Stuck in a traffic jam again this morning caused (surprise surprise)
by a bus crawling along the road and stopping in the middle of it even when
it could pull into the bus stop, I suddenly wondered why it was deemed
necessary to have a bus stop every 200 hundred metres. Are the people who
use the bus too bone idle to be able to walk more than the length of a
football pitch to get to the stop? Reducing the stops by half would mean that
the jam I was in (and probably hundreds of others) would move at double the
speed (maybe even the heady heights of 15mph, woo!). Surely this would be
one way of reducing jams in the city? (And anyone who tells me that I should
be in the bus instead of my car anyway can just save their typing right now
because if they think I'm changing twice and spending probably 90 mins in 3
juddering buses and waiting in the rain to travel 9 miles they're living in
dreamland. If the tube or train was an option I'd use them but they arn't.)

B2003

(Boltar)typed


Stuck in a traffic jam again this morning caused (surprise surprise)
by a bus crawling along the road and stopping in the middle of it even when
it could pull into the bus stop,

Knowing that, if he pulled into a bus stop, London's considerate drivers
would not let him out.

I suddenly wondered why it was deemed
necessary to have a bus stop every 200 hundred metres.

They are only closely spaced when separated by major junctions that are
difficult to cross on foot IME. Otherwise, the spacing is closer to 400
metres.

Are the people who
use the bus too bone idle to be able to walk more than the length of a
football pitch to get to the stop?

I AM NOT BONE IDLE; I AM DISABLED!

Many people who use buses are elderly or disabled, or both. Destinations
or start points might be some way from bus stops, like on side streets
for example.

You are obviously using a car which takes you, near enough from door to door.
I see you have one standard for your convenience and comfort and another
for mine. Lovely!

Reducing the stops by half would mean that
the jam I was in (and probably hundreds of others) would move at double the
speed (maybe even the heady heights of 15mph, woo!). Surely this would be
one way of reducing jams in the city?

Another way of reducing jams in London would be to reduce unnecessary
car journeys.

(And anyone who tells me that I should
be in the bus instead of my car anyway can just save their typing right now
because if they think I'm changing twice and spending probably 90 mins in 3
juddering buses and waiting in the rain to travel 9 miles they're living in
dreamland. If the tube or train was an option I'd use them but they arn't.)

Get a bicycle then.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote in message ...
(Boltar)typed


Stuck in a traffic jam again this morning caused (surprise surprise)
by a bus crawling along the road and stopping in the middle of it even when
it could pull into the bus stop,

Knowing that, if he pulled into a bus stop, London's considerate drivers
would not let him out.

Irrelevant. He's supposed to pull into stops. If he doesn't then he's not
doing his job properly aside from the fact that it risks boarding passengers
getting hit by undertaking cyclists or bikers.

They are only closely spaced when separated by major junctions that are
difficult to cross on foot IME. Otherwise, the spacing is closer to 400
metres.

400 metres? You must be joking. Not from what I've seen.


Are the people who
use the bus too bone idle to be able to walk more than the length of a
football pitch to get to the stop?

I AM NOT BONE IDLE; I AM DISABLED!

Then how do you fit your wheelchair on the bus then in the rush hour?
And why can't you use one of those special council run disabled services?

Another way of reducing jams in London would be to reduce unnecessary
car journeys.

Some however are necessary.


(And anyone who tells me that I should
be in the bus instead of my car anyway can just save their typing right now
because if they think I'm changing twice and spending probably 90 mins in 3
juddering buses and waiting in the rain to travel 9 miles they're living in
dreamland. If the tube or train was an option I'd use them but they arn't.)

Get a bicycle then.

Thanks for the standard issue right-on reply. Very helpful. Besides I
don't fancy cycling on the north circular as I'd rather like to live for more
than a week and aside from which I doubt my boss would appreciate me arriving
sweaty/wet/tired/ill.

B2003

Boltar wrote to uk.transport.london on Mon, 8 Nov 2004:

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote in message
. ..

Are the people who
use the bus too bone idle to be able to walk more than the length of a
football pitch to get to the stop?

I AM NOT BONE IDLE; I AM DISABLED!

Then how do you fit your wheelchair on the bus then in the rush hour?
And why can't you use one of those special council run disabled services?

Do feel free to point out where Helen said she used a wheelchair?

Why do you make such an assumption - I know loads of people who are
disabled (including my sister-in-law and my nephew) who don't use a
wheelchair.
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 6 November 2004 with new photos

Mrs Redboots typed


Do feel free to point out where Helen said she used a wheelchair?

Thanks. I'm not yet in a wheelchair and walk without a stick but I
*can't* walk very far (about 200 metres).

Why do you make such an assumption - I know loads of people who are
disabled (including my sister-in-law and my nephew) who don't use a
wheelchair.

Most disabled people are neither in wheelchairs, nor blind. There seems
to be much provision for these, less for people like me who can't walk
far and need seats downstairs on the buses.

--
Helen D. Vecht:
Edgware.

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote in message ...
Mrs Redboots typed


Do feel free to point out where Helen said she used a wheelchair?

Thanks. I'm not yet in a wheelchair and walk without a stick but I
*can't* walk very far (about 200 metres).

Well in that case unless the bus stops within 200 metres of your
destination then its useless to you anyway so your point is?

B2003

Helen Deborah Vecht wrote to uk.transport.london on Mon, 8 Nov 2004:

Mrs Redboots typed


Do feel free to point out where Helen said she used a wheelchair?

Thanks. I'm not yet in a wheelchair and walk without a stick but I
*can't* walk very far (about 200 metres).

Is what I seem to remember from earlier postings of yours!

Why do you make such an assumption - I know loads of people who are
disabled (including my sister-in-law and my nephew) who don't use a
wheelchair.

Most disabled people are neither in wheelchairs, nor blind. There seems
to be much provision for these, less for people like me who can't walk
far and need seats downstairs on the buses.

My in-laws are blind, as it happens, but, as you so rightly say, it's
mostly people who can't walk very well. Which new buses simply don't
address, if you ask me, as there's such a long way to go before you can
sit down, and no conductor to help you on and off.

My sister-in-law thinks it's very funny that the bell-pushes on modern
buses have markings in Braille on them - by the time you've found the
bell-push, would you actually need the Braille to tell you that you
have?
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 6 November 2004 with new photos

In message , Helen Deborah
Vecht writes

They are only closely spaced when separated by major junctions that are
difficult to cross on foot IME. Otherwise, the spacing is closer to 400
metres.

I have to say that most of the bus stops around here (SW14) are much
closer together than that - 200 metres would probably be average.

When catching a bus, one is very grateful for the short walk, but when
on the bus one tends to get very irritated that the bus stops so
horribly frequently.

--
Paul Terry

On Mon, 8 Nov 2004 19:42:00 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:
I have to say that most of the bus stops around here (SW14) are much
closer together than that - 200 metres would probably be average.

indeed, it is the same where I live

When catching a bus, one is very grateful for the short walk, but when
on the bus one tends to get very irritated that the bus stops so
horribly frequently.

the best buses I've used are in Holland, and the bus stops are a very
long way apart by London standards. The 63 route on Farringdon Road
has two stops that can't be more than 15m apart - that's crazy

--
u n d e r a c h i e v e r

On 23 Nov 2004 10:26:39 GMT, u n d e r a c h i e v e r
wrote:

On Mon, 8 Nov 2004 19:42:00 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:
I have to say that most of the bus stops around here (SW14) are much
closer together than that - 200 metres would probably be average.

indeed, it is the same where I live

When catching a bus, one is very grateful for the short walk, but when
on the bus one tends to get very irritated that the bus stops so
horribly frequently.

the best buses I've used are in Holland, and the bus stops are a very
long way apart by London standards. The 63 route on Farringdon Road
has two stops that can't be more than 15m apart - that's crazy

Stop spacing is a legacy issue. Routes which are consistently closely
spaced are ex-tram routes. The 207 stop spacing is a good example of
this.

With 17,500 bus stops in the Greater London a rationalisation process
would take many years and cost a lot of money.


Rob.
--
rob at robertwoolley dot co dot uk