please empty your brain below

Quite the cock-up there. May the saga of the Bow Roundabout end sooner rather than later!
Zzzzzzz... more Bus/Bow ramblings..

London buses seem t o stop every 30 yards. Just walk to the next one.
Unbelievable incompetence.

I assume there is no suitable telephone number that one can phone to report this. (Or maybe there is, and phoning it achieves nothing?). I don't know where I would even start looking for such a number.
TfL put up timetable cases around the new section of 965 route before the consultation about changing it had closed.

If the public's view is so unimportant and consultations are a paper excercise in what's already been decided, which has clearly been the case, you would at least think they weren't stupid enough to allow physical proof of pre-judgement to escape. But clearly not!

The best one was the 235 extension in Brentford, where Abellio registered the route and timetable changes with the traffic commissioner before the consultation had closed. Surrey CC even had the new timetable on their website, before hastily taking it back down again a few days later!
It's a right mess DG, I was visiting St Mary Bow Church earlier this week and was travelling onto Stratford, but could not make head or tail of just where I was supposed to wait for a bus so I walked instead, which was much nicer and gave me a chance to stretch my legs.
A,at 8.10am.
I have been puzzled by the 235 route.
It used to run from Sunbury to Brentford County Court, but was extended about a year ago to run along Ealing Road to Great West Quarter.
Then it was put back to Brentford County Court again, according to a local paper because a resident, or maybe a residence group living at West Quarter did not like having public bus on their estate as it lowered the tone of their area!.
Looking at tfl route map it shows Great West Quarter as destination so I assume it has now been re-instated.
What dave said at 8:05. Parish pump stuff.
@Dave and @david

If you object to reading about Bow and/or busse then you are in the wrong place!
How do you get anything done by TFL? I've moaned at them for years not being able to get on a 238 or 104 because they are full at certain times. These 2 routes are completely oversubscribed and either need strengthening or a third route between Stratford and Upton Park. People are fed up being left at the bus stop when the driver won't open the doors.
Searching around it seems that the 235 now runs along Ealing Road again, the residents at Barratt Homes who objected about the bus because of noise and oil stains on the estates road, being outnumbered by others who want the bus.
As for bus stops where buses do not stop, as with dg's bus stop M, it is normally not too far to the next stop, but it should be made clear that the bus stop is not being used.

Having buses stop their journey before the stop you want is also a slight annoyance. Tuesday I took the 135 bus from Liverpool Street to go to Canary Wharf, as Canary Wharf came into view from the top deck windows, a message comes on and we are told get off as bus terminates here.
Which meant waiting for the next bus to continue the journey.
Perhaps if the driver gave the reason for the early termination that would help. The only time I have heard that was on a bus that had a technical fault.
Normally it is just "bus terminating here", even though the destination board still says differently.
Despite this and even with bus stop changes, London buses generally give a very good and frequent service.
there's still a lamppost in the middle of the new cycle lane so the safe route can't be opened yet

A common problem. EdF treat highways work as low priority and, no doubt, expect plenty of notice as to when they can start. A nightmare for highway engineers trying to co-ordinate everything apparently.
Unbelievable!! What a mess.
Sounds to me as if TfL really care about their bus passengers!

In places other than London buses come much less frequently and the routes get changed every six weeks. Whether there are proper notification notices put up at bus stops I wouldn't know. I long ago gave up on buses and got a bicycle!
dg seems fortunate in that the bus stops near to him have shelters and seating. The nearest 2 stops to me are just a bus stop pole. Not so nice in the wind and rain.
All the other stops along same road have shelters, I think the pavement must be too narrow at my part.
Booze up and brewery come to mind
It may seem trivial to some, but the removal of these bus stops will inconvenience residents with mobility issues.
And replace the Countdown display from the W/B stop at Bow Church DLR which appeared just in time for the Olympics and was a real rarity in this part of east London, but has since disappeared.
Hilarious. A picture labelled 'bus stop G' and there's a pole with a dirty great M on the top. You couldn't make it up.
Hello Everyone, do you think that the new cycle lane will mean people will use the bus less and the bike more, thereby reducing the impact of fewer bus stops?

dg writes: No, not significantly.
On balance, I think I prefer the post full of introspective self-analysis stuff. However I still have huge respect for the time and talent that DG lavishes on us daily.
Just shows you who has the 'power'. The 'demands' of lycra-clad WASPs, bumbling blokes and such like, trumps the travelling needs of the far more numerous bus user. C'est la vie.
The cycling superhighways are being built not just for existing cyclists, but also to attract new ones. However, whether they will actually do so in significant numbers is doubtful, and even if they do, I think bus users will remain far more numerous.
Odd how people start bemoaning again about cyclists. How bout all the motor traffic with it's polution, noise, dirt and smog? You like that more? In truth there is going to be more cyclists, more bus users, more people on the tube system/rail network, more cars, more vans, more lorries. The quicker that is all "zero-emissions" the better for everyone...
I am amazed that so many people are surprised about the incompetence on display with these bus stop changes. It is now all too common for consultation changes to be implemented on the ground before results are announced. I can guarantee that route 25 will run via the flyover even if every single response to the consultation disagreed with TfL's proposal. Simple fact is that it saves time and cost so it'll go ahead. It's also part of the new contract for the 25 - just have to see who's won that contract and with what vehicles.

Bus stop / timetable / bus map changes have descended into chaos lately. Loads of evidence of updates not happening in time and people left confused as to what's going on. Removing stops and not making it clear that buses won't stop is just wrong and DG's comment about the old lady marooned at stop M is why it's wrong.

There also seems to be an unstated policy of gradually removing Countdown signs from bus stops. They keep disappearing and TfL seem to think no one notices. We lost two in E17 a while back during highway works. The Mayor was asked if they would be reinstated and he said yes in a written answer. We are still waiting for them to be reinstalled months and months after the highway works were completed. Quite why Mayoral promises are not being met is anyone's guess. Someone needs to "get a grip" with all these processes and get some competence and efficiency back into what used to work pretty seamlessly.
1
Gnash....so, all of this 'cycle super highway' is going to benefit all those travelling public who 'multi-task' on their journeys....picking up the family's groceries, clothing, school requities etc, all those post-work networking events where lubrication with alcohol is de-regeur, all those who have to carry huge amounts of BYOD, all those people who have to wear smart uniform the moment they turn up, all those who are required to wear facial make-up (there is no option just in case you think there is). And, more to the point, where are all these blasted bikes going to be 'parked', where are the riders going to 'change', where are they going to store all their riding equipment? Do these cycle superhighway activists not have to work in a 'hot desk, clear deask, no personal storage office or other such workplace? Gnash, gnash. As if travelling by London bus is a pivilege!










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