TfL's publicity about travel arrangements for the Notting Hill
Carnival this year seems rather poor - I don't think there's a leaflet
out this year detailing the arrangements, unlike many previous years
running. Furthermore the information provided on TfL's website isn't
too great either:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/Nottinghillcarnival/

In particular I'm thinking about the bus information, or rather lack
thereof - on the above page there's a zoomable map showing the bus
(re-)routes, which can also be viewed/downloaded as a PDF, but there's
no text whatsoever that describes all the many changes made to bus
routes that normally serve the area, nor indeed is there any explicit
mention of the three express bus services that are laid on especially
for the carnival (2X, 36X and 436X) - they just appear on the map, but
are not flagged up or anything.

I know that the TfL publicity budget has been cut back - this can be
seen with 'Rudolph the Roundel-nosed Reindeer' having made two repeat
appearances on the front of the Xmas & New Year travel info leaflet,
and the same cover design for the Carnival leaflet also featured two
years in a row - but even if the decision had been made not to produce
a leaflet for this weekend's event as a cost cutting measure, the lack
of any more detailed information on the TfL website is kinda shabby -
this is, after all, something that up to a million people go to each
year.

Ok, semi-rant over. On a related theme, can anyone say when LT first
started providing special express bus services to the Carnival?