The Cambridge Busway at Cambridge Station
I went to Cambridge on my way to football at Ipswich yesterday. The infamous Cambridge Busway is now open.
As you can see from the pictures, there would appear to be a lot of work to do, to make the walking experience between the trains and the buses a lot easier.
Cambridge Busway Gets Smart
From the day it opens, the Cambridge Busway will have its own smartcard.
It was inevitable, as having two separate operators with their own systems was idiotic, as I pointed out months ago.
Let’s hope Cambridge integrates the busway into the new universal ticketing proposed by the banks.
Will Electric Cars Ever Hack It?
I'[ve always had my doubts about electric cars and on BBC Breakfast, Rory Cellan-Jones was showing a new charging system, to help you do long journeys in an electric car.
As someone, who used to enjoy driving but doesn’t now, I’m rapidly coming to the point, where I think in the next few years many people will come to my decision and almost abandon cars completely.
Electric cars will not be the solution, unless they dsolve the range and cost problems, so they will only be for those who just can’t break their habit of driving everywhere. They will also probably only work if they are small and I doubt we’ll ever see an electric Range Rover.
On the other hand, where electric power and more efficient hybrid power will work is in larger vehicles, like buses and delivery trucks. Where I live some of the buses are hybrid and people like them because they are smoother and quieter than normally powered buses.
But we will change our lifestyles much more than you think.
As an example, these are things I do to avoid driving.
- I get my big grocery shopping done at Waitrose in Upper Street in the normal way and then they just bring it round an hour or so later. Even if I had a car, it would be less efficient and I’d to drive several miles to find a supermarket with a car park.
- I walk to the end of my road to the Overground and can get a train or tube to virtually anywhere in London, quicker than I could drive.
- For local trips, there are several efficient bus routes.
- Larger deliveries are easy, as delivery vehicles can park outside to unload.
So whether electric cars do hack it, I suspect that there are so many ideas to avoid driving, that they won’t be needed.
First and Second Class Buses
The London bus route 73, is one of the last of the dreaded bendy ones and hasn’t got too much longer. Today I was going to the Angel and one of Ken’s chariots of fire arrived followed by a 476.
At the stop with me were several kids, who made their way down the bus so they could use the rear entrance of the seventy-free far from the gaze of the driver.
As the 73 was very crowded, probably with non-fare payers, I walked past it to the 476 behind and had the bus almost to myself.
Who says there is no class system on London buses?
Through The Angel,Islington On a 30 Bus
I took this video in the style of Mitchell and Kenyon, from the top of a 30 bus, as it went through the Angel at Islington.
Note the tram washing shed on the right, which is now the Jack Wills store and the statue of Hugh Myddelton on Islington Green.
In the end, I got off to go to the Carluccio’s on Upper Street.
Is It Legal To Take Inflated Balloons On A London Bus?
I took this picture today by London Bridge.
Balloons On a London Bus
It clearly shows that some of the passengers have inflated balloons.
Is this legal?
I ask the question, as when C and I were students at Liverpool University in the 1960s, the buses there displayed a notice that clearly stated that the carrying of inflated balloons was not allowed.
Another London Bus Route Goes Non-Bendy
This picture shows one of the new buses on route 25 at Stratford.
A Proper Bus on Route 25
It replaced one of the dreaded Spanish-built bendies.
Note that the bus is a Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, built in Northern Ireland. Wrightbus is incidentally a family owned company. So hopefully not for them the problems of external shareholders, who want to paddle someone else’s canoe. The company is very much involved in developing the New Bus for London. We may worry about the demise of trainmaking, but do we have in Wrightbus a company that is going places in that much neglected and very unsexy part of transport; buses?
July 7th 2005, Six Years On
Today is six years to the day since the London bombings of July 7th, 2005.
I didn’t suffer in any way and wasn’t even in London at the time, but still my heart goes out to anyone who suffered loss or endured physical or mental trauma at the time.
I must admit though I’m getting rather annoyed with the media images shown every time the horrendous bombings are mentioned. Showing the bus with its top open as if operated on by an enormous tin-opener surely doesn’t serve any purpose,when Wikipedia can illustrate the scale of the horrors, by just showing the emergency services lined up outside Russell Square station.
It is about time the media moved on and stopped showing the damaged bus and trains.
But then they rarely do!
For over five years now, every time the BBC talks about breast cancer, they show the same poor lady being scanned.
The Beautiful Blonde Brazilian on a 38 Bus
One of the good things about London, is often you get into spirit raising conversations on the bus.
Take today, when I was returning from the Waitrose at the Angel for the second time, because they didn’t have any of my preferred brand of yoghurt the first time, I ended up sitting next to a young lady, or was it a girl, with long blonde hair. As I always do, when I sit next to someone of the opposite sex, I always ask if it is OK to sit there. I may have lots of faults, but I was brought up to hold doors, give up my seat on buses and tubes and generally be polite. I’ve found it to be to my advantage in life.
We chatted until I got off and found that she was a Brazilian student from the far south of the country. She was liking her stay in London and she was pleased at her reception in the city. As a Londoner, I was pleased we’d welcomed her so well.
Despite being a wreck I must still have something left, as she didn’t think I was some old groper and turn her face to the window. But neither did the lady on the 141.
So there might be some hope for me!
A Bendy Bus Takes Early Retirement
The bendy buses on route 73 are going in September, but this one couldn’t wait to retire.
Luckily no-one was hurt and I don’t think anybody except fare dodgers will miss it!
The Anonymous Widower 