Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Oct 22, 12:08 am, John B wrote:
The people of London didn't want Boris as their mayor. The people of
various unsavoury outposts that the Tories gerrymandered into Greater
London in the first place to end Labour's dominance of the County of
London wanted Boris as their mayor; the people of actual London voted
for Ken.

Speak for yourself. I live in a london borough and I voted for Boris.
I want someone who represents me - a white middle class male - not
some borderline corrupt closet commie who's only interested in right-
on minority causes.

B2003

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Oct 22, 11:47 am, MIG wrote:
The vehicle that collides isn't necessarily the one that caused the
collision. Maybe overtaking bendys puts cyclists in the path of
lorries. Maybe people who have to walk in the middle of the road when
the crossing is blocked by a bendy get hit by a motorbike.

If a cyclist is dumb enough to get wiped out by a bendy bus they'd
probably have been squished by an HGV sooner or later anyway. The
golden rule of cycling is you do not pass any sort of vehicle on the
inside near a left turn.

B2003

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On 22 Oct, 12:10, Boltar wrote:
On Oct 22, 11:47 am, MIG wrote:

The vehicle that collides isn't necessarily the one that caused the
collision. *Maybe overtaking bendys puts cyclists in the path of
lorries. *Maybe people who have to walk in the middle of the road when
the crossing is blocked by a bendy get hit by a motorbike.

If a cyclist is dumb enough to get wiped out by a bendy bus they'd
probably have been squished by an HGV sooner or later anyway. The
golden rule of cycling is you do not pass any sort of vehicle on the
inside near a left turn.

B2003

I didn't mention the inside or left turns.

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Oct 22, 12:13 pm, MIG wrote:
I didn't mention the inside or left turns.

Thats generally where it happens though. If its any sort of other
accident then I don't see how the bus being bendy or not would make
any difference.

B2003

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Oct 22, 12:07*pm, Boltar wrote:
The people of London didn't want Boris as their mayor. The people of
various unsavoury outposts that the Tories gerrymandered into Greater
London in the first place to end Labour's dominance of the County of
London wanted Boris as their mayor; the people of actual London voted
for Ken.

Speak for yourself. I live in a london borough and I voted for Boris.
I want someone who represents me - a white middle class male - not
some borderline corrupt closet commie who's only interested in right-
on minority causes.

But (assuming you mean an Inner London, ex-county-of-London borough)
you're in a minority - Ken won the majority of votes in Inner London
and lost because of the strong Tory contingent in places like Bromley.

Did you somehow fail to notice that - like the vast majority of
politicians - Ken is, err, a white middle-class male? And I wouldn't
personally class the massive focus on transport improvement that was
the primary characteristic Ken's time in power (both in the 1980s and
the 2000s) as a right-on minority cause.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 04:08:16PM -0700, John B wrote:

I'm deeply sceptical, although it's possible that the people you spoke
to were idiots. In real life, bendies provide a much better service
than other buses on a given route.

That is, I'm afraid, not true.

Route 38 had a better service before it went all bendy. By which I mean
there were more seats (which were more comfortable) and a more frequent
service, with journey times being about the same. There was also less
fare-dodging.

The people of London didn't want Boris as their mayor. The people of
various unsavoury outposts that the Tories gerrymandered into Greater
London in the first place to end Labour's dominance of the County of
London wanted Boris as their mayor; the people of actual London voted
for Ken.

If what you say was true, then Livingstone wouldn't have got in in the
first place. Nor would Labour have won the GLC elections in 1964, 1973,
and 1981.

He lost because he stood as a Labour party candidate at a time when
Labour are deeply unpopular. If he'd stayed as an independent right
from the start, he would, I am sure, have done better, maybe even well
enough to win.

--
David Cantrell | Minister for Arbitrary Justice

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 04:36:11PM -0700, John B wrote:
On Oct 22, 12:23=A0am, wrote:
I hate bendies because they are just too long to mix with other traffic.
Based on what evidence?

My evidence would be taking a look at traffic flows at Piccadilly
Circus, along the western half of Shaftesbury Avenue, and at the
junction of Bloomsbury Street and New Oxford Street.

In particular, note the difficulty that bendy buses have actually
getting into the junction at Picadilly Circus from Picadilly itself,
how much road space they need to turn left from Regent Street onto
Picadilly, and how New Oxford Street snarls up because bendy buses
turning onto it from Bloomsbury Street so often have the unpalatable
choice of either just sitting there and not making the turn, or stopping
so as to block the entire junction.

Hope that helps.

--
David Cantrell | Minister for Arbitrary Justice

Irregular English:
ladies glow; gentlemen perspire; brutes, oafs and athletes sweat

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 07:13:24PM -0500, wrote:

Trying to get along Euston Road from King's Cross station to turn left
into Judd Street before and after the 73 became a bendy route. Observation
of the Cambridge Circus junction.

To be fair, the current problems at Cambridge Circus are caused by road
works further up Charing Cross Road.

It does strike me as a bit daft, however, that eastbound buses still
turn to go up Charing Cross Road and past Centre Point, instead of just
skipping a couple of stops and going straight up Shaftesbury Avenue to
New Oxford Street.

--
David Cantrell | Cake Smuggler Extraordinaire

All principles of gravity are negated by fear
-- Cartoon Law V

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Oct 22, 12:27*pm, David Cantrell wrote:
I'm deeply sceptical, although it's possible that the people you spoke
to were idiots. In real life, bendies provide a much better service
than other buses on a given route.

That is, I'm afraid, not true.

Route 38 had a better service before it went all bendy. *By which I mean
there were more seats (which were more comfortable) and a more frequent
service, with journey times being about the same. *There was also less
fare-dodging.

But more standing capacity with bendies, right? Which is the important
thing when the issue is bus-you-can-get-on vs bus-you-can't.

The people of London didn't want Boris as their mayor. The people of
various unsavoury outposts that the Tories gerrymandered into Greater
London in the first place to end Labour's dominance of the County of
London wanted Boris as their mayor; the people of actual London voted
for Ken.

If what you say was true, then Livingstone wouldn't have got in in the
first place. *Nor would Labour have won the GLC elections in 1964, 1973,
and 1981.

Aye, fair; while it's true that Inner London voted for Ken this time
round, and that Outer London reliably swings Tory, I do accept it
makes more sense for the outer boroughs to be included in the
administrative unit. It's kind-of annoying that their vote dictates
what happens on issues like bendies and pedestrianisation in the
centre, which is of peripheral interest to them at best - but that's
democracy, and while democracy is crap we know pretty much every other
way of doing things is worse.

He lost because he stood as a Labour party candidate at a time when
Labour are deeply unpopular. *If he'd stayed as an independent right
from the start, he would, I am sure, have done better, maybe even well
enough to win.

I suspect you're right (although having rejoined for the second
election, I don't think he could realistically have left again for the
third). By this year, the small-c-conservative-suburban-middle-class
had finally returned to their natural Tory habitat...

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

Boris admits bendy-buses are safe - but he'll axe them anyway
 

On Oct 22, 12:26 pm, John B wrote:
But (assuming you mean an Inner London, ex-county-of-London borough)
you're in a minority - Ken won the majority of votes in Inner London
and lost because of the strong Tory contingent in places like Bromley.

London is where its currently defined municiple borders end , not at a
convenient point for left wingers. If you want just the historical
london then you should go back to roman times which would give you
the City itself, ironically a truer blue tory area you'll not be
likely to find anywhere in the country.

Did you somehow fail to notice that - like the vast majority of
politicians - Ken is, err, a white middle-class male? And I wouldn't

He may well be , but he's of the standard self hating liberal type you
find dotted all around the left wing pseudo intellectual arena.

personally class the massive focus on transport improvement that was
the primary characteristic Ken's time in power (both in the 1980s and
the 2000s) as a right-on minority cause.

Can't say I noticed. The tube was just as crap as ever and even more
expensive when I thankfully could give up using it to commute earlier
this year.

B2003