Some very radical thinking is needed.
Visiting Heathrow Airport By Bus
Today wasn’t the first time, I’d been to the airport by bus, as when we were in our teens, a couple of times, we went to the airport by bus on a Saturday or school holiday. We went all the way round the houses on about six buses, finishing with a 140 to the airport. It was all for a few shillings on a Red Rover ticket.
A couple of times too, C and I went to the airport by coach from Newmarket, as in some ways it was quite convenient. Now, I just take the train or the Tube.
But after today’s crowded and slow journey on the Piccadilly line, I feel strongly, that Crossrail is needed now.
Getting To Millwall
I like going to see Ipswich play at Millwall.
The New Den is a compact ground, where away supporters get a good view of the action. In fact, as the view is one of the best, the stewards are generally friendly and it is an easy ground to get to by public transport, it is one of the best away experiences in English football, if you support a reputable club.
It is also exceedingly good value, as my senior ticket cost just £17 and of course because of my Freedom Pass, I had no travel costs. So my total expenditure was much the same cost as taking a lady to the cinema. Although in that case, I’d probably have to buy a drink or even a meal!
I went by taking the Overground to Canada Water station, from where I got a P12 bus directly to the ground. Even though, these buses are every 20 minutes on a Bank Holiday, I still did the journey in just over thirty minutes.
Coming back, I walked to South Bermondsey station and took the train to London Bridge, from where I got a 141 bus home.
wikipedia also says that a 21 bus goes close to the New Den, so as it goes past the end of my road, I might try that next year. You get off at Ilderton Road.
It certainly is the easiest ground for me to get to, with the probable exception of Arsenal’s ground at The Emirates. But that would cost a lot more for a match.
London Bridge Bus Station Is Open Again
After the closure caused by the sewer failure, the bus station at London Bridge station is now open again.
London Bridge Bus Station Is Open Again
I’m pleased as it gives me an easy way home from the Jubilee line, with a Marks and Spencer’s at the interchange to the bus.
Through The City Of London Under Blue Skies
Yesterday morning, I took a 141 bus, through the City of London to London Bridge station.
Sunday mornings, and especially fine ones, are a good time to visit the City of London. At that time, you can usually get up front on a double-decker bus, to get the best pictures.
The Anonymous Widower 