London Banter - View Single Post - Route 73

Martin Rich · September 17th 04, 06:45 AM posted to uk.transport.london

On 10 Sep 2004 02:36:12 -0700, (Tim) wrote:

At the end of the first week of operation of the route 73 benders,
here's a few notes I have made on the level of service:

snip

Conclusion: These are all trips I could have completed easily on a 73
two weeks ago; compared to the service on RouteMasters, the
bender-operated 73 route is appaling if your want to get to/from Seven
Sisters.

For what it's worth, my limited experience so far. One short trip
from Tottenham Court Road station, was a fair bit slower than it would
have been on a Routemaster. Partly this was a case of the driver
taking it gingerly, but there was also a long wait at a stop, I think
while some passengers struggled with the roadside ticket machines. We
also had a very slow entry to the bus station at Euston.

The impression once inside the bus isn't all bad: the noise level is
low, and the ride is very good at least for those fortunate enough to
have a forward-facing seat. The quality of the materials used for the
interior seems better than those of other new buses.

There seems to be very little space to move around near the front
door, so quick boarding clearly depends on most people using the other
two doors to get in. Therefore I would expect boarding to be a become
a bit quicker as passengers get more used to the bus.

This wasn't a particularly crowded bus and I'm fairly sure there were
no seats free.

Martin