Gor blimey. I made a massive mistake. I was at the Purley Tesco, at about 3pm, and I wanted to go to Tooting. But I just missed a 127, by about 30 seconds.

The next 127 was in 29 minutes but a different bus arrived in 1 minute, a 455 to Wallington. I thought that I could take that and possible catch up with the 127, or get another bus.

But the 455 went everywhere. South Croydon, East Croydon and West Croydon AND then back to Purley where we had started from. Luckily, the mad bus stopped at Waddon Marsh and I leapt off and got the Tram. What a relief!

Since London has been afflicted with a Mayor and TfL, there are
numerous bus routes that go all round the houses, often along
residential streets that are quite unsuitable for large vehicles,
and waste passengers' time. Gone are the days when you could
judge by the destination board if a bus was appropriate for your
journey.

On 2016\01\29 19:53, Offramp wrote:
Gor blimey. I made a massive mistake. I was at the Purley Tesco, at about 3pm, and I wanted to go to Tooting. But I just missed a 127, by about 30 seconds.

The next 127 was in 29 minutes but a different bus arrived in 1 minute, a 455 to Wallington. I thought that I could take that and possible catch up with the 127, or get another bus.

But the 455 went everywhere. South Croydon, East Croydon and West Croydon AND then back to Purley where we had started from. Luckily, the mad bus stopped at Waddon Marsh and I leapt off and got the Tram. What a relief!

https://tfl.gov.uk/bus/route/455/?direction=outbound

Robin9 wrote:

Offramp;153677 Wrote:
Gor blimey. I made a massive mistake. I was at the Purley Tesco, at
about 3pm, and I wanted to go to Tooting. But I just missed a 127, by
about 30 seconds.

The next 127 was in 29 minutes but a different bus arrived in 1 minute,
a 455 to Wallington. I thought that I could take that and possible catch
up with the 127, or get another bus.

But the 455 went everywhere. South Croydon, East Croydon and West
Croydon AND then back to Purley where we had started from. Luckily, the
mad bus stopped at Waddon Marsh and I leapt off and got the Tram. What a
relief!

Since London has been afflicted with a Mayor and TfL, there are
numerous bus routes that go all round the houses, often along
residential streets that are quite unsuitable for large vehicles,
and waste passengers' time. Gone are the days when you could
judge by the destination board if a bus was appropriate for your
journey.

This route predates the Mayor and had the odd route sine 88.

Croydon has several routes that nearly loop as they cover one old route
into Croydon and another out e.g. 466, 407

--
Mark

Robin9 wrote on 30 Jan 2016 at
10:50 ...
Offramp;153677 Wrote:
Gor blimey. I made a massive mistake. I was at the Purley Tesco, at
about 3pm, and I wanted to go to Tooting. But I just missed a 127, by
about 30 seconds.

The next 127 was in 29 minutes but a different bus arrived in 1 minute,
a 455 to Wallington. I thought that I could take that and possible catch
up with the 127, or get another bus.

But the 455 went everywhere. South Croydon, East Croydon and West
Croydon AND then back to Purley where we had started from. Luckily, the
mad bus stopped at Waddon Marsh and I leapt off and got the Tram. What a
relief!

Since London has been afflicted with a Mayor and TfL, there are
numerous bus routes that go all round the houses, often along
residential streets that are quite unsuitable for large vehicles,
and waste passengers' time.

The bus routes go round the houses because that's where people live,
thus providing a bus service to thousands of people who would have found
it difficult or impossible to reach one of the old routes, or who would
have had to use their cars and helped to clog up the streets. This
seems to me to be a worthwhile improvement.

Gone are the days when you could judge by the destination board if
a bus was appropriate for your journey.

That was because there was often only one route in that general
direction. Isn't it nice to have a more comprehensive service?
--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

Paul Corfield wrote:
Some are on narrowish roads but many are not and the
only issue would be stop locations where people have drives in front
of their homes.

That "only" rathers assumes that individuals should accept without
complaint the costs to them of providing a social good. I lived near a
bus stop many years ago. The effects extend way beyond access to
drives. The noise (both from passengers and from buses
stopping/starting), litter, damage to fences, and general low-level
anti-social behaviour can be significant. (And that was in days when
teenagers rarely knifed people who objected to their criminal damage.)
TfL may aim to minimise the effects but "not by my front yard" is
understandable.

--
Robin
reply to address is (meant to be) valid

In message , at 09:49:18 on Sun, 31 Jan
2016, Robin remarked:

Some are on narrowish roads but many are not and the
only issue would be stop locations where people have drives in front
of their homes.

The hazard of having a driveway blocked briefly because a bus has
stopped there seems pretty minimal.

t "only" rathers assumes that individuals should accept without
complaint the costs to them of providing a social good. I lived near a
bus stop many years ago. The effects extend way beyond access to
drives. The noise (both from passengers and from buses
stopping/starting), litter, damage to fences, and general low-level
anti-social behaviour can be significant. (And that was in days when
teenagers rarely knifed people who objected to their criminal damage.)
TfL may aim to minimise the effects but "not by my front yard" is
understandable.

But yes, I've lived near bus stops and it's commonplace for passengers
to use the nearest front garden as a litter bin.
--
Roland Perry

I believe you're a Walthamstow resident. I used to know a
few families who lived in Upper Walthamstow. They were not
pleased when bus routes were extended via Fyfield Road to
Bisterne Avenue. They did tell me that cars had been damaged,
and that, when going over speedhumps, buses cause houses to
vibrate. They also said they wished the buses had not been
routed through their neighbourhood and that they never used them.
This last assertion is supported by empirical evidence: the buses
are more or less empty in Upper Walthamstow.

I also know very slightly a man who trained to be a bus driver and
who worked that route. He told me it was a nightmare trying to
make progress along Fyfield Road - he didn't need to tell me: I can
see for myself every time I drive around there - and he gave up
after a few weeks.

The Upper Walthamstow scenario typifies the reality of these
routes through residential streets.

1) Previously there had been no widespread clamour for bus
routes to come through Upper Walthamstow. People walked to
either Wood Street or Forest Road or hired a minicab, and the
vast majority of local residents thought there was nothing
unreasonable about the situation.

2) Bus evangelists decided buses should travel these narrow
roads. The decision was not made in response to public
demand but was made without regard for the impact the buses
would have on the area.

3) Now there are traffic jams in Fyfield Road and, inevitably, an
increase in air pollution.

4) Bus evangelists and their supporters pretend that they have
liberated people who were imprisoned in their homes, happily
ignoring the fact that no-one had been imprisoned, no-one had
complained about being imprisoned and that local people had
gone about their business with no great difficulty.

5) The quality of life for the majority has deteriorated, not
become better. They now have to contend with traffic jams,
vehicle fumes and vibration. TfL and the bus fanatics do not
care at all about these adverse consequence.

On 29.01.16 19:53, Offramp wrote:
Gor blimey. I made a massive mistake. I was at the Purley Tesco, at about 3pm, and I wanted to go to Tooting. But I just missed a 127, by about 30 seconds.

The next 127 was in 29 minutes but a different bus arrived in 1 minute, a 455 to Wallington. I thought that I could take that and possible catch up with the 127, or get another bus.

But the 455 went everywhere. South Croydon, East Croydon and West Croydon AND then back to Purley where we had started from. Luckily, the mad bus stopped at Waddon Marsh and I leapt off and got the Tram. What a relief!


The 242 is a shining example of that, IMHO.

On Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:29:06 +0000, Paul Corfield
wrote:

Some are on narrowish roads but many are not and the
only issue would be stop locations where people have drives in front
of their homes.

A few years ago some routes were "hail and ride", i.e. there were
sections of route without fixed bus stops, but as far as I am aware
these no longer exist. Was this an experiment which was judged to have
failed?

--
John Ray