New mayor Sadiq has announced that he will launch a formal policy
consultation in a matter of weeks on a major package of measures to tackle
air pollution in London. The proposals will include:

•Extending the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the North Circular Road
and the South Circular Road and the possibility of bringing forward the
introduction earlier than 2020. Under current plans the ULEZ will only
operate within the Congestion Charging Zone and it is due to come in from
2020.

• Implementing an extra charge on the most polluting vehicles entering
central London using the Congestion Charge payment and enforcement system
from 2017 (this would not mean an increase in the Congestion Charge but
just the method for collecting the extra charge from people driving the
most polluting vehicles)

•Introducing ULEZ standards for heavy vehicles London-wide from 2020

•Giving the go-ahead for Transport for London (TfL) to start work on the
costs and challenges of implementing a diesel scrappage scheme as part of a
wider national scheme delivered by the Government

• Proposals to work with the Government to tackle air pollution on a
national and international level.


Proposals for TfL to lead by example:

•Introducing self-imposed ULEZ standards a year earlier for TfL double
decker buses

•Implementing clean bus corridors – tackling the worst pollution hotspots
by concentrating cleaner buses on the dirtiest routes

•Expanding the ULEZ retrofit programme to 3,000 buses outside the central
zone (up from 2,000)

•Purchasing only hybrid or zero-emission double-decker buses from 2018.

More in
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-rele...dons-toxic-air

I don't use buses much so I'm ignorant about the routes
and the use of them. I know that numerous buses run along
Oxford Street and clog up that road, but I don't know where
they go to, how heavily they are used and what percentage
of passengers travel right through Oxford Strret and beyond.

So, I have a question for the bus experts here. Is it a feasible
option a) to re-diagram bus routes so that bus journeys begin
and end at Marble Arch or New Oxford Street/St. Giles Circus
so that those buses do not travel along Oxford Street at all,
and b) design a hybrid trolley bus with a small petrol engine,
and run a trolley bus shuttle service along Oxford Street - with
overhead wiring installed of course - using the petrol engine
only to move the bus to and from the bus depot?

Feel free to shoot me down in flames.

On 14/05/2016 09:43, Robin9 wrote:

'Recliner[_3_ Wrote:

New mayor Sadiq has announced that he will launch a formal
policy consultation in a matter of weeks on a major package
of measures to tackle air pollution in London.

I don't use buses much so I'm ignorant about the routes
and the use of them. I know that numerous buses run along
Oxford Street and clog up that road, but I don't know where
they go to, how heavily they are used and what percentage
of passengers travel right through Oxford Strret and beyond.
So, I have a question for the bus experts here. Is it a feasible
option a) to re-diagram bus routes so that bus journeys begin
and end at Marble Arch or New Oxford Street/St. Giles Circus
so that those buses do not travel along Oxford Street at all,
and b) design a hybrid trolley bus with a small petrol engine,
and run a trolley bus shuttle service along Oxford Street - with
overhead wiring installed of course - using the petrol engine
only to move the bus to and from the bus depot?

It is always feasible to cange bus routes, but Oxford Street is about a
mile long between St Giles and Marble Arch.

Would it be practical not to have any buses serving it?

Feel free to shoot me down in flames.

I'd be surprised if TaL operates any buses powered by petrol. It would
be phenomenally expensive.

Diesel has been the fuel for larger vehicles since well before WW2.

Now that it's known that diesel engines emit worse pollutants
than petrol engines, TfL's attitude might change.

My suggestion was the hybrid trolley bus would use the
petrol engine only when running empty between the bus
depot and the West End. When carrying passengers, it
would run on electricity, thus being far cleaner than the
buses using Oxford Street today.

On 16/05/2016 08:25, Robin9 wrote:
'JNugent[_5_ Wrote:
;155773']On 14/05/2016 09:43, Robin9 wrote:
-
'Recliner[_3_ Wrote:-
--
New mayor Sadiq has announced that he will launch a formal
policy consultation in a matter of weeks on a major package
of measures to tackle air pollution in London.--
-
I don't use buses much so I'm ignorant about the routes
and the use of them. I know that numerous buses run along
Oxford Street and clog up that road, but I don't know where
they go to, how heavily they are used and what percentage
of passengers travel right through Oxford Strret and beyond.
So, I have a question for the bus experts here. Is it a feasible
option a) to re-diagram bus routes so that bus journeys begin
and end at Marble Arch or New Oxford Street/St. Giles Circus
so that those buses do not travel along Oxford Street at all,
and b) design a hybrid trolley bus with a small petrol engine,
and run a trolley bus shuttle service along Oxford Street - with
overhead wiring installed of course - using the petrol engine
only to move the bus to and from the bus depot?-

It is always feasible to cange bus routes, but Oxford Street is about a

mile long between St Giles and Marble Arch.

Would it be practical not to have any buses serving it?
-
Feel free to shoot me down in flames.-

I'd be surprised if TfL operates any buses powered by petrol. It would
be phenomenally expensive.

Why did you change what I typed?

You didn't even mention that a change had been made.

Diesel has been the fuel for larger vehicles since well before WW2.

Now that it's known that diesel engines emit worse pollutants
than petrol engines, TfL's attitude might change.

There is the little matter of cost.

My suggestion was the hybrid trolley bus would use the
petrol engine only when running empty between the bus
depot and the West End. When carrying passengers, it
would run on electricity, thus being far cleaner than the
buses using Oxford Street today.

Why not just run on electricity all the way?

Because to do that, it would be necessary to string up
overhead cables between Oxford Street and the bus depot!

Many thanks for your response. A few points:

My suggestion was in ignorance of this foolhardy idea
of pedestrianising Oxford Street. Does Westminster
Council really believe that making shoppers carry all
their parcels, even large, heavy ones, will persuade
people back to Oxford Street? That's counter intuitive,
to put it mildly.

Clearly, if terminating bus services at Marble Arch and
New Oxford Street is impracticable, those bus services
would have to continue to somewhere else. That's not
necessarily an unworkable idea.

Turning a trolley bus shuttle service around would not be
difficult if overhead cables are strung up all round the
Marble Arch/Cumberland Gate gyratory system and the New
Oxford Street/Dyott Street/St. Giles High Street gyratory.
Because such a short distance is involved, there would be
no need for "rest breaks" at the end of each journey and
no need to keep to a strict timetable, so buses would not
need to park up at either end of Oxford Street.

I didn't know TfL had an abhorrence of trolley buses. Why do
they? TfL has no experience of them because they were
eliminated when I was still a boy and, sadly, that was a long
time ago.

I also didn't know about the plans to sabotage Gloucester Place,
Baker Street, Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street. I'm not
at all surprised to find local opposition to this nonsense. I've
expressed my opinions in the past about TfL's motives for
changing roads and their love of conflicting traffic flows and
innumerable traffic lights. (David Cameron: you are so naïve)
The plan to return these roads to two way running will of course
be ruinous. I do hope the new Mayor's reservations about TfL
will prompt him to intervene and to replace the vandals at TfL
with responsible, public minded people.

On Sun, May 15, 2016 at 02:06:16AM +0100, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sat, 14 May 2016 10:43:50 +0200, Robin9
wrote:
So, I have a question for the bus experts here. Is it a feasible
option a) to re-diagram bus routes so that bus journeys begin
and end at Marble Arch or New Oxford Street/St. Giles Circus
so that those buses do not travel along Oxford Street at all,
Short answer is No to turning hundreds of buses an hour at Marble Arch
and TCR. Existing stands are full. TfL have stated in the past that
you simply cannot do it.

Would you need bus stands? Why not just, eg at the Marble Arch end,
stop at stop C on Hyde Park Place, go round the roundabout then stop
again at stop A and similar for buses coming down Edgware Rd or up Park
Lane?

If you are pedestrianising Oxford St then you won't have any vehicles
in it so discussions about trolleybus shuttles are irrelevant. Also if
you can't turn diesel buses at TCR and Marble Arch how the heck do you
turn a trolleybus shuttle?

By going round the roundabout. At the other end it would have to go
around Centre Point.

Anyway TfL hate trolleybuses and the
notion of fixed infrastructure in the West End despite it being the
right answer (A large tram network would easily clean the air up but
no one will countenance the short term disruption to create it).

Would there be much disruption involved in putting up some poles and
wires? Unlike with trams there's no need to dig the road up to lay
track.

This will also have
considerable ramifications for bus travellers in Zones 2 and 3 who
currently benefit from frequent services that run from Zone 1.

Do many people further out use buses that end up going along Oxford
Street *and out the other end for a substantial distance*? Taking just
one bus stop as an example, stop OM at the junction of Oxford St and
Wardour St is served by 25, 55, 98, N55, N98, and N207.

25 goes from Oxford Circus to some ghastly place in Essex, so doesn't
cross London via Oxford St. Curtailing it at the east end of Oxford St
would have no impact on those people out in zones 2 and 3.

55 goes from Oxford Circus to a different ghastly place in Essex, so
there would be no impact again. Likewise N55.

98 goes from Russell Square via Oxford St to Willesden, so there would
be minimal impact, given that we're going to get one hour tickets soon
allowing a change of bus (I assume that this would cover the
hypothetical Oxford Street shuttle). Likewise N98.

N207 goes from Uxbridge to Bloomsbury Square, so again there would be
very little impact.

--
David Cantrell | top google result for "topless karaoke murders"

PERL: Politely Expressed Racoon Love

I believe the 55 goes to Whipps Cross which most certainly
is not some ghastly place in Essex. It's where Leyton,
Walthamstow and Snaresbrook come together at the
southern end of Epping Forest.

At present it's still a pleasant spot. Sadly Waltham Forest
Council plans to ruin it with a mini Holland scheme. They
have already chopped down some splendid trees.

On 2016-05-13 15:48:59 +0000, Recliner said:

•Extending the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to the North Circular Road
and the South Circular Road and the possibility of bringing forward the
introduction earlier than 2020. Under current plans the ULEZ will only
operate within the Congestion Charging Zone and it is due to come in from
2020.

This will affect a large number of cars in poorer areas I reckon. I
guess it has to happen though. I think it will knock out our car, a
2005 Volvo, a petrol model that has many thousands of miles left in it
and is no smoky diesel.

E.