Safety - more revenue inspection personnel and a greater Police presence
on buses.


Unseen in my area and certainly not at night when risks are greater, this is
only rhetoric I'm sorry to say. As an example I spent many days in dialogue
with TFL trying to find out why a driver failed to summon the police when a
riot broke out on the top deck. They are a very slippery bunch indeed when
it comes to pinning them down to take some kind of action.

Comfort - what you mentioned was passenger discourtesy, not much that
Ken can do about that.

Passenger discourtesy is certainly part of the problem, but as I pointed out
it the situation deteriorated when conductors were removed because those
with anti-social attitudes took advantage of the lack of an authoritative
presence. Even today, there's a certain comfort in knowing that when things
get out of hand, there's someone there who can be appealed to for
assistance. You don't have to tell me it one will probably not get any but
the presence of a conductor, however useless is a deterrent all the same.


Bendy buses - not sure what your point is here. Are you saying they are
a good thing, bad thing, they premised to introduce more of them, etc.
There are plenty of them in operation now on Red Arrow routes 507/521
plus other routes that have been 'split' (436, 453/N453). Route 18 is
due to get them in the Autumn and 149 by next Spring.

Son of Routemaster - well you'll have to tell me about that.

Something suggested as the replacement for the tired old RM a few years ago
which may well have turned out to be the bendy bus, yet to be seen in SW
London. Don't know whether they are good ar bad yet but they certaintly do
the job in other parts of Europe and the question was about improvement's
that hadn't happened. I'll only know when I experience the pleasure.

Come to think of it the 149 used to come here and go all the way to
Shepherds Bush, but that was a long time ago.

Jeff Mowatt