On 10 Sep 2004 02:36:12 -0700, (Tim) wrote:

At the end of the first week of operation of the route 73 benders,
here's a few notes I have made on the level of service:

Hopefully my observations might be of interest too:

I travel from Essex Road (N1) railway station to King's Cross
Thameslink railway station and back during each weekday peak, normally
on a 73 - but am now often chosing other (multiple) buses due to a
poorer service.

Journey times heading both south and north have increased
significantly. This short stretch used to take around ten minutes, but
over the last week journey times have stretched to around 20 minutes
in some instances.

Travelling northbound, it is now very rare that I get a seat.
Previously, either due to the higher frequency of the service, or the
design of RMs I almost always got a seat.

The northbound Islington area from the A501 into the A1 via White Lion
Street is far harder for the bus to negotiate now. During one evening
journey last week cars overtook on the left as we attempted to pull
into the stop outside the Jury's Inn hotel. Due to the length of the
bus and the turning space required getting into the bus lane along
White Lion Street becomes far more difficult with only a marginal
increase when traffic queues. Turning left from White Lion Street into
Upper Street is a mess too given the increased 'merging' space the
buses need.

The southbound section of the Angel tube/Upper Street bus stop area
seems to present difficulty too. Most drivers seem to have greater
difficulty than in a RM when getting from the bus lane, across two
lanes of traffic in order to turn right into Pentonville Road. Perhaps
a greater level of confidence will come in time, but at the moment the
drivers are driving like my grandmother!

In summary: a less frequent, slower, more crowded service where I now
rarely get a seat. Thanks Ken - what an improvement!
(And I can't even take advatange of the 'free' fares, needing a
Travelcard for other parts of my journey!)


Cheers,

Jason.

Around midday today (14 Sept) I spotted a convoy of *four* 73s
crawling down Gower Street. The first was completely packed out, the
following three practically empty. The drivers of the empty ones were
clearly looking to overtake but seemed unable to do so, thanks to
traffic levels and so on.

I hate to think of what goes on further down the line (particularly
the right turn from Bloomsbury onto New Oxford St. which seems to be
clogged up at the best of times).

In article ,
(david) wrote:

Around midday today (14 Sept) I spotted a convoy of *four* 73s
crawling down Gower Street. The first was completely packed out, the
following three practically empty. The drivers of the empty ones were
clearly looking to overtake but seemed unable to do so, thanks to
traffic levels and so on.

I hate to think of what goes on further down the line (particularly
the right turn from Bloomsbury onto New Oxford St. which seems to be
clogged up at the best of times).

Precisely. They're building a bus gate in Gower Street. Wouldn't they have
done better not to hatch off one lane just beyond those lights? When I was
on a (Routemaster) 73 the other day we couldn't get into the right turn
bus lane there because the entrance was blocked as a result of their only
being two traffic lanes at the entrance. :-(

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(david) wrote:


Around midday today (14 Sept) I spotted a convoy of *four* 73s
crawling down Gower Street. The first was completely packed out, the
following three practically empty. The drivers of the empty ones were
clearly looking to overtake but seemed unable to do so, thanks to
traffic levels and so on.

I hate to think of what goes on further down the line (particularly
the right turn from Bloomsbury onto New Oxford St. which seems to be
clogged up at the best of times).


Precisely. They're building a bus gate in Gower Street. Wouldn't they have
done better not to hatch off one lane just beyond those lights? When I was
on a (Routemaster) 73 the other day we couldn't get into the right turn
bus lane there because the entrance was blocked as a result of their only
being two traffic lanes at the entrance. :-(

Today's issue of the London By London mailing list
(http://www.londonbylondon.co.uk) contained the following reader's
submission:

"Has anyone had amusing experiences on the new Bendy 73s? I was on my
way to Angel from Stoke Newington on Saturday and the driver actually
got off the bus somewhere a little way down Albion Road, screaming, "I'm
having a nightmare! I don't want to hit it! My heart is beating so fast!".

Poor guy! How much training did the drivers actually get before they
were let loose with those 18-metre monsters I wonder? That said, I
usually travel on two wheels and getting rid of the Routemasters means
that you don't get pedestrians jumping off in front of you without
looking.."

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 08:04:20 +0100, Dave Newt newtonline{at}gmail.com
wrote:

Today's issue of the London By London mailing list
(http://www.londonbylondon.co.uk) contained the following reader's
submission:

"Has anyone had amusing experiences on the new Bendy 73s? I was on my
way to Angel from Stoke Newington on Saturday and the driver actually
got off the bus somewhere a little way down Albion Road, screaming, "I'm
having a nightmare! I don't want to hit it! My heart is beating so fast!".

Eeek!

Poor guy! How much training did the drivers actually get before they
were let loose with those 18-metre monsters I wonder?

I think some only got about a day or so of practice. I've travelled by
73 twice - each time perched in the front seat so sometimes the drivers
chat. The first lady driver was pretty confident and did well getting
through the gaps but had a "crunch" moment getting into the New Oxford
St bus lane.

The second driver was much more hesitant and *seemed* to struggle or
else was being very careful indeed. He said that some drivers had got
stuck on the very tight left turn by KX Thameslink station and had had
to reverse. He also said that the New Oxford Street turn was an absolute
nightmare as there is a pinch point just around the corner which the
buses usually hit with their front tyres when the back end is still
coming round the corner. We were 16 minutes late by this point and the
bus was curtailed at Marble Arch in consequence.

I do feel a bit sorry for the drivers as I expect that Arriva are paying
close attention as to whether the buses return in pristine condition or
not.
--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...

The second driver was much more hesitant and *seemed* to struggle or
else was being very careful indeed. He said that some drivers had got
stuck on the very tight left turn by KX Thameslink station and had had
to reverse.

That is a very tight turn indeed!

On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 11:21:32 +0100, Paul Corfield
wrote:

I think some only got about a day or so of practice. I've travelled by
73 twice - each time perched in the front seat so sometimes the drivers
chat. The first lady driver was pretty confident and did well getting
through the gaps but had a "crunch" moment getting into the New Oxford
St bus lane.

That turn seems tight in a Routemaster, never mind a bendy or
full-size decker, and is a prize piece of crap road layout design.
The island should be removed to make it easier to swing around.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain

Neil Williams ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

That turn seems tight in a Routemaster, never mind a bendy or
full-size decker

The one at the top of Kingsway, turning from High Holborn is quite
entertaining for a bendy, too - and that one's on the first route to go
bendy, whichever number it was (500?)

They seem to manage to overhang the kerbs and scrape the barriers on both
sides simultaneously.

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

We were 16 minutes late by this point and the
bus was curtailed at Marble Arch in consequence.

Yes, I've noticed Marble Arch as a destination on 73s only since the
retirement of the Routemasters.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article ,
(Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:

In article ,
(Paul Corfield) wrote:

We were 16 minutes late by this point and the
bus was curtailed at Marble Arch in consequence.

Yes, I've noticed Marble Arch as a destination on 73s only since the
retirement of the Routemasters.

And Park Lane on the one I saw in New Oxford St this afternoon around
15:20. I saw one with a Victoria destination this morning.

--
Colin Rosenstiel