[x-posted to utl]

On 08/03/2012 11:24, David Thornhill wrote:
OK this is not the best group to ask, but everything is known here.

I used to travel regularly from Marylebone Station to St P on the 205 but
have now given up due to the terrible reliability of the route.

On recent westbound runs on the 205 the bus has terminated at Baker Street
or Marylebone (actually just east of the station). So the return journey
would not serve Marylebone Station front (eastbound). The core bit of route
probably still gets its advertised frequency, but Marylebone Station (and
Paddington) sees huge gaps in service. Oddly, the stop at Marylebone has no
real time displays - there must be many who balance walking to Baker Street
for the Tube or catching a 205, but without bus information it is a gamble.

One eastbound trip to Liverpool Street recently showed the problem wasn't
really TfL's, but minor roadworks that require coning off an entire district
and white van man parking at the most inconvenient point of a bus lane. I
actually got off the bus at Angel in desperation.

Does anyone know if 205 is just having a bad patch or is this how it now is?


I can't speak for the reliability of the 205 as I'm not a regular user -
however the closure of Eastbourne Terrace, the road just next to
Paddington (for Crossrail construction works), has possibly stuck a
spanner in the works, as Paddington is the western terminus of the 205
route - this could be leading to buses being turned early at Baker
Street, particularly if combined with other road works elsewhere on the
route.

If the Paddington road closures are causing ongoing problems to the 205
then I'd expect TfL buses to look at some timetable amendments (it's
something they do sometimes do if a problem persists) - it might help if
you were to drop them a line at www.tfl.gov.uk/helpandcontact, as
comments and complaints do seem to get fed into the process.

Re real-time displays - not every bus stop can have one, there's some
form of assessment done to see where they'd be most beneficial - the bus
stop outside Marylebone station might not have been deemed worthy if
there was an assumption they were served by a frequent route (i.e. the 205).

*However* you can have your own display on your mobile these days by
going to TfL's Live Bus Departures (aka Countdown) site and inputting
the stop code (a five number code shown on the bus stop), or searching
for it by roads or place names - alternatively you can text the bus stop
code to 87287 to get a text back with real-time information.

Mobile web site:
http://m.countdown.tfl.gov.uk/

Full web site
http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/


The system works fantastically well and comes highly recommended (n.b.
this is a new system, rather than the old and rather unreliable system
that used to power the old real time displays at bus stops) - it even
works on some pretty pre-historic mobile phones.

FWIW, the stop for bus stop L outside Marylebone (for the 205 eastbound)
is 76831, so...
http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/#|stopCode=76831
or via the mobile site...
http://m.countdown.tfl.gov.uk/arrivals/76831


As for roadworks in London, one is sometimes tempted to wonder if some
of the utility maintenance companies might have a bit of a racket going
on...