malc wrote:
I wonder really how useful the 705 was to anyone transferring between
stations. It is unlikely that a passenger would use a bus to transfer
between Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge as in most cases a
direct
interchange between trains is possible at Clapham Junction, Waterloo
East, Victoria etc. I suspect that Fenchurch Street isn't really a
major player when it comes to cross-London transfers. Other direct
(and
more frequent) buses are available from Liverpool Street to all
stations (except Fenchurch Street) formerly served by the 705.
Paddington has other direct services to Liverpool Street and
Victoria,
so the only real losses are Paddington-Waterloo and Paddington-London
Bridge - and many passengers between the West of England and the
South
of England may well be better off changing at Reading and avoiding
the
cross-London transfer altogether.

It was extremely useful to me, and often faster than taking a congested
overheated Underground train( or several such trains) last summer when
the Bakerloo was packing up frequently. I was visiting a relative in
Hospital in Kingston and the 705 was a real pleasure to travel in on
warm days. But it was tucked well out of sight of the main bus stops at
Waterloo and was unknown to a bus fanatic colleague of mine at
Paddington. No wonder I was often the only passenger.