On 01/04/2012 15:42, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:08:12 +0100, Someone Somewhere
wrote:

On 01/04/2012 13:40, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:21:26 +0100, Someone Somewhere
wrote:

I've noticed over the last few days that Golden Tours now seem to be
running a double-decker open top bus along Cable Street and using the
Bus Stand outside the old St Georges Town Hall (even with passengers on
board).

Doesn't look to be temporary as Golden Tours have amended their London
Service Permit to reference in service journeys on one of their tours.
The extension appears to have started a little while back.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...p_bulletin.pdf


Ah yes - followed it back now and it seems that the extension through
Shadwell
is new - they previously were via Tobacco Dock. Maybe they didn't realise
it had been closed for years? (or more likely they saw the impending Wapping
Islandisation for the Olympics and thought they better get a change in
quick, or the locals down there disliked it as much as I do)



The LSP application gives the operator name and contact address.

Well - I had a response from the operator which was timely and polite
but didn't really answer the points:

"We will advise all our Golden Tours Hop on Hop off Drivers that they
must turn off their engines whilst at the bus stand and will monitor
this closely with our tracker system.

Unfortunately the reverse sound cannot be turned off due to Health and
Safety reasons, but we will make drivers aware that reversing should
only be done if necessary. "

Necessary seems to equate to whenever there is a vehicle parked at the
adjacent parking spot (ie most of the time), but the problem seems to
be the drivers are actually not very good at reversing - often taking
over a minute to reverse a single bus length (hence why the noise is so
intrusive, particularly as it seems louder than the standard single
deckers that serve this stand and permeates through my entire house).

As a general point, without consultation, it's ok as far as TfL are
concerned that suddenly people can have bus loads of gawping tourists
outside their first floor windows?

TfL simply operate the licensing process and there is information in
the LSP section of the TfL website about how they assess applications.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...e-Document.pdf

Have raised points to them based on some of the things they say in their
document and will see what happens. (ie that the route is not in the
interests of the local community and so on, unless I'm missing a latent
demand in the Shadwell community for a open top tour bus which stops at
a stop unmarked as anything to do with them and in the last 3 days does
not seem to have picked up or dropped off a passenger here, but has left
people expecting to see something looking very bored often for 10 mins
or more whilst sitting onstand)