please empty your brain below
ight runs. I's seen them with my own eyes.
Still, it has been interesting to see the route gradually creep further up the 25 roads since it's inception - Whitechapel, then Mile End, now Bow. Bets on Stratford by 2011?
Sir, Sir! Me Sir!
Even before the new buses came into use, the 205 has always been slightly different. The route, as you imply, makes it good for the slightly shorter hop. This means that there is usually room upstairs.
I often catch the 205 Westbound from the Euston Road, but never catch it Eastbound from Marylebone, preferring instead to get one of the alternatives from the side or rear of the Landmark Hotel (453, 18 or 27). Sometimes you can wait a while for a bus outside the station.
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the ")\\% in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
Somebody spoke and i went into a dream
(I assume you have read Maintenance of Headway by Magnus Mills. If not, then I recommend it).
You might still be sprightly enough to get up the stairs on your 205, but not all are and although I suspect that the 25 isn't the best choice for an articulated bus, bendies still are the best thing about for mothers with kids in pushchairs, who BTW also have the right to mobility. They are likely to stay that way until Boris starts spending some real money on lifts at Underground stations.
From the transport planners point of view the 205 isn't viable because it parallels much too much Underground, but that's why I presume you like it, because it isn't filled to capacity and therefore isn't really very cost effective.
You say the 205 isn't viable because it parallels much too much Underground but in Ken's day the policy was to improve the bus service as a quick fix to take the strain off the overcrowded underground.
This all begs the question of what do you mean by "viable" in the context of a service which is budgeted and expected to be loss-making, performs a valuable social service and in London is an essential part of the commerial intrastructure. Furthermore how do you measure viability when most users do not pay a fixed cash (or equivalent) fare for a particular journey.
The 205 was introduced as a congestion charge area 'avoider' - My problem with buses like the 205 that parallel the underground is that they produce extra pollution for very little, if any gain - that also won't/can't be viable in the long term.
The 205 and the 705 were introduced at the same time, with the 705 taking a southerly loop from Paddington, via Victoria, Waterloo, London Bridge,and Fenchurch Street to Liverpool Street. Both were seen as a link between stations to replace the earlier SL1 and SL2 stationlink services, but the 705 didn't survive unlike the 205.
By the way DG, your recent post about the demise of blogging has got me off my backside and prompted me to start commenting instead of being one of your long term silent readers!
But the 205, as you say, does allow a seat (albeit a back-breaker) over the 25's most gruelling section, and saves money over the tube.
dg writes: Not in this case. It's just that I went riding late morning, not in the rush hour.
The route 25 corridor is and has been ridiculously busy for years. Thankfully routes like the 205 and 425 have been introduced to ease some of the chronic overcrowding.
Whenever I've seen or used the 205 it has decent loadings on it so I would say there are definite grounds for it remaining in the network. The other huge success in terms of new routes is the 148 although I recognise it partly does what the old 12 did. I'd also say the 360 also loads well - I've seen standing loads on it so it must serve some useful purpose to some people!
More money should/must be invested in environmentally friendlier means of transport i.e. trams as well as the building more underground lines.. or perhaps even considering using trolleybuses. Unfortunately the UK and London is notoriously bad at investing in infrastructure.
Around 8,000 buses a day on London's roads is IMO not good for the environment of the city... and not viable in the longer term.
I was wondering why my tube fares were set to go up again...
On tangential points, Matt says "the 360 is a total waste of resources," but it does a nice job of weaving its way through Lambeth, Westminster and Kensington, providing useful short connections off the beaten track. At least, it does for me, given I work next to its route. It also seems to be pretty well utilised.
I really welcome the new batch of buses but what is it with British engineering?, it can be brilliant at times and pathetic at others. The air conditioning/heating of this bus is incredibly noisy, seriously disturbing.
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