On Mar 4, 10:11*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:17:38 +0000, Arthur Figgis
wrote:
Waiting at a bus stop a while ago, I noticed the timetable for the 969.
Whitton - Roehampton, Tuesdays and Fridays only, one journey.

Why? It even has a Facebook group commenting on its infrequency.

It's a mobility bus route along with a small number of other such
routes.

Facebook will just be a whingeing brigade. If they shout too loudly the
route will go completely. The mobility bus network has been
progressively reduced over the years as low floor vehicles have been
purchased for the main routes.

Given the absence of such strategically vital bus links as the N213,
presumably there is a really good reason for the 969 to exist - but what
is it?

I think the basic argument is that the remaining routes do provide
unique network links to town centres or stores from locations where
there are numbers of older / mobility impaired people who would struggle
with a conventional bus route or where there is simply not the demand
for a regular route. *I suspect that the people for whom these routes
run do not qualify for dial a ride so it is very much a niche market. I
recall seeing an article about the 953 where the users said they very
much appreciated the service and, of course, wanted it to be more
frequent. They'll be doing well to retain it.

The performance of Dial a Ride is the subject of repeated questions from
London Assembly Members. There have been widespread complaints about
poor booking procedures and declining service for months and months. I
doubt anyone wants to add to the burden of trying to get it running
properly.

In a fantasy version of TfL's bus network (London Bus Game) that I take
part in all of these routes have been turned into "Community Connect"
routes which offer an hourly or two hourly frequency on M-S using small
vehicles. *Naturally in a fantasy world the financial strictures are not
as bad as the real world!

"London Bus Game" - like SimCity, albeit SimBusNetwork. Wow, there's
always something else out there to surprise one!


Nice to see the Figgis campaign for the N213 carries on. I think people
need to appreciate that if TfL are happy to cut buses left, right and
centre on Oxford Street and break a number of network links in so doing
then there won't be much compunction about Mobility Buses disappearing
when the need for more savings arises. *Oh and I don't see the N213 ever
returning.

Is (the real world) Mr Figgis is actually involved in the real world
campaign? (I dare say it was meant as a figure of speech, but one
never knows.)