London Banter - Remaining bendy buses

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Remaining bendy buses

Paul Corfield wrote:

I am not aware that there has much of an expansion of bus lanes under
the current regime. In fact aren't several Tory run councils like
Ealing and Barnet scrapping bus lanes so the roads can be full of cars
and bus passengers can be delayed?

No idea about what the councils are doing, but Ealing has been Labour run
since last May.

Remaining bendy buses

On 2011\07\02 11:48, Paul Corfield wrote:

There is only one gyratory currently being abolished which is
Tottenham High Road / Hale and that will take until 2014.

Sorry Paul, but Pall Mall / Saint James Street / Piccadilly are
reverting to two way operation tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 8am, and
Russell Square east side is becoming two way very soon (if not already),
which will remove most of the traffic from the other three sides of the
square.

Remaining bendy buses

On 2011\07\02 11:48, Paul Corfield wrote:

I am not aware that there has much of an expansion of bus lanes under
the current regime. In fact aren't several Tory run councils like
Ealing and Barnet scrapping bus lanes so the roads can be full of cars
and bus passengers can be delayed?

Barnet got rid of one in East Finchley about 6 years ago, but I'm not
aware of any others. I don't know Ealing well enough to comment.

Remaining bendy buses

On 2011\07\02 16:37, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Sat, 02 Jul 2011 16:15:46 +0100, Basil Jet
wrote:

On 2011\07\02 11:48, Paul Corfield wrote:

There is only one gyratory currently being abolished which is
Tottenham High Road / Hale and that will take until 2014.

Sorry Paul, but Pall Mall / Saint James Street / Piccadilly are
reverting to two way operation tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 8am, and
Russell Square east side is becoming two way very soon (if not already),
which will remove most of the traffic from the other three sides of the
square.

Thanks for the update. Sorry to be picky - and I guess we could argue
for ever - but are these really gyratories? I also believe they are
both local authority schemes as I can't see them listed as TfL
schemes. I think the original theme of this long thread related to
things TfL is doing at Mayoral instruction but it may have morphed
along the way.

I would have thought both schemes would actually speed traffic flow up
rather than slow it because the main routes are having a reduced
number of vehicles directed into them from side roads. Also the
distance being travelled is surely less too so what's not to like from
a motoring perspective?

I wasn't complaining about the removals. I'm not skilled enough to
predict the effects of either scheme on motor vehicles, except to say
that in the short term some of the two way roads will be very quiet in
one direction, which will be very good for drivers in the know, and will
probably exceed capacity in the other direction, which will be very bad
for drivers who aren't. As Satnavs get gradually replaced or updated
this effect will dissipate.

Remaining bendy buses

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Corfield (Post 121014)

Surely Boris is getting rid of traffic lights and reducing pedestrian
phases to speed things up for you lovely motorists? I must be
imagining the consultation documents on the TfL website and reams of
Mayor's Questions on the subject. Are you saying he's not working
hard enough for you?

I am not aware that there has much of an expansion of bus lanes under
the current regime. In fact aren't several Tory run councils like
Ealing and Barnet scrapping bus lanes so the roads can be full of cars
and bus passengers can be delayed?

There is only one gyratory currently being abolished which is
Tottenham High Road / Hale and that will take until 2014. You can
sleep soundly in the knowledge that my local bus service and my
commute will be wrecked for years because of those road works.

The other aspects are part of the vogue for merging pavements with the
highway and getting rid of unncessary street furniture. This is simply
the opposite end of the spectrum which fenced pedestrians in behind
acres of barriers. I am genuinely not sure what the answer is in terms
of trying to balance the needs of cyclists, pedestrians and private
motorists. I am not sure we have found the answer in London as
everyone seems to moan about whatever policy is implemented. Given the
current Mayor's policy is as "pro-road user" as any for many years I
am surprised you are as fed up as you sound. I'd have thought you'd
have been delighted at the reversal of Ken's old policies.

Your idea that "London's traffic is slow because everyone is on
tenterhooks waiting to avoid the next hazard" is original but eccentric.
If I'm held up at unnecessary traffic lights, I'm anxious to avoid the
next set of lights not the next hazard.

First time I have had an idea called eccentric. Perhaps I should be
pleased about it?
--

Paul C

You are not imagining the documents you have read or the pronouncements you have heard. What you are imagining is that there is some connection between those documents and pronouncements and what is actually being done.

Take the example of traffic lights supposedly being reduced. TfL is currently sabotaging the A12 in Poplar at the junction with Zetland Street by creating an unnecessary new crossroads with - of course, this is TfL - new traffic lights! (For those unfamiliar with London's trunk road network, the A12 in this area is a continuation of the A2, A102 and Blackwall Tunnel. The effect of this new and unnecessary crossroads will be to stop traffic in one of London most important and busiest trunk roads a few hundred yards north of the Blackwall Tunnel. The result will of course be mega-chaos with a large increase in air pollution)

I notice you make the common mistake so popular among regular users of public transport that there is an inevitable conflict of interest between motorists and bus passengers. I also notice that you seem to dislike motorists and seem to assume, quite incorrectly, that motorists dislike bus passengers. In fact bus passengers suffer from the ruination of London's road system as much as anyone else and sometimes more. Car drivers can take an alternative route. Buses have to stick to the prescribed route. An example: Whipps Cross Road which used to be a good road with free-flowing traffic. Then TfL intervened. They gave Waltham Forest Council £500,000 to carry out work that probably cost about £30,000. The pretext? To enhance bus services! The result: traffic on Whipps Cross Road is either stationary or at walking speed for much of the day and the service for bus passengers is now far worse. Don't take my word for it. Take a 257 bus from Stratford Station to Whipps Cross Hospital and see how you like it. And then try the return journey.

Boris Johnson most certainly is not pro motorist and he has not reversed his predecessor's policies. The only people he's working for is cyclists and it is here that he differs from Ken Livingstone. Livingstone was obsessed with buses, and in effect ran London for the benefit of buses as opposed to running buses for the benefit of London. Johnson is obsessed with bikes and does not seem interested in helping anyone who is not a cyclist.

Boris Johnson can be very grateful to the London Labour Party for re-selecting Livingstone as their candidate. If Labour had chosen someone sensible, Boris Johnson would be vulnerable because most motorists in London are very disappointed in him and would like to give him a good kicking, but not at the cost of Livingstone getting back in.

Remaining bendy buses

"Paul Corfield" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 23:30:51 +0100, Paul Corfield
wrote:

On Sat, 25 Jun 2011 21:37:57 +0100, "Tim Roll-Pickering"
wrote:

The 25 has been debendified as of today and doubledeckers are running its
length.

How many routes still have these monsters on them?

12 - converts November
29 / N29 - converts by year end but no firm date
73 - converts September
207 - converts by year end but no firm date
453 - converts November
436 - converts November

All dates refer to 2011 as I believe Boris has decreed they must be
gone by the end of the year. This clears the deck in terms of one
Mayoral commitment before the Borismaster (another commitment) emerges
to much undoubted fanfare early in 2012.

I still think it's a monstrous waste of resources to be binning the
bendy buses when they still have another 10-15 years life in them. I'm
sure I'm in a minority though.

I have just found this article about what New York MTA have ordered.

http://www.busandcoach.com/newspage....8&categoryid=1

How ironic - they order 328 artics with 3 doors to speed boarding as
London comes close to completing a process which removed broadly the
same number of vehicles.
--
Paul C

It looks (from the article) like they tried out an initial order of 90
vehicles and found they worked well. Manhattan (I lived there for 19 months)
is about as different a street environment from central London (I worked
there for about 20 years) that I can think of.

--
DAS

Remaining bendy buses