BS: More London Bus Problems

Subject: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 07:36 AM

Yesterday I had the misfortune of travelling by bus, and this extended into a chain of events that may ultimately lead to the downfall of the world. OK I'm exagerating a tad.

(1) In West Ealing I boarded a bus number 427 to Acton High Street - the destination shown on the front of the bus, Three or four stops later the driver announced that the bus will terminate at the next stop - less than half of my journey.

(2) So after everyone gets of, driver of bus 427 drives off. Two minutes later bus number 207 - run by the same company, and covers the same route arrives. I got on and informed the driver that I had already paid, but he still insisted that I had to pay again. Surely, this is extertion - for example if I paid someone to do a piece of work, I shouldn't have to pay again if the person did not complete the work! It only cost me £0.15 so apart form being a bit peeved, I would of just shrugged it off in the end.

(3) Last night, I had an evening meeting to go to, and if I was to top up my bus pass then I would have had to go on a massive trek to find a shop that was still open. So, my intention - the next day I was going to take 2 buses - and by the bus stop fo rthe second bus is a shop where I couold top up my pass.

(4) Becsuse I was charged twice my balnce fell to £1.30 - 5p short of the cost of the first bus journey. So, after waiting 10 minutes for the bus, my pass was rejected, so I had a 20-25 minute walk to the catch the second bus, calling in at the shop on the way (less than 5 minutes).

(5) As I approached the bus stop, what was going to be my second bus was pulling away - so more bus waiting!

(6) So I arrive at my client 30 minutes late, in a foul mood.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 07:58 AM

Don't feel bad, SPB.

I still have the blisters from an incident in Los Angeles decades ago.

I was sent to a series of meetings held in a hotel near the Airport. On the last afternoon, the 3:00 PM session was canceled and it was the last session of the day.

With nothing much to do, I decided to do a little sight-seeing. Since there was a bus stop right in front of the hotel I went out and looked for a bus.

After about 20 minutes or so, since I could see the sign for the next stop a block or so down the street, I walked down to the next stop.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

etc.

After about two miles, I observed that there was a phone booth with a phone book in it. (Phone booths were still common, but one with a book in it was very rare.) I looked up what might be the local bus company and called them to ask if I really was on a bus route, and if so when I might expect the next bus on that route.

The answer to both questions was "How the hell would I know" at which time the "custormer service representative" hung up on me.

Twenty three miles later (I checked the map), by the time I got to the place where I thought I might see some interesting sights, the only thing still open was the "Pink Pussycat School of Burlesque."

Since my feet hurt a bit by then I decided to go in and rest for a while.

I did see some sights. (One of them was named Babette.)

It was a similarly long walk back to the hotel.

(Don't go to L.A. without a car of your own - still true.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Les from Hull
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 10:20 AM

Of course, rich people don't use buses, do they? But they still want to be able to make a profit from poor folks.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: GUEST,999
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 10:25 AM

I had a two hour trip in NYC years back. It involved chocolate brownies and a misreading of a few signs. Normally the subway ride was 15 minutes. I never went back to Brooklyn after that.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 10:48 AM

J in K

As usual your "knowledge " is atiquated.

Los Angeles has a wonderfull light rail and bus transit system.
LAX to ANWHERE...in the county in under an hour.


//www.metro.net/about/

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 10:51 AM

The driver should have issued a transfer ticket. In practice they never do and passengers don't know that they need to ask for one. Phoning the Oyster helpline would probably have got you a refund.

If you sign up for auto topup you won't get caught out by running out of balance on your Oyster.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: BrendanB
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 11:03 AM

Guest, try reading the full post before commenting. John in Kansas made the point that his experience happened 'decades ago'.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 11:27 AM

Surely, Les, the Milk Snatcher made some remark that anybody on a bus over the age of ?? is a failure, didn't she? The alleged remark has been hard to nail down but since it is recorded in Hansard in 2003 surely one of her sycophants in the current government would have said if it were not so, wouldn't they?

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 11:31 AM

of course it was decades ago....but his little tag of....

(Don't go to L.A. without a car of your own - still true.)


is a display of his antiquated advice.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 11:56 AM

Various replies

(1)So according to T******r, being people should be more irresponsible and NOT use public transport when they are driving?

(2) I have thought of using auto top-up but that would be one more instance where I would not have control of how much and when money goes out of my bank account.

(3)I didn't get home until very late, and if I did get a refund, I would have to go to take a tube journey within a week to get the refund. Also I don't feel inclined to phone TFL for a small amount at my expense.

When I was on holiday in US in 1987,part of my itinery was a stop for a few days at a motel near Pottsville as a base to explore Pensylvania. It was on the outskirts of the town (city?) but for about half a mile or so there was no pavement on a busy road so for my safety I was walking through carparks and negotiating boundary hedges.

TFL staff seem unwilling to properly line manage bus company staff. The fact that they are employee of private componies over which they have no direct control is a pretty lame excuse in my book. If they are not prepared to pull thier find=ger out, then they should have thought twice before privatising. Whose daft idea was that T******r or M****r?

Maybe I could write to the Mayor of London and ask him to comdemn the Chair of Transport for London for his mismanagement. *Grin*

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 12:11 PM

Like several other cities, L. A. now has some transit lines that are quite efficient, but only if you need to go from one place near the line to another place similarly near that one or to a connecting one. More recent experience, still a few years back, was that there were still many places where you still needed your own transportation, or money for the cabbies. The systems the last time I was there were excellent for those who could use them, but pretty useless for anyone who lived or worked, or both, off the lines.

The last time I was there, Boston had a really excellent rail/street network that could get you from anywhere to somewhere else. Friends there have indicated that "urban renewal" has caused some deterioration, but that's sort of hearsay, and I'd still expect their system to be among the best in the US once you learn to use it. Still not really a recommended way for the tourists to get around, although it can be done.

Experience with New York (somewhat limited and not really recent) would suggest it's somewhere between the two, with some efficient connections but still with lots of business for the taxi fleets.

There were indications that Nagoya (not in the US, for those who might not know) has an excellent transit system, but since my only experience there was as the "guest" of a large corporation that provided taxi service for "wherever they sent us" I didn't have much chance to investigate it. (They only attempted to provide "companions" for the single members of our group, so I didn't get to investigate what they meant by that either.)

In most of the US, there are sufficient places that public transport can't get you to justify needing some sort of personal transport, at least some of the time; and since nearly everybody has at least some way of getting around without using the public systems, it's difficult for even a good system to be profitable. Catch 22.93745.

Even Wichita KS has an extensive transit system that can take you to most places you'd want to go in about 2/3 of the town, but the buses don't start in the morning until about a half hour after most people have to be at work, and the last bus home leaves about a half hour before quitting time for the same people. They don't seem to understand why nobody takes the bus, so they refuse to make any changes. And even with a better schedule it might be difficult to show much profit with only about 400,000 people spread over an area larger than most "big" cities.

John

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 12:54 PM

These stories if put into a song could rival "Paddy and the Bricks" aka "The sicknote"

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: BrendanB
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 01:06 PM

I was in LA a few years ago and was told by the hotel receptionist that if I was planning to stay for more than a couple of days I should think about hiring a car.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 02:36 PM

I always ask for a transfer ticket as I have a Pay as you Go Oyster Card. I have paid to go to a particular destination. SOmetimes the driver will say he's given one to someone already but stand your ground as you may not be able to get on the same bus as that ticket. If they still refuse ask for their badge number and be prepared to write down the number of the bus (not the route number) and licence number to be doubly sure. It's easier for the driver to give you the ticket and get on with turning the bus round or whatever than to argue the toss with you.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 03:05 PM

I arrived by car in LA in 2009 and was told by the hotel receptionist that it would be easier to use the bus to go downtown. He was right – no problems at all. It was the same in San Francisco.

I'm only ever in London as a visitor but I am there often enough to justify having an Oyster card. We always make sure that there is more than enough on our cards to make all the journeys we need during the visit. I didn't know about the transfer tickets – thanks for the tip.


DC

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 03:23 PM

Last time I got a taxi in New York the driver couldn't find Kennedy International Airport, nor, when we got there, the Pan-Am terminal.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: GUEST,999
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 03:26 PM

The Montreal Metro is good. Connections to most buses are available and the ticket is good for about 1 1/2 hours. Fares are $3.00 a trip whether you go one stop or lots on the Metro and 1 stop or lots on the bus.

They have also added a bus that goes directly to the airport--what can be a thirty or forty dollar cab ride--and he fare is $8 for unlimited travel throughout STM bus and métro networks during 24 consecutive hours.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 03:32 PM

When I visited New York on my trip the taxi driver didn't know the way from Madison Square gardens to the bus station!

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 03:41 PM

Stop moaning, you're lucky you've actually got buses. Try living out here in The Backwoods - the council gave me a bus pass, but there aren't any f***ing buses to use it on.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 Oct 12 - 06:13 PM

Do f***ing buses produce minibuses?

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Dead Horse
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 06:03 AM

When I was a bus driver in London it was a regulation that the Transfer Ticket was to be given to the driver of the next bus following, to which you have transferred your passengers. You do NOT just dump your passengers at the next stop and bugger off back to depot or wherever.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 06:13 AM

was in LA a few years ago and was told by the hotel receptionist that if I was planning to stay for more than a couple of days I should think about hiring a car.

On the LA walk I described above, the company insisted I should have a rental car. Unfortunately "the boss" decided to go along at the last minute and around 09:00 that morning he demanded the keys to my car so he could "go buy a toothbrush" and I got back to the hotel after hiking almost 50 miles before he did.

(It was the kind of stuff you expected when you travelled with him. I'd done it before so it was no surprise.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 08:50 AM

In London you will rarely get on the next bus as it will already be pretty full and the passengers already at the bus stop will be wanting to get on. The buses are often turned round during rush hour when they are already running late or with large gaps in the service which makes this sort of thing particularly galling. I now cycle which takes half the time of the bus, almost as much faster than the Underground and leaves me less prone to infection.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 12:51 PM

But more prone to the back wheels of bendy-busses.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 01:44 PM

Are there still any bendy-buses? I thought they had been abolished.

~M~

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: GUEST,sturgeon
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 02:10 PM

MtheGM's right. I was in London last weekend and caught the 73 which used to be of the bendy variety, but, thankfully, is no longer so. The bendy buses were removed finally in December, 2011.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 02:12 PM

My son still works in London, and says that since Chairman Boris got rid of the bendy-buses, the vehicles provided are never adequate for the number of passengers, though at least in London a Night Bus is one that runs after midnight rather than one that runs after (or even before) tea-time. When I lived there I always used a Travelcard so I could get anything going, and I still do if I'm in London and likely to need a tube or train.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 02:15 PM

I'm not sure what the nostalgia for the Routemaster was all about. As someone taller than 5'6", I reckoned you needed to be a masochist to enjoy travelling in them.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Leadfingers
Date: 20 Oct 12 - 05:42 PM

Public Transport in UK is still a Farce ! As long as Cabinet Ministers have Chauffeur driven Limos , so it will stay !
When my parents lived twenty miles from my hovel , it was possible to get there on a Green Line from Uxbridge , but the earliest I could possibly get there was ten minutes AFTER the last bus back to Uxbridge left !
And during the Harrow Festival Farce in 1986 , I was travelling in the bus to and from . The last bus was at 2255 , so I was missing the last few songs every night , and on the Thursday , they cancelled the bloody bus with NO notice , which left me with a Five Mile walk at midnight !
One day , the people who "Organise" our transport might actually start thinking about Co Ordinating our Pubic Transport Non System !!

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 21 Oct 12 - 12:46 AM

The bendy buses were pretty dangerous and had an annoying habit of blocking junctions. The drivers didn't seem to understand how long they were.

Subject: RE: BS: More London Bus Problems
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 21 Oct 12 - 11:06 AM

Maybe I am looking at the past through rose tinted reading glasses, but I have vague memories that when drivers and conductors (and inspectors) worked for Lpondon Transport the did theior job properly - now it seems that they can't be bothered.

I remebe4r a few years back when I had some problem or other and I raised it with an inspector or customer service person - IO think it was an occassion when the bus I wanted didn't bother stopping on the assumption that the bus route I didn't want which was stopped at the time should be good enough for me.

The upshot was that the inspector wasn't interested in helping as he worked for a different bus company - apparantly he didn't understand that he was accountable to the puiblic and not his employer!