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Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
If the plot to rid London of it's favourite bus succeeds, would a private
bus operator be allowed to operate a service with Routemasters instead? I don't think the London sightseeing tour buses have to have disabled access, so what about an "Oxford Street Shopping Bus" to do the job that Routemasters have always done best? This could be run by a private company which could buy up a small fleet of Routemasters. For a flat fare it could provide Oxford Street shoppers with the convenient service they are used to, allowing people to get on and off directly outside the shop they want, or wherever the bus is stationary. It could run up and down Oxford Street, turning round at Marble Arch and Centre Point. You might even be able to hail the bus like a taxi. It could use a conductor who would also fill the role of the tour guide on a sightseeing bus, telling tourists when they have reached Selfridges for example. I think a bus service like this would be very popular, and it would also be the only bus you could board without a travelcard in Oxford Street, since all the other routes now require a ticket from the machines in the street which don't work. The buses could be sponsored by Oxford Street traders, making them even more profitable, carrying advertisements for this month's event at Selfridges or John Lewis etc. inside and outside. The conductor could even hand out discount vouchers for particular shops, and the "Crystal Eyes" video screen could show some of the same video advertisements shown on the screens in store at shops like Top Shop & Selfridges. The idea sounds like a winner to me, so (a) is anyone planning to do it, and (b) would they be allowed to? |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
Red ken does have a plan to keep these dinosaurs running on a tourist route
so it looks as if your wishes will come true. He is presently looking for operators to volunteer to operate them. D. Robinson "Stephen" wrote in message ... If the plot to rid London of it's favourite bus succeeds, would a private bus operator be allowed to operate a service with Routemasters instead? |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Stephen" wrote in message ...
sip For a flat fare it could provide Oxford Street shoppers with the convenient service they are used to, allowing people to get on and off directly outside the shop they want, or wherever the bus is stationary. It could run up and down Oxford Street, turning round at Marble Arch and Centre Point. You might even be able to hail the bus like a taxi. It could use a conductor who would also fill the role of the tour guide on a sightseeing bus, telling tourists when they have reached Selfridges for example. I think a bus service like this would be very popular, and it would also be the only bus you could board without a travelcard in Oxford Street, since all the other routes now require a ticket from the machines in the street which don't work. The buses could be sponsored by Oxford Street traders, making them even more profitable, carrying advertisements for this month's event at Selfridges or John Lewis etc. inside and outside. The conductor could even hand out discount vouchers for particular shops, and the "Crystal Eyes" video screen could show some of the same video advertisements shown on the screens in store at shops like Top Shop & Selfridges. The idea sounds like a winner to me, so (a) is anyone planning to do it, and (b) would they be allowed to? LT tried something like this (flat fare, Oxford St route, conductors trained to call out stops, corpaorate sponsorship) in the early 1980s called Shop Linker and run by red/yellow RMs. It was not a success, lasting only a few months. stephen stephen |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Stephen" wrote in message ... If the plot to rid London of it's favourite bus succeeds, would a private bus operator be allowed to operate a service with Routemasters instead? I don't think the London sightseeing tour buses have to have disabled access, Er ... yes there they do. |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
Duncan Robinson wrote:
Red ken does have a plan to keep these dinosaurs running on a tourist route so it looks as if your wishes will come true. He is presently looking for operators to volunteer to operate them. As described, this won't work. It needs to be a genuinely useful transport route, charge normal fares, and run at least every 12 minutes. For DDA reasons, it also needs to be entirely on roads covered by other routes. Marble Arch to Victoria via Oxford Circus and Trafalgar Square might work. Colin McKenzie |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Colin McKenzie" wrote in message
... Duncan Robinson wrote: Red ken does have a plan to keep these dinosaurs running on a tourist route so it looks as if your wishes will come true. He is presently looking for operators to volunteer to operate them. As described, this won't work. It needs to be a genuinely useful transport route, charge normal fares, and run at least every 12 minutes. For DDA reasons, it also needs to be entirely on roads covered by other routes. Marble Arch to Victoria via Oxford Circus and Trafalgar Square might work. I'm not sure your interpretation of DDA is right! |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
rRichard Collier wrote:
"Stephen" wrote... If the plot to rid London of it's favourite bus succeeds, would a private bus operator be allowed to operate a service with Routemasters instead? I don't think the London sightseeing tour buses have to have disabled access, Er ... yes there they do. How? |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
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Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Barry Salter" wrote in message
... On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 22:59:00 GMT, (Neil Williams) wrote: And anyway, where's the requirement[1] (other than from TfL) for bus services to be operated with disabled-accessible vehicles? Outside the profitable PTE areas, many bus operators thrive on second-hand high-floor vehicles from London. Isn't it a DDA requirement from 1st October that providers of goods and services need to make reasonable modifications to their goods/service to make them accessible? Is scrapping a huge fleet of buses a reasonable modification? -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 12:40:40 +0100, "John Rowland"
wrote: Is scrapping a huge fleet of buses a reasonable modification? Where ex-London two-doored high-floor buses are reused elsewhere in the country where single-door operation is the norm, the centre door could have a wheelchair lift fitted. I've seen precisely that on Manchester Airport's staff buses. Scrapping lots of buses is indeed not the way forward, as it'd only result in service cuts, as there isn't the money for a full fleet replacement outside London, and isn't likely to be given the rather pathetic attempt at a transport plan just issued by the Government. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Neil Williams" wrote in message ... On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 12:40:40 +0100, "John Rowland" wrote: Is scrapping a huge fleet of buses a reasonable modification? Where ex-London two-doored high-floor buses are reused elsewhere in the country where single-door operation is the norm, the centre door could have a wheelchair lift fitted. I've seen precisely that on Manchester Airport's staff buses. Scrapping lots of buses is indeed not the way forward, as it'd only result in service cuts, as there isn't the money for a full fleet replacement outside London, and isn't likely to be given the rather pathetic attempt at a transport plan just issued by the Government. Perhaps there'll be a Bus Grant..... Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Neil Williams" wrote in message ... On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 12:40:40 +0100, "John Rowland" wrote: Is scrapping a huge fleet of buses a reasonable modification? Where ex-London two-doored high-floor buses are reused elsewhere in the country where single-door operation is the norm, the centre door could have a wheelchair lift fitted. I've seen precisely that on Manchester Airport's staff buses. Which totally screws the idea of front door for entry, centre door for exit. Having said that, some London double deckers do have a ramp fitted to the centre doors, as do the bendy-buses. I know, when I last tried to board one with my wheelchair bound brother, the ramp broke when the driver tried to retract it..! This in the middle of Whitehall, I should add, with the bus behind halfway up our exhaust pipe..! (Rule 1 of bus driving, *never* drive so close to the bus in front that you can't get out round him..!) The rest of the passengers were not amused ;-) Ivor |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 20:28:13 -0000, "Ivor Jones"
wrote: Which totally screws the idea of front door for entry, centre door for exit. Indeed, but... 1) Most bus operations outside London are single-door. 2) Many bus operators outside London thrive on second-hand high-floor buses from London. 3) These buses tend to be converted, replacing the rear door with a window (or in the case of really cheapo operations, simply bolted shut). In the former case, the loss by retaining the door only for wheelchair use is about 4 seats, while in the latter it's zero (plus actual wheelchair room, of course). That said, the kind of wheelchair lift required would need the driver to leave his cab to operate it, which tends to be discouraged for safety/security reasons, certainly in city areas. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
"Alex" wrote in message ... This in the middle of Whitehall, I should add, with the bus behind halfway up our exhaust pipe..! (Rule 1 of bus driving, *never* drive so close to the bus in front that you can't get out round him..!) Rule 2. Don't tell passengers to **** off if they moan about the gap when you can't get the bus close enough to the kerb without getting up the pipe of the one in front....... Rule 3. Don't stick two fingers up at passengers when running a stop because there's 6 buses already attempting to shoehorn into a stop designed for 2. I could go on.... Please do, this is getting fun ;-) Ivor |
Private Routemaster Shopping Bus on Oxford Street?
This in the middle of Whitehall, I should add, with
the bus behind halfway up our exhaust pipe..! (Rule 1 of bus driving, *never* drive so close to the bus in front that you can't get out round him..!) Rule 2. Don't tell passengers to **** off if they moan about the gap when you can't get the bus close enough to the kerb without getting up the pipe of the one in front....... Rule 3. Don't stick two fingers up at passengers when running a stop because there's 6 buses already attempting to shoehorn into a stop designed for 2. I could go on.... Alex |
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