London Banter - View Single Post

Paul Corfield · October 21st 03, 05:41 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On 21 Oct 2003 02:37:55 -0700, (Paul Weaver) wrote:

Smelly, slow and uninformative. Thanks to Walthamstow central being
closed, the "helpful" person at the gate (who barely spoke any
English), told me to get a bus to Leyton (Should have walked to
balckhorse road). Got on, you get the dreggs of the earth on them,
theres no information, no route maps on the bus telling you where you
are, they are constantly caught up in traffic (mainly other busses
pulling into and out of stops), and I got into work half an hour late.
I'm unimpressed.

Funny but I've travelled on 5 buses today and only one was packed beyond
belief. All ran perfectly well without an infestation of smelly people
or anything else for that matter. I've been on 4 tube trains too and
they were OK as well.

Getting away from Walthamstow Central when the Tube goes down can be a
nightmare - I've had to do it too many times. The bus trip to Leyton can
vary from a quick 20 minute sprint to a 40 minute horrendous drag -
usually when the tube is down, the kids are at school, it's raining etc.
The variability is awful so I have some sympathy. When the Tube falls
over like that I tend to ring the office and say "I'll be there when I
can" and take a deep breath, relax and wander off to see what buses or
trains are available. Having informed the office and managed
expectations the alternative journey is less stressful because people
know I'm trying to get in but will be late.

Solution

1) Ban smelly people with things living in their hair

I'm assuming you aren't being serious.

2) Each bus should have a route map like on the tube, so you can see
where you've been, where you are, and where you're going, complete
with interchanges onto the much superior underground and national rail

Do you just mean the route that you are on at the time or more something
akin to the local bus network. I agree that it would be a reassurance to
those not used to using the bus because it makes it seem more like a
train! My personal recommendation is to deliberately vary your trip and
use the buses just to get familiar with where they run etc. Helps you
understand how they work and also knits together a local neighbourhood.
I know it sounds a bit daft but I only really began to fit London
together as a City when I forced myself to use buses between places
instead of always using the Tube.

3) There should be announcments for each stop (whether the bus stops
there or not)

Mixed view on that one. I dislike a lot of recorded messages about "door
closing" etc on buses. It could also get very annoying for the bus
driver listening to it all day while trying to drive his or her bus. I
do appreciate the value for blind people or those who are just unsure as
to where they are. Ideally such a system should be driven off the back
of GPS or some such facility to avoid the need for the driver to
activate a message at each stop.
--
Paul C

Admits to working for London Underground!