Homerton Hospital Is Bottom Of The List
In The Times today, there is an article, which is entitled Ambulance List Shows NHS Trust With The Worst Delays.
My local hospital is Homerton and it gets a very honourable mention.
At the other end of the scale, four trusts accepting patients by ambulance reported no delays of more than an hour, led by Homerton University Hospital in east London.
It is interesting that Homerton is down as one of the best.
My GP reckons it has improved greatly in the last few years. He also says, that they seem to have more spare capacity, than the other hospitals in the area.
The hospital removed my gallstones using endoscopy and I walked out to a waiting car. I could have taken the bus, if required.
I also had a knee X-rayed, where the GP gave me a chit and told me to just turn up unannounced in one of two specific three-hour periods. I was in and out in just over ten minutes.
Homerton seem to be thinking hard about their organisation and methods.
Could this be why they are the best on the list?
So what is our South London Mayor doing to improve transport to this much improved hospital?
He’s cutting out, one of the major bus routes to the hospital.
Government Boosts Hydrogen Buses With £26m
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Live ~News.
These are the first two paragraphs.
A Northern Irish bus company is receiving £26 million in funding to build electric and hydrogen buses.
Wrightbus built the world’s first hydrogen double-decker bus in 2020 and is now looking to export its zero-emission buses worldwide to Australia, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.
Other points from the article include.
- Wrightbus are aiming to build 3,000 zero-emission buses.
- Jobs could increase by 300.
- They would like to increase exports by 40 %.
It looks like there’s a future in zero-emission buses.
Should Hospitals Be The Power Backup Locations?
I was reading an article in The Times about how protestors were blocking roads in Central London and they’re inadvertently stopped an ambulance.
So this question occurred to me. Why I don’t know, but my mind has always jumped about and put thoughts together?
Consider.
- The latest generation of energy storage that could be used to back up the grid are coming down in physical size.
- Hospitals have complex power systems, as they use a lot of electricity.
- Hospitals need emergency power backup.
- Because of their high electrical use, hospitals will have a high capacity connection to the National Grid.
- Some modern treatments need a lot of electricity.
- Will ambulances be battery-powered and will need to be charged up, whilst delivering patients?
- Many bus routes terminate at the local hospital, so if the buses are battery-powered, these could be charged as well.
As an Electrical and Control Engineer, I feel that to put a town, city or are’s back-up battery at the hospital would be a sensible idea.
Hospitals should be designed to be health, energy and transport hubs for their communities.
Marble Arch To Lambeth Palace – 16th September 2022
I took these pictures as I travelled from Marble Arch to Lambeth Palace on the top deck of a 148 bus.
Note.
- This sequence starts at the London Hilton Park Lane Hotel, just to the North of Marble Arch.
- Constitution Hill was busy with visitors to Buckingham Palace
- The route goes past the long wall, that encircles the palace.
- The route meanders its way through Victoria to approach the river along Horseferry Road.
- The sequence ends after the bus has crossed Lambeth Bridge by Lambeth Palace.
To take these pictures, I had boarded the 148 bus at Lancaster Gate station and I got off at Lambeth North station.
Old Street Station – 9th September 2022
I took these pictures this morning, as my bus passed Old Street roundabout.
The Queen was also being shown on this bus-stop in Moorgate.
How many pictures like these are being displayed?
The 38 Bus And The Lizzie Line
London’s 38 bus is very convenient for me.
- It is a frequent route, running most times every few minutes.
- The stops are about a hundred metres from my house just round the corner.
- To the East it goes through Hackney to the romantic Clapton Pond.
- To the West it goes to Angel and across Central London to Victoria station.
- The route connects to the new entrance at Hackney Central station, which makes it easy coming home from the East with heavy shopping.
Yesterday, I used the 38 bus to go to and from the Lizzie Line for a trip to Paddington station.
The Outrun
These pictures show the change to the Lizzie Line at Tottenham Court Road station.
Note.
- It was a walk of about a hundred metres.
- I took pictures of the entrance to the new @sohoplace theatre, which is still behind barriers.
- The walk could improve, once the works around Centre Point are finished.
It’s certainly a viable route from where I live and the Angel to the Lizzie Line, if you’re going West.
The Return
I took these pictures on my return.
Note.
- It was a walk of about a hundred metres.
- The two stops for the 38 bus are opposite each other.
- The walk could improve, once the works around Centre Point are finished.
It would certainly be a viable route to get from the Lizzie Line to the Angel, if you’re coming from the West.
It would also be a viable route for me to get to my house.
Although taking a 21 or 141 bus from Moorgate is a better route, as I suspect it is quicker.
Unfortunately, that route won’t be viable if Transport for London have their way and execute The Great Bus Robbery.
Which Route Does Transport for London’s Journey Planner Recommend?
Whoever wrote the current version of this is not a Londoner, as it recommends a route with three changes and doesn’t use the Lizzie Line.
If I type in my home address, it does recommend going via Dalston Junction and Whitechapel, which is better, but the walk is too much for me on some days.
I Wouldn’t Be Surprised To See Improvements To The Positions Of Bus Stops
They are not best placed at the moment, but the construction in the area is still going on.
So after construction finishes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some stops moved to better places.
Repowering Zero-Emission Buses As An Alternative
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Digital Journal.
The article makes the argument for swapping out the diesel engine for a zero-emission powertrain.
I very much feel that this is a worthwhile idea, as do Ricardo.
I wrote about converting London’s New Routemasters to hydrogen in Could London’s New Routemaster Buses Be Converted To Hydrogen Power?.
Ricardo Repowers Double Decker Diesel Bus With Hydrogen Fuel Cells
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Ricardo.
Ricardo, a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, in partnership with Stagecoach North East, has repowered a diesel, double decker bus with a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system. Delivering zero tailpipe emissions, Ricardo is now seeking to secure customers to invest in the production of a fleet of passenger vehicles fit for the future of sustainable shared mobility.
The project, part funded by the Department of Transport, through its Hydrogen Transport Hub Demonstration competition, saw Ricardo, working with Stagecoach North East to retro-fitted hydrogen fuel cell technology into an existing double decker bus. It created a zero emissions demonstrator that is now undergoing a ten-week test and demonstration programme around the Tees Valley and Brighton and Hove. Feedback and data from the trials will support the team to explore future market opportunities and applications with bus operators and other partners across the UK and beyond.
Given that there are around 38,000 existing buses in the UK, many of which still have a few years of life left, this surely must be an affordable way of creating more zero-carbon hydrogen buses.
It appears that Ricardo are aiming to have an initial batch of 150 buses in service from late 2024.
I’m Missing The Elizabeth Line Today
Today is a Sunday and because engineers are working on connecting the three sections of the Elizabeth Line, there are no trains in the central section between Abbey Wood and Paddington stations.
I have got used to the new line and generally use it if I stray farther than a couple of miles from home to the South. It’s just so handy, when you want to go in an East-West direction across London.
One of the draws to me of the Elizabeth Line is that it is air-conditioned and in the current heat-wave, it is much more pleasant to travel on the line compared to the Central and Northern Lines.
So for my journeys around Central London, I tend to stick to buses, the Overground, Elizabeth Line and Thameslink.
The Mayor Of London Is Pruning The North London Bus Network Again
Sadiq Khan is proposing to cut these bus routes.
- 4 – Archway and Blackfriars – North London
- 11 – Fulham Town Hall and Appold Street – North London
- 12 – Oxford Circus Stn / Margaret Street and Dulwich Library – Cross-River
- 14 – Putney Heath and Russell Square – North London
- 16 – Mora Road and Victoria Bus Station – North London
- 24 – Grosvenor Road and Royal Free Hospital – North London
- 31 – White City Bus Station and Baynham Street – North London
- 45 – Newington Causeway and Atkins Road / New Park Road – South London
- 72 – Brunel Road and Hammersmith Bridge Road – North London
- 74 – Putney Exchange and Baker Street – North London
- 78 -Shoreditch High Street Station and St Mary’s Road – Cross-River
- 242 – Aldgate Station and Homerton Hospital – North London
- 349 – Glyn Road and Rookwood Road – North London
- 521 – Waterloo Station and London Bridge Station – North London
- C3 – Clapham Junction Station / Falcon Road Warwick Road Tesco – Cross-River
- D7 – All Saints Church and Mile End Station – North London
Note.
- The 74 is one of the recommended ways to get to Zoo.
- The 242 is my preferred method to get between Dalston and the excellent Homerton Hospital.
- The 349 is probably important to the Jewish Community in Stamford Hill.
- 521 appears to be a very good link between the two terminal stations. Especially, if you have a heavy case or a baby in a buggy.
- I have judged whether a bus is North London, South London or Cross-River from TfL’s maps of each route.
I suspect others will have their own objections.
These are my totals.
- North London – 12
- South London – 1
- Cross-River – 3
These are definitely the cuts that would be imposed by someone with their roots firmly in the South, who feels that there is no valid reason to cross the Thames.
But then with these cuts, he won’t get complaints from South Londoners.
The Anonymous Widower 