"Dave Arquati" wrote in message
...
Nick wrote:
snipped

I may easily be wrong since I have no experience of Bexley (nearest
experience is Bromley) but this sounds more like a crime problem than a
TfL problem. If TfL were to keep replacing bus shelters and fixing up
buses just for them to be vandalised the next day, at some point it
becomes a waste of money if the police and the local council aren't going
to tackle the underlying problem.

I understand what you're saying, but do you think they'd ever dare adopt
this approach in, say, Westminster? Never in a million years, it's only
because it's Bexley (where Ken doesn't get many votes) and tucked away out
on sight on the Kent borders that things have got this bad.

Our main problem is actually opening a meaningful dialogue with TfL about
it. I can tell you from a local policing PoV, that they're an almost
impossible organisation to deal with. My impression is that they do
whatever they please and don't seem to be answerable to anyone. Maintenance
of bus stops, for example, seems to be at the whim of Adshell or one of
their other contractors, and talking to them about the problem is also next
to impossible.

I know many of you reading this probably think I'm exagerating the
situation, but I can't describe how bad the bus infrastructure is in Bexley.
Over the next few weeks I'll take some pictures of what I mean, post them on
a website somwhere, and you can see for yourselves...

Nick

In message , Nick
writes
I know many of you reading this probably think I'm exagerating the
situation, but I can't describe how bad the bus infrastructure is in Bexley.
Over the next few weeks I'll take some pictures of what I mean, post them on
a website somwhere, and you can see for yourselves...

Well, for one lone voice I tend to agree to you. TfL seem to have grown
big enough that they regard themselves a law unto themselves (not enough
checks, control and balances?). There were certainly no local
consultation regarding major detrimental changes to bus services and
there seems to have been a lack of forethought about the effects of
their other policies, which might look good on paper but impact current
users (e.g. "free buses of school kids; lets not increase bus service
provision, which is already fully used"). I don't know whether it's
just the Bus department at TfL which seems to be particularly affected
by this "higher than thou" attitude.

Correspondence with TfL over a range of issues (not just the above)
always ends up with them alluding to "service performance criteria",
which they don't reveal so you can't go back and point out where it is
lacking or inconsistent.

I certainly understand that my local council find dealing with TfL Buses
to be similar to talking to a brick wall, despite them funding TfL and
being best placed to comment on local services!

--
Paul G
Typing from Barking