please empty your brain below
Your posting is brilliant over the last week or so, but i'm worried that you're moving up the autism scale (and I'm worried for myself that I share your fascination with London bus routes)

gmplf | 05.12.05 - 8:08 a.m. | #

"In most cases the designs were so eye-watering that a previous passenger could have been sick all over the upholstery and nobody would have noticed."

You seem to have sussed them out...
It's to cut the cleaning bills, obviously.


Being someone who travels on buses but rarely (thank goodness), I have a great deal of difficulty in maintaining my balance - particularly as the drivers these days do not seem to know the meaning of planning ahead or smooth braking, turning or accelerating. Also, as soon as you've got on, the drivers pull off, sending you flying (unless you're very wary and/or don't have your hands full of shopping). Now, if I at not quite 43 have that difficulty, how will I fare in years to come?

Whenever I get on a bus the seats always seem to be full of kids (with or without Vicky Pollard) who don't understand the idea of letting those less able to stand sit down.

Someone will cotton onto this and sell lightweight fold-up wheelchairs that you can get out as you get ont he bus, so that you can sit down. buses.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 8:16 a.m. | #

Where did that stray word come from?

Blue Witch | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 8:18 a.m. | #

that'll be the autism kicking in, BW

gmplf | 05.12.05 - 8:21 a.m. | #

You missed the 211 a great bus I used for a long time. Kings Road and Sloane Square are just beautiful at this time of year.

dg writes: Oops. I did ride the 211, I just can't read my own writing. Hang on while I update the table...

long distance | 05.12.05 - 9:04 a.m. | #

Nice to display the busrouts! Looking forward to the 8, 25 and 73 routes.
Very nicely displayed

Dmitri | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 9:17 a.m. | #

The 276 consistently shocks when I sit down my utterly failing to have any padding despite looking thick and purple and welcoming. It must cause a lot of unintentional bruising. Matches the upholstery anyway.

Katherine | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 10:18 a.m. | #

gmplf - If today's post isn't autistic, it is at least verging on Aspergers. And you were lucky - I had enough material to write something twice as long packed with even more irrelevant statistcs, except I resisted.

Trust me, tomorrow's report is a bit more literary.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 5:04 p.m. | #

Dmitri - Sorry, I'm only doing prime-numbered bus routes this December, so there'll be no 8 or 25. But I did do the 25 last year (report here) and the 8 the year before (report here).

And, although 73 is a prime number, I'm afraid I'm not going further than 19.

(Full details posted on December 1st)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 5:09 p.m. | #

good trip:D

dzid | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 5:21 p.m. | #

I think that artificial stink comes from the bendy bit in the middle. Whenever I'm on one I think some painter&decorator is carrying turps on the bus. I think that comes from the bendy bit too.

harriet | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 5:37 p.m. | #

The displaced patterns are so they don't have to replace the whole seat when it gets slashed - they can just get a random square of fabric and sew it over the tear.

Matt | Homepage | 05.12.05 - 6:34 p.m. | #

Everything you always want to know about buses (and quite a bit you didnt ...) mind you I still have a collection of bus tickets from the 1970s ... and I used to collect bus number plates, so I could say, I've been on that bus ...

Debster | 05.12.05 - 8:34 p.m. | #

Re: Artifical Stink. The new bendy trams in Melbourne have the horrid new car/plastic factory smell too.
Once I got on one that must have come straight from the factory and I nearly passed out.

Carolyn | 06.12.05 - 5:50 a.m. | #

Anyway it's not a scale it's a spectrum

stroppycow | Homepage | 06.12.05 - 8:25 a.m. | #

I quite like the new car/bus smell actually.

Have you ever noticed the similarity between London Bus upholstery and weatherspoons pub carpets?

Adrian | Homepage | 06.12.05 - 11:04 p.m. | #











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