There are many differences between bus operations in the 60s and 70s
and today. Here are a few:

VEHICLE & PAX
In the days of the "traditional: double-decker, eg Routemaster,
conductors would call 'seats on top" and persuade passengers to go up
rather than stand in the lower saloon.

Standing capacity was limited, with none of what the old regulations
used to call "perambulators or other wheeled conveyance" - in other
words, baby "buggies"

And, dare I say, passengers were "better behaved" with a sense of
shared responsibility and common purpose. If you try to interpret that
as some sort of right-wing racist rant, please see [1] below

ROADS, ROUTES & TRAFFIC

The roads are MUCH busier, with many more vehicles of all kinds -
including buses.

Here in SE London, the routes for both my local buses [244 and 380]
operate predominantly in residential roads.

The 380 in particular covers what must be one of the most challenging
routes in London on the section from Woolwich Dockyard to Blackheath -
steep hills, tight corners, lots of parked cars on both sides of the
road, and often very tight clearances, particularly where vans and SUVs
are parked.

When they do emerge on to main roads, for example between Plumstead and
Woolwich, these roads are highly congested in the rush hour with both
trucks heading to/from the Blackwall tunnel, local traffic and
commuters, more than a few of whom display poor lane discipline and a
lack of what's known as reasonable consideration for other road users.

Operating a route like that in conditions of poor adhesion and poor
visibility as we saw in yesterday's rush hour, would be irresponsible,
to put it mildly. It would put the bus, its passengers and other
vehicles / road users including pedestrians at risk.

SO: not lawyer-itis, not elfnsafety, and for goodness sake, not lazy
bus drivers. Just common sense.

Of course, there's an entirely separate issue about civil
contingencies, emergency planning, preparedness and the appropriate
levels of investment required.

But there London is not alone. Just a few days ago there was
astonishment chez Obama that Malia and Sasha's schools were closed
because there was some snow in and around DC.

"Back home in Chicago the schools never closed," an apparently bemused
President said [although we suspect that was a gentle prod at the
authorities in the District and there congressional paymasters].

The reason is simple: Chicago gets LOTs of snow every year. If you live
there or anywhere along the Great Lakes and Northern Midwest every
community has to plan for - and fund - its snowtime operations, because
between December and February or March heavy snow is as inevitable as
night and day. But when I worked in DC as a journalist I twice found
the government of the US effectively closed for business. Even the
Pentagon car park had spaces on one particularly bout of snow.

I made a joke of it in a feature article : "Don't tell the Kremlin.
They don't need all those missiles. All they need to do is watch the
weather forecast, and Washington DC could be theirs in a day. As long
as they brought their fur hats!"

But I wonder how Londoners would react if next year's council tax bill
had an extra line "weather precept - £50" or whatever?

Food for thought?

Ken

[1] I have mobility problems, requiring the use of a stick, and with
limited articulation of the knee can only fit into one or two seats.
Which group of pax most often allow me to board first and/or offer me
seats: black women aged mid-20s to 40s, particularly those with
children, who are often told "let the gentleman sit there - he needs
that seat more than you do" - and then provide interesting and engaging
travel companions.
Which least? White men, particularly under-40s.





On 2009-02-02 05:05:40 +0000, Epicentre said:

Matthew Dickinson wrote in
:

All TfL bus services have been suspended due to the snow.

I can't remember this happening in the 70s and 80s when we had the
same levels of snowfall, so I wonder what has changed...

I'm fairly certain it happened in 1979 when I had to walk back from Camden
Town to Stoke Newington one evening


--
Writer / editor on London's River