please empty your brain below
Pleased to see it is not one of the awful "Boris" bus designs

John | 18.01.22 - 8:14 a.m. | #

Not only will the need for the route (hopefully) be long gone by next Christmas, but Christmas Day 2022 is already covered by the "No service on Sundays" rubric

Timbo | 18.01.22 - 9:16 a.m. | #

I don't like the text ‘Standard TfL fares apply’ on the side of the bus next to the Northern line route map. I know it’s a bus, so standard TfL fares are bus fares, but in so many ways it’s touted like a rail replacement. I can’t help but think “TfL bus fares apply” next to the giant Northern line map would be less confusing.

scrivens | 18.01.22 - 9:24 a.m. | #

Hmmm. In that manor tomorrow. Must get it just to say that I've got it.

Chris | 18.01.22 - 9:33 a.m. | #

Well done them for getting the bus information (nearly) correct.

It is a shame they can't manage that with the Northern line public timetable page which does not seem to realise that the closure has taken place.

Also, for us nerds, where is the temporary timetable on the working timetables page?

Pedantic of Purley | 18.01.22 - 10:23 a.m. | #

I sense from chatting to people who aren't transport nerds that the publicity about the Northern Line closure may have backfired. Several people were convinced yesterday that the whole of the Northern Line is shut! I guess that's what comes of just glancing at posters etc.

ap | 18.01.22 - 10:28 a.m. | #

Just realised that as you have to pay for the 733, many tube journeys if completed on the replacement bus are more expensive. You are in effect punished for not going the long way round on a tube.

ap | 18.01.22 - 10:31 a.m. | #

That elderly gentleman on Borough High Street might have been wondering why the bus didn't say "Green Line" on the side with a route number in the 700 range. Not sure why it's been used; probably because the number 533 that might have been expected has been used for the Hammersmith Bridge replacement to indicate that it vaguely replaces the 33.

Andrew S | 18.01.22 - 10:43 a.m. | #

Agreed ap, one of the flaws of the TfL fares system is that it encourages you to EITHER stick to rail (of all modes) OR to stick to buses, but not combine the two to make a single journey, as then you'll be charged twice.

Mikey C | 18.01.22 - 10:55 a.m. | #

A good upbeat post of what sounds like quite a successful introduction.

Cornish Cockney | 18.01.22 - 11:33 a.m. | #

The working timetable is there now, perhaps PoP's message gave them a nudge.

Still Anon | 18.01.22 - 12:04 p.m. | #

I followed the 733 at Oval and was surprised to see that it dumps all passengers there, drives around Vauxhall Cross, and re-emerges as a northbound bus on the other side of the street.

Seems like quite a long ‘dead leg’, given the short total length of the route.

Chris D | 18.01.22 - 1:10 p.m. | #

Although I'd like to ride the 733 given the chance, I'm not sure I can come up with a reasonable excuse to head up to London on a weekday between now and May. My trips there usually fall on a Saturday so I can use an off-peak fare at 8 in the morning.

X-Plaistow | 18.01.22 - 4:16 p.m. | #

Blimey, you was in my manor. We are not worthy!

I’ve not been on it yet, but like Chris D, I was surprised to see one down at Vauxhall, and eventually realised that it was turning round. I suppose it’s the only place in the area where this is practicable, since the top of Brixton Road is already jammed up with buses on existing routes.

I already tend to use the 133 if I want to go to many places on the City branch, so it remains to be seen how much I’ll use the new route TfL have given me.

Baldassaro | 18.01.22 - 5:55 p.m. | #

It's as if no one travels between Moorgate and Oval at the weekends.

Andrew Jarman | 18.01.22 - 6:15 p.m. | #

My friend and I went to London today to visit the "Hidden London" exhibition at the Transport Museum.

Afterwards, we went down to The Oval on the 59 and rode the 733 all the way to Finsbury Square. It was quick but not very busy, although this may be because it was approx. 14:30 - 15:00.

One point of note was that the posters on the wall of The Oval station say "Exit this station and take bus route 733 (M-F only) from bus stop D on Harleyford Street ...".

But bus stop D is the stop adjacent to the station and is the drop-off point before the buses go to Vauxhall Cross to turn round (as noted by Chris D. above). To go north (i.e. to Elephant & Castle, etc.), you need to cross over the road and catch the bus from stop C.

However, Roger's report shows a screen shot of the relevant page on the TfL website which does show the 733 starting from bus stop C.

John Simmons | 18.01.22 - 7:07 p.m. | #











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