"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:56:11 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:

On Tue, 14 Sep 2010, martin wrote:

On Sep 13, 9:20 pm, Paul Corfield wrote:

In addition when the 29/N29 goes double deck the night service will be
more frequent than the day service! Having been insane enough to
venture into the night to snap some night buses I can confirm that the
network is surprisingly busy and often in places where you would not
expect it. Needless to say, though, the N29 is crazily busy -
certainly more people crammed in than during the day.

It's been a while since I've had the joys of the N29 (and no longer live
in Wood Green, so I'm spared it forevermore) - but on a Friday or
Saturday night, to guarantee getting on one (never mind a seat), I'd
often walk down from Tottenham Court Road to Trafalgar Square. It'd
often be sardines right through to Holloway, and you'd have to hope for
the best that it wouldn't decide to turn short at Finsbury Park. (The
high number of people squashed together also makes it a pickpockets'
paradise - often somewhere around Holloway Road, someone would realise
their pocket or handbag had been dipped, and the ne'er- do-well was
probably already back in Camden finding their next target.)

It's still much the same! I'm glad Paul ventured out to the N29; it's a
central experience of living in northeast London. That and the 253, i
would say, are the pulsing arteries of that quadrant of the city.

I didn't say I travelled on it. I saw it (well loads of them actually)
while standing in Camden Town for nigh on an hour waiting to photograph
the N28 and N31. Thank goodness it was a warm night. Still being stone
cold sober while everyone else is on another planet or at least trying
to achieve orbit makes for some interesting observations on humanity :-)

By way of some compensation I caught the 214 from Liverpool St to Camden
at about 0230 in the morning and that was unbelievably busy. Again there
was a gap in the service but the sheer numbers travelling was something
of a revelation - worse than the rush hour.

The N279 I eventually got home ended up being extremely busy as there'd
been an inordinate gap in the service.

I have endured the 29 and 253 many times in daytime service and am still
surprised just how ridiculously busy those routes are.

For a real laugh, try this. Get yourself to Trafalgar Square at about
01:15 - 01:45 on a Saturday Morning. Position yourself so you will be first
into the rear set of doors when the N29 turns up. Get on and sit yourself up
the back looking down the bus. Enjoy the floorshow! As an aside, the bus
will be crush loaded by the time it gets to Leicester Square! (For those
unfamiliar with the route that's 3 stops, counting the start stop) You can
also give a cheery wave to all the people that get left behind at Camden on
account of the driver never stopping at the stop outside Sainsburys, if you
need an N29 at the weekend from Camden, walk up to the Camden Road stop, coz
it ain't gonna' stop anywhere else...
--
Cheers, Steve
To reply change the exclamatory smelly stuff to a well known mobile telecoms
company.