Site New Answers Search Boards ILM ILE Answers New Question New Questions New Poll Blog View Register Login

Bendy Buses: Classic or Dud?

Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed
They just introduced bendy buses on the 207 route. I'm not sure if I like them. They make a strange squeaking noise! Plus they are white, with blue go faster stripes (I think!)...All London buses should be red!

― james, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Do you mean the buses with the accordian bit between the two halves? I don't like them. The look like catepillars.

― Samantha, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yep! Those are the ones!

― james, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh dear, how European we are becoming :)

― Madchen, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Amd another thing! they had no openable windows! WTF?

― james, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

But if the windows opened then the airconditioning would get out.

― Samantha, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Air-conditioning? this is just so wrong! :(

― james, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

But if you sit in the bendy part, sometimes you find yourself moving in a direction that no other part of the bus is moving, which is really, really cool.

― Nitsuh, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

We have bendy streetcars too. Those things hold an amazing amount of people.

― Kim, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i like the bendy buses but only for going arround corners .

― anthony, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

dud - they make me vomit.

― Geoff, Tuesday, 13 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I assume these things are single deckers, right? I'm not sure it's technically possible to make a bendy double decker! I thought having bendy buses in London had been mooted in the past, but the idea was shelved coz they were too long to fit in the bus garages.

― MarkH, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I went on one of the first ones ever in England when they were introduced to Sheffield in the early eighties, my Mum took me especially to go on one because they were so futuristic and special. About a week later Roy Castle was on record breakers talking about them and said that if you'd been one one already then you were a [roy castle trademark rhyming bit]...record breaker, this made me very very proud.

― chris, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I have a question. Is it to help the buses make turns with greater ease?

― rainy, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Classic. Ultimate classic! They bring back memories of being in Germany as a kid in the early '80s - obviously standing on the swivel plate in the middle was the *only* way to travel!

If we've got 'em over here now (where does the 207 route run? It's all 1xx and 3xx up my way I think) I have no reason to go to Germany again. Ever! Hurrah! (Unless I can find an excuse to start a war and go and kick some Bosch butt!)

― ogden, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i quite like them, but the streets of dublin were not designed for bendy buses. i was on one of them recently and the driver got stuck when he tried to drive it round a corner. heh heh heh.

― rener, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

bendy double deckers urgent and key: esp. if bendy bit = between the lower and upper deck => no better for going round corners, but top comedy slapstick item

― mark s, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

and made the accordian music.

― rainy, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My paralysed godmother went to from Winchester to Lourdes on a bendy bus in about 1983 to be healed. They threw her in the pool and she had a heart attack from the cold.

― chris, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i'm ashamed to say I burst out laughing at that story Chris

― mark s, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

they had them in leeds ages ago, get within lahndahn.

― Ed, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Small Graham went on one in Switzerland ~1993, and had much fun standing with one foot on and one foot off the circular moving platform bit in the middle.

― Graham, Wednesday, 14 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sheffield in the early eighties

2pence fares

― gareth, Thursday, 15 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh yes, 2p to go anywhere, there was uproar when it went up to 5p!

― chris, Thursday, 15 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Spadina bus was indeed the coolest bus in the world. Bar none, its just not the same in streetcar form.

― Mr Noodles, Thursday, 15 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Get on the bus! Spadina bus! ok sorry. Yeah, but Spadina was fucking insane, people parking sideways in the centre of the street and all that. You can get from the lake to Spadina station in less than fifteen minutes now with the streetcar. I only seem to see the double ones on Queen though - the back portion is very handy if "someone" is too tipsy from an excellent Xmas party and needs to hide from the driver while vomiting into the heating vents.

― Kim, Thursday, 15 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

nine months pass...
They got rid of the bendy buses.

― jel -- (jel), Monday, 19 August 2002 17:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Still over here in OC. And they're great!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 19 August 2002 19:01 (twenty-three years ago)

DC has had them for ages, but not on any routes I usually ride (sUxOr).

― j.lu (j.lu), Monday, 19 August 2002 20:51 (twenty-three years ago)

the bendy buses in the twin cities don't make me sick, but sitting in the bendy part is kind of like zero gravity!

in iowa city, they have a BIONIC BUS (it sez so on the front). it looks kinda like the car homer designs.

― Josh (Josh), Monday, 19 August 2002 21:07 (twenty-three years ago)

three months pass...
I've just discovered that the Manchester trams have SEATS! inside the bendy bit, when you're sitting on them it's like you're on a teacups ride when you go around corners and you cna watch the big rubber flaps SQUISH people (or not). I'm in v.v.good mood tonight bvecause of this.

― Graham (graham), Thursday, 21 November 2002 17:40 (twenty-three years ago)

We have a bendy bus on our route @ work! V handy to get to Victoria Street when you go and visit ECWM! Although he mostly comes over here so he likes the 507 more than me. I will admit it is not much of a walk but mmm 507. The noises when the door shut though are BLOODY LOUD!

― Sarah (starry), Thursday, 21 November 2002 17:44 (twenty-three years ago)

the bendy bit on amsterdam trams is a good laugh,but the bendy busses in dublin don't seem to be as good,not sure why...

― robin (robin), Thursday, 21 November 2002 19:37 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't like them because I like sitting upstairs - more secluded, less bustle, better view.

― David (David), Thursday, 21 November 2002 19:59 (twenty-three years ago)

eleven months pass...
TWO YEARS LATER... REVIVE!!!

Cause they brought the goddamn horrible ugly inconvenient awful bendy busses back... ON MY ROUTE!!!

I changed from the 205 to the 18 because it was more regular and more reliable. But now they've replaced the beautiful, nice, convenient double deckers with bendy busses! And seemingly now they run half as frequently!

They're a nuisance - I mean, they take up twice as much room as a standard bus, yet they don't carry twice as many people. This morning, the bendy bus I was on stopped ALL THE TRAFFIC ON EUSTON ROAD because it was splayed diagonally across 3 lanes while letting on people.

They're dangerous because the bus driver can't see the rear doors to ascertain whether people are still getting off, and I nearly had my nose taken off.

BENDY BUSSES FUCKING SUCK AND I HATE THEM!!!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I forgot to mention that they creak and groan alarmingly, too. Especially if you're on or near the bendy bit. DUDUDUDUDUDUDDDDD!!!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:49 (twenty-two years ago)

oh crap, don't get Vicky started on any sort of buses, not today.

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:53 (twenty-two years ago)

What was going on today that the busses were so freaking crap this morning? There was an 18 about every 15 minutes! At rush hour! With billions of extra people on the pavement!

WHAT A DAY TO INTRODUCE A CRAP NEW BUS SERVICE THAT DOESN'T WORK PROPERLY!!! Did I mention the driver had no idea how to drive his bendy bus and kept getting stuck going round corners?

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:55 (twenty-two years ago)

but sitting next to the bendy bit is the best thing about them!!!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:55 (twenty-two years ago)

The first time I saw a bendy bus, in Amsterdam, sitting on the bendy bit was fun. IT WORE OFF VERY QUICKLY!!!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:56 (twenty-two years ago)

In the absence of broad european boulevards to make turns in they are a bad idea.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Exactly! You take a narrow but tall bus which is perfectly designed for narrow medieval London streets, and replace it with a broad and long bus. THIS IS PATENT STUPIDITY!!!

(PLus, I can't sulk on the upper level when I am feeling moody.)

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 09:59 (twenty-two years ago)

as long as they don't touch my lovely new 141

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:00 (twenty-two years ago)

other good place to sit = right at the back!! Awesome pendulum effect when cornering quickly!!

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Today was bad because the met and hammersmith line was down west bound.

Last night I waited 50 mins at tottenham high road, for a bloody 123. I phoned up the transport info line, and the bloke was telling me to write a nasty letter, he said they were always getting people ringing up about it. So why doesn't anything change then?!!!!

grrrr

― Vicky (Vicky), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Bendy busses make me sick. Literally. I sat in the back of the one yesterday, and I felt so queasy that I had to chew peppermint gum and get off a stop early.

AND THEY MOVED THE 205 STOP SO I CAN'T EVEN GO BACK TO TAKING THAT BUS WITHOUT WALKING FURTHER.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I like standing on the bendy bit itself and pretending I'm snowboarding. Um, on the flat. Kind of. The university lays on a free bus between the two campuses, a bendy one, and it's my journey to work each morning so I ain't complaining.

I completely understand why they are a stupid idea in London though.

― Madchen (Madchen), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I know about the met and circle and h&C being down as I had to go all the way back to the vic line from the aforementioned, get on a rammed train, change at Oxford circus and then run madly through baker street for a train that only got me to work half an hour late grrrr

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't imagine that they would introduce bendybuses on the 141. Even tho it's not the huge long route it once was (Wood Green to Grove Park when I was a kid - what is it these days, Wood Green - Liverpool Street or something?).

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

It's not enough that we have to have these horrible bendy busses, but having them on a day when the tube is not working, and therefore our lovely busses ARE FILLED WITH EVIL TUBE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND BUS ETTIQUETTE is totally unbearable. I'm going to write a letter to my local counciller! or Echo and the Bunnymen!

< /inner Rik >

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:11 (twenty-two years ago)

the bendy buses are okay if they keep them as express routes that only stop at major stations and sites, like the 453 i guess - making the 18 a BB seems like a bad idea

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:11 (twenty-two years ago)

London Bridge, mark h

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:12 (twenty-two years ago)

OH NO DOES THAT MEAN THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE US AN EXPRESS AND FORCE US ALL ONTO THE 205 FOR LOCAL SERVICE?!?!? FuXors.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I never had any complaints on the 436. But then again I had the option of the 36 as well. Both just as good for cash-less journeys.

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Did I also mention that I MISSED THE FIRST BUS because I made the stupid mistake of being honest and law abiding and stopping to get a ticket first? Grrrrrr.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I had to shout at a woman on the bus on Saturday - she pushed my limit. Not only did she barge me out of the way while getting on the bus (as I had a basket of apples in one hand and two laden carriers in the other) she thenm proceeded to stand her fat ass in the middle of the bus and refuse to move down, despite the fact that there was loads of room and there were loads of people trying to get on.

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I wouldn't have shouted at her. I would have hit her upside the head with a peck of apples!

(Though I understand why you would be loathe to do that and bruise your apples.)

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:18 (twenty-two years ago)

how do you know that she didn't have osteoporosis or arthritis in both of her legs and so every step she took was a step of agony?

oh shit, he's prolly going to shout at me too now....

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm thinking it might be hard for someone of limited mobility to barge quick enough to annoy Chris!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:20 (twenty-two years ago)

exactly, she didn't seem at all bothered that I shouted "you flucking rude bitch" at her, but she did move down the bus

she was a very large lady, but surprisingly agile

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I ESPECIALLY hate people on double decker busses who come down the stairs ahead of you, cause they're going to get on, then STAND IN FRONT OF THE STAIRS so that you can't get off the stairs while the cowboy busdriver does his "stopping on a dime and throwing all stairusers down the stairs" routine. I want to kick them.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:24 (twenty-two years ago)

of course if you get thrown down the stairs you might end up kicking them anyway, or barging them.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:30 (twenty-two years ago)

True. And their soft sucka asses would break my fall.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:31 (twenty-two years ago)

so, if anyone has ever wondered about the etiquette of who should let go before you down the stairs of the bus, the answer is - the person with the SOFT SUCKA ASS.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I had to go all the way back to the vic line from the aforementioned, get on a rammed train, change at Oxford circus and then run madly through baker street for a train

Is nobody else pleased with the image of Chris running through Baker St Station waving his arms in the air and gibbering?

Ken says that bendy buses carry significantly more people than even double deckers. But clearly there aren't enough of them because they're always rammed. Or perhaps they carry more people because lots and lots of people have to stand.

― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:58 (twenty-two years ago)

on the 141 there are all these nonces who insist on standing by or on the stairs rather than sitting upstairs

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 10:59 (twenty-two years ago)

you'll be right at home then

― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:00 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, the 141 does take me home, well observed

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:02 (twenty-two years ago)

They carry more people because of the standing thing. HOWEVER, this is one of the few things on which Ken is WRONG in that they do NOT carry more people per square foot of ground coverage. Which is very important in central London. They are twice as long and they take up twice as much space, making traffic worse, not better. They hog bus stops - only one bendy bus can stop at a time at an ordinary bus stop, compared to the 2 or sometimes even 3 routemasters if they squish and double up at diagonals.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Ken says that bendy buses carry significantly more people than even double deckers. But clearly there aren't enough of them because they're always rammed. Or perhaps they carry more people because lots and lots of people have to stand.

Compared to the rest of Europe we have the most ridiculously luxurious buses. Most buses in european cities have about 10-15 seats on them and the rest is standing room only, hey presto loads more people on the buses.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:04 (twenty-two years ago)

i like it when doubledecker buses drive too fast rd roundabouts and fall over

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I've never seen a double decker fall over. I thought they had to take tests that they could go up to 38 degrees before falling over!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:06 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen a double decker with the top sliced off, happened right outside my old werk.

― Sarah (starry), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen one with its side sliced off, from attempting to drive THROUGH the British Museum! But never seen one fall over.

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

there was that Bond film, and the last scene of the Young Ones

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember that - for some reason the bus driver just went mental and went down the wrong road and under a bridge that was lower than the top of the bus. The top came off like a sardine tin.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:09 (twenty-two years ago)

My cousin was once travelling on a double decker when the whole front of the bus fell off (or so he says).

Ed: is the pattern of usage different in Europe then? I take quite long bus journeys quite often and not getting a seat would be a major unpleasantness.

stevem: you should consider staying there.

― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:10 (twenty-two years ago)

European cities are, in general, smaller than London (both in population and geographically) and in the main, but not universally, less congested that London. So I'd guess the average bus journey would be shorter.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

'Ridiculously luxurious' seems a bit harsh then.

― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

also the seats in the new kind of london doubledecker are INCREDIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE

(i think they must be designed for the butts of our alien overlords when they make their presence known any day now)

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:20 (twenty-two years ago)

driving buses under low bridges = how they make sightseeing buses.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I blame Roger Moore, as he gave everyone the idea.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I always wondered, Mark h!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:28 (twenty-two years ago)

you don't want to know how much Guide Friday have to bribe the drivers to do it.

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Bendy busses are so classic hey are beyond class.

Yes, yes they are.

Yippeeeeeeee!!!

― mei (mei), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:33 (twenty-two years ago)

well i'm convinced

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen the future, and it's Bendy Buses.

― darren (darren), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 12:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Bendy buses still rule.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I have to ride a bendy bus three times a week, and it never comes as frequently as the other buses. Besides, there is always a horrifying smell of exhaust inside. Chicago needs double decker buses now!

― Sarah Pedal (call mr. lee), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 17:28 (twenty-two years ago)

DUD!!!!!!!!!!! But, as I say they got rid of them, I think they caused too many traffic probs, and congestion at bus stops (London buses tend to bunch together).

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 18 November 2003 17:39 (twenty-two years ago)

six months pass...
I suspect that psychologists could tell us some interesting reasons why 'Red Ken' is so keen on bendybuses for London, four of which so far have gone up in smoke.

― Morris Hickey, Tuesday, 1 June 2004 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a campaign to halt the replacement of the 73 with bendy buses. I approve having read the arguments against the bendy bus (reduced frequency, blocked traffic) none of which mention the combustability of said bus.

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Not the 73, that's a travesty. Not least because the 73 is a abstion of routemasters. However, less emotionally, the route is so unsuitable for bendy busses (as is just about any bus route in London)

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

they've got quite a few non-routemasters on the 73 already, but i can't see how a bendy bus would get through stokey at all...

there will be no routemasters in like 2 years tops, which is a GOOD THING as they have less leg room than a child's pedal car.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Routemasters are fucking shit. They look nice but they are A NIGHTMARE to navigate, especially on crutches, and getting off them has made me fear for my legs over the last couple of days.

I hate buses. They are rubbish - why do you North London people insist on getting them everywhere? YOU HAVE A TUBE! USE IT!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I will grant an honorable exception to the Crouch End mafia on this one.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:52 (twenty-one years ago)

but escalators are even worse to navigate on crutches, shurely, so you'd be limited to travelling between those stations with lifts.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:52 (twenty-one years ago)

because the hole train is even more hellish, i like busses me.

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:53 (twenty-one years ago)

routemasters are shorter, more manouverable and twice as fuel efficient as any bus that has tried to replace them.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 07:57 (twenty-one years ago)

They are rubbish for disabled people, though. God knows how anyone is supposed to get on a routemaster in a wheelchair, for instance.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:02 (twenty-one years ago)

That's why they're being replaced innit.

Bendy buses are ideal for broad European boulevards. And Sheffield, of course. Even if the Routemasters have to go *sigh*, newer double deckers are clearly a more practical option than the bendy fellers. Silly Mr LivingstON!

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:03 (twenty-one years ago)

tube: fucking hot in the summer, involves walking up and down, feeling of hopelessness when it's stuck in a tunnel, fucking hot in the summer, costs more, doesn't take you as close to your destination most of the time, loud, can't text people on it, can't look at scenary outside, grumpier commuters due to all the above reasons.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:03 (twenty-one years ago)

p.s. they really should keep some routemasters for able bodied people who want to be able to jump on and off buses for fun.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:05 (twenty-one years ago)

and yeah, routemasters are being replaced for that exact reason as it won't comply with the law re: accessibility for disabled.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:05 (twenty-one years ago)

the 501/521 route (waterloo to london bridge/st pauls through the city) is fine for a bendy bus, and the 18's not too bad, but stokey high st? [shudders]

ken OTM, re the hole train.

ed, how often do you get a routemaster?

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:07 (twenty-one years ago)

safety laws too. New EU directives require them to be fitted with doors, which would be v. expensive. Although it has been done before - the RMCs they used to use on Green Line in the sixties were Routemasters with doors, as were all the front-entrance examples.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll miss the Routemasters terribly, selfishly. Phuck da toob.

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:09 (twenty-one years ago)

i saw a green Routemaster the other day but forget where (Bloomsbury Way or Upper St)

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Routemaster with doors

http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/subaru/98/RMC/RMC1477d.jpg

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the space in Routemasters, but they're cold in winter and the seats are horrible. When the driver's rubbish and brakes sharply, that metal bar on top of the seat back nearly goes through my spine. Damn this long torso.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Most busses I get are routemasters. 19s and 38s mainly. A few times a week. They are pretty good leg room wise if you ask me.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Also it takes you seventeen hours to get anywhere on a bus. And at least the tube is more-or-less reliable timetable-wise.

But yes, the Tube is horrible in summer. I like my nice airy overground trains where I can nearly always get a seat.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:13 (twenty-one years ago)

but they're cold in winter

yes. Doors would solve this too. The Routemaster was actually the first London bus to have heating, tho there's not much point when all the heat escapes thru a whacking great hole at the back.

I assume you always manage to get a sideways facing seat towards the back, Ed.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:14 (twenty-one years ago)

At the risk of sounding like Richard Littledick, I think the EU should keep it's nose out of Routemaster affairs. This is mollycoddlying bollocks.

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:24 (twenty-one years ago)

It is a little known fact that Romano Prodi is a big fan of On the Buses and it was his horror at seeing Blakey being dragged behind a Routemaster bus on the skid-pan at Chiswick Works with a grinning Reg Varney at the wheel which led to this legislation.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Routemaster's, despite being utterly impractical, are another symbol of Britain's irrational attachment to the past in the face of ease of use and pure good sense. I'm not surprised Dave wants them retained, the raving Tory.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:29 (twenty-one years ago)

steve, there is a green routemaster on the 8 route, so it was probably in bloomsbury. every time i see it i think about green goddesses (ie army fire engines) for some reason

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:32 (twenty-one years ago)

What's easier to use than a routemaster? When they were doing roadworks at High Holborn and the bus stop next to the Louise was out of action, you'd have to have gone on up the road; on a RM you just hop off at the lights.

RM impractical - this is the wrongest thing ever said.

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:37 (twenty-one years ago)

will somebody please chop off Dave B's legs.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Routemasters are beautiful looking things, that's the only reason i want them to stay around, tho i accept they can't run forever

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:40 (twenty-one years ago)

yes, they've had a pretty good run considering they stopped building them in 1968.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Exactly. I fully appreciate the DDA reasons for non-routemasters, but the argument that people might fall out of them is rubbish; people might, and they don't, because humans are amazingly adaptable creatures who can learn. There's scope for having non-RM buses on RM routes, but the loss of the RM is a sad sad thing.

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:45 (twenty-one years ago)

My girlfriend fell down the stairs and would have fallen off (had it not been for a nimble conducter) a routemaster last week as we returned from the pestiferous regions of North London. (Yes, we had been drinking.) They are deathtraps!

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Saddam Hussein told George Galloway how much he liked Routemasters = HE WAS TRYING TO KILL US ALL DO YOU NOT SEE?!

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:49 (twenty-one years ago)

there have been some neat innovations in buscraft lately tho what with the new 341s (my favourite bus) with the staircase directly opposite the doors making much more sense

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 08:59 (twenty-one years ago)

so if you fall down the stairs you don't just fall on the floor, you fall out of the door into the street!

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 12:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Bah, this obsession with stopping people falling is ruining public transport. It's an inherent risk innit.

― Dave B (daveb), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 12:14 (twenty-one years ago)

How can you have a one-man operated Routemaster? Don't you need a conductor?

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 14:52 (twenty-one years ago)

worst bus route for introduction of bendy buses - 106. BRownswood road muthafuckers!!!!!!!!!

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 14:57 (twenty-one years ago)

That's rubbish! All those windy bits between Haggerston and Finsbury Park!

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

C'mon, Routemasters are great. I love watching people fall down the stairs when the driver breaks sharply.

This argument about the disabled is absurd. Simply tie your wheelchair to the pole and hold on.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

They could have a ramp. It would be like the Italian Job.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Dave B so totally utterly OTM

maybe they should keep some routemasters for people who like, have, like, some sense of coordination so that they don't get locked inside the bus on euston road when you can just hop off.

if you're scared of falling off you should wait for the bus to stop before you stand up from the seat.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:07 (twenty-one years ago)

the DANGEROUS routemasters remaining can have health and safety warnings to avoid lawsuits (danger of falling out for malcos - take this bus at your own risk)

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:09 (twenty-one years ago)

hey! somebody back me up on brownswood road! i cant find a picture but this has go to be more twisty and turny than any where else. its like a series of 7 or 8 right angles, like a staircase. even the normal buses have to straddle the road to gewt round it. Quite why they send buses down it, or perhaps more pertinently, why they built it like that in the first place, is a mystery. to me.

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:23 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah but standing in the bendy bit would give you an excellent twisty workout - Classic

― chris (chris), Wednesday, 2 June 2004 15:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Leytonstone Station. 8am. The 66 is sitting there. Big queues of frustrated people. Much watch tapping. Driver sound asleep in his seat. Woman takes initiative and hammers on the windscreen. Driver shits brick and we're off.

Later...

Passenger gets on and complains to driver that bus is late. Driver says Traffic. Windscreen tap woman is in a frencky. She leaps up. "He was ASLEEP!" she shouts as if the word asleep is the baddest thing there ever can be.

Driver becomes sheepish and we're on the move again.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 4 June 2004 12:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Tell me about On the Buses...

― Mary (Mary), Friday, 4 June 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Mutiny on the Buses!! i'm considering making this my next purchase after i complete my carry on set. it's not really that good though. maybe the other ones are better.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 5 June 2004 01:00 (twenty-one years ago)

oh you anglo-philes, bless you ;)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Saturday, 5 June 2004 10:29 (twenty-one years ago)

They aren't, Tracer.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 5 June 2004 10:32 (twenty-one years ago)

That's too bad. Bob Grant looks like he had potential.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 6 June 2004 13:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Holiday on the Buses was reviewed by Barry Norman in Radio Times thusly: "this is without doubt the worst film you will see this year".

― MarkH (MarkH), Sunday, 6 June 2004 13:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I have never seen On The Buses.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Monday, 7 June 2004 08:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I think it was given undue attention in the Hester household because it was filmed in Wood Green.

― MarkH (MarkH), Monday, 7 June 2004 08:10 (twenty-one years ago)

First the Spadina bus, now the Spadina moving sidewalk. Isn't anything sacred these days?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 7 June 2004 14:03 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...
REVIVE!

― Revivalist (Revivalist), Monday, 19 July 2004 11:24 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...
I'm quite surprised that no-one's revived this now that the 73 has bendy buses. It strikes me as one of the daftest routes to go bendy evah - having travelled the Kings Cross to Stoke Newington section quite a few times over the last few months. Interesting too that the bus company (I haven't kept track with what they're all called these days) was really trumpeting the change to bendies with a pic of the concertina section on the posters and saying it "looks good from every angle" arf arf. Well, I would imagine that travelling around Newington Green and making that sharp turn into Stoke Newington Church Street is a bit of a nightmare. Which are the "heritage routes (WTF?) which have been allowed to keep their RMs?

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 08:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Whoever decided to let bendy buses on oxford st needs shot. In fact, whoever decided to use them on the 73 needs hung drawn and quartered, they're a bloody nightmare.

― Vicky (Vicky), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:21 (twenty-one years ago)

i hope they keep the green 73s active still

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm guessing the 19 and 38 are going to stay as is. Which is good because they're my main buses.

Bendy buses gave me traveler's rage on Sunday, because of wrong change combo for machines.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:25 (twenty-one years ago)

are they using them on the 106 now? that would be completely stoopid

― Porkpie (porkpie), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:29 (twenty-one years ago)

is there anyone out there who likes them? i see the 25 go past most days and no matter what time it is always completely thronged. i can't believe that many people want to go from the centre of town to Ilford - there's seats on the trains for crying out loud. but how this route coped before bendy buses i have no idea, tho i'm not sure if the bendy bus improves the situation wrt to packing in the passengers.

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:34 (twenty-one years ago)

More passengers, less seaats, european style.

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:40 (twenty-one years ago)

it looks horrible, i hope i never have to take that bus.

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I also love how they judder along, shaking passengers who cling to the railings around like would-be beans in a box.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 09:43 (twenty-one years ago)

none of the routes i take are bendy so i rarely take them - the 73 used to be good when it was routemaster only because it seemed there were more of them that way (i used to always see at least one 73 on the road when i finish work) which was good for me just jumping on to get to kings cross.

i guess having less buses moving them makes it cheaper to run/more environmentally friendly. and the routemaster takes two people to operate which obviously is a disadvantage. but the jumping on and off is fun.

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I think they are sticking to the change as a disabled access issue.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:17 (twenty-one years ago)

that's wheelchair user access issue, obv. (sorry, i have been to too much diversity training)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry, Steve. I think my friend Nellie and I were prescient in the first phase of PC to want to set up a hotline, 1-800-CORRECT in the US, and 0800 IMPCRU in the UK, an automated service which allows the querent to discover the bang-up-to-date term for the oppressed person of choice ('press 69 for extra correction options...').

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:28 (twenty-one years ago)

the ironing is we all love the Routemasters tho they are TERRIBLY designed - the open access being dangerous, the inaccessibility for the disabled, the need for a conductor, cramped seating and dated window opening system...the Bendy Buses are superior technically yet no-one likes them!

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:32 (twenty-one years ago)

the ironing is we all love the Routemasters tho they are TERRIBLY designed - the open access being dangerous
i only like it BECAUSE it's dangerous!

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:34 (twenty-one years ago)

tbh I'd rather they replaced the routemaster with just normal double deckers (as long as they bought ones that had LOTS of opening windows upstairs, esp the front windows) . I like the idea of bendy buses, and I like the buses themselves, but I hate the congestion they (seem) to cause.

it's much more stressful at a bus stop if you're waiting for another bus and 1 or 2 bendy buses come along. How many people have been left uselessly waving at the bus they want which is sailing past the bus stop because the driver couldn't be bothered waiting at the back of the queue for the bendy buses to leave?

― Vicky (Vicky), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:37 (twenty-one years ago)

My friend Jules said she was sitting outside a pub in Islington on the day the first bendy 73's came along. Every time one went past the whole crowd outside booed.

― Anna (Anna), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:45 (twenty-one years ago)

and then they went and sang at the hospital

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:46 (twenty-one years ago)

at least one of james's initial complaints atop the thread has been answered - the new bendy buses are red!

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know if this has already been said, but there's nothing greater than seeing the front of the bus going round the corner and, for a moment, wondering if your half will definitely follow it...

― Craig Gilchrist, Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:52 (twenty-one years ago)

has a bendy bus ever featured in an action movie? The possibilities....

― MarkH (MarkH), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 10:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Good article in the Guardian about this, including the 4 reason they are being scrapped.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:11 (twenty-one years ago)

> I'd rather they replaced the routemaster with just normal double deckers

i get bus-sick on the new 94s. i never did on the old routemasters.

― koogs (koogs), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:11 (twenty-one years ago)

has a bendy bus ever featured in an action movie? The possibilities....

no but you have reminded me of this so thanks for that

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Bendy bus in an action movie

― ken c (ken c), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

six months pass...
what's the rumpus?

― N_RQ, Friday, 1 April 2005 08:53 (twenty-one years ago)

What, you want a brief recap of 170-odd posts of hate?

They carry more people because of the standing thing. HOWEVER, this is one of the few things on which Ken is WRONG in that they do NOT carry more people per square foot of ground coverage. Which is very important in central London. They are twice as long and they take up twice as much space, making traffic worse, not better. They hog bus stops - only one bendy bus can stop at a time at an ordinary bus stop, compared to the 2 or sometimes even 3 routemasters if they squish and double up at diagonals.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 08:56 (twenty-one years ago)

they are DUD bcz they should be CLASSIC!

i. wrong-way bendiness
ii. take up entire bus-stop when you want other bus
iii. don't drive ANYWHERE NEAR EM if they are goin to take a corner
iv. discommode the pedestrian
v. should have featured in nu-who, exploding just anyway, for REASONS UNRELATED TO AUTON INVASION

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 1 April 2005 08:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Not to mention what hell they are for bicyclists. The worst thing in the world is to get trapped next to a bendy bus WHICH THEN BENDS FOR NO APPARENT REASON like it's going to eat you.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 08:59 (twenty-one years ago)

hate buses. They are rubbish - why do you North London people insist on getting them everywhere? YOU HAVE A TUBE! USE IT!

cos we're not all ca$h mon£y, broheems. also buses are faster than tubes. it's science. next time i move, it will not be related to proximity to tube.

plus, and i am very pro-biking, cycling in london is just suicide. i won't do it. and too many people who do end up on the pavements.

― N_RQ, Friday, 1 April 2005 09:06 (twenty-one years ago)

tubes is worse than bendybus

i. not bendy
ii. "person under train"
iii. doesn't go near you
iv. hott and dirrty BUT IN A BAD WAY
v. should have featured in nu-who, just leavin station ENTIRELY PACKED W.DALEKS

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 1 April 2005 09:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, you're right, I hate the tube even worse than the bendybus now I have to use it every day.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 09:13 (twenty-one years ago)

There have been designs for articulated (bendy style) tubes where you can walk between carriages, but they have never been built.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 1 April 2005 09:16 (twenty-one years ago)

SATAN'S CREATURE ON EARTH!!!!

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 09:16 (twenty-one years ago)

i think you can walk between cars on the newer metro and the metro is just good anyway for cheapness, air-conditionedness, etc.

― N_RQ, Friday, 1 April 2005 09:18 (twenty-one years ago)

The Metro I went on was dank and foul! Switched to busses in Paris as soon as I was able.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 09:21 (twenty-one years ago)

No need to Metro or Bus in Paris as it is the size of an old 50 pee piece.

― Pete (Pete), Friday, 1 April 2005 10:06 (twenty-one years ago)

wait.. the tube is bendy!

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:02 (twenty-one years ago)

(I was with a friend who has difficulty walking due to a back injury. Paris is very hilly - hell for her - so we bussed as much as possible.)

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Also I object to them being called bendy buses. They are articulately buses. They don't bend all the way down.

― Pete (Pete), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:07 (twenty-one years ago)

i think the bendy bit actually refers to the fact that people who are on it end up with bendy spines because of the overcrowding

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:12 (twenty-one years ago)

The 159 route will be the last Routemaster service (the 38 becomes bendy in October), but it too goes the bendy way before the year end.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:19 (twenty-one years ago)

noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

― Ed (dali), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:35 (twenty-one years ago)

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:38 (twenty-one years ago)

i saw leaflets saying today is the 19 routemaster's last day :(

― colette (a2lette), Friday, 1 April 2005 11:49 (twenty-one years ago)

how does the routemaster differ from other double-deckers?

― N_RQ, Friday, 1 April 2005 12:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Open back! For ease of hopping on and off!

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:02 (twenty-one years ago)

bendys on shaftbury avenue is a fantastcally bad idea

― Ed (dali), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Curved staircase so you can't go plummeting all the way to the bottom (though, as Mrs Nipper demonstrated, is you really try...), conductor (driver in own cab, doesn't interact with passengers) - who has own little cubbyhole to avoid blocking entry/exit. They're great and I wish there was a way to make them wheelchair-friendly.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:06 (twenty-one years ago)

And pushchair friendli.

What we need is hoverbus.

― Pete (Pete), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

routemaster = comfy seats!! well-designed to not actually instantly cause spinepain on sitting, plus you don't fall off em whenever the driver brakes suddenly

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, but the only problem is Routemaster seats are not very *big*. Sure, little tiny Tudor people may have fit into them, but Modern Londoners are somewhat slightly bigger and it's hard to get two of them into the seats.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Also, lower deck seat at front and to the left of driver's cab = best way to experience London roads.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

i must start going places which aren't on 'my' bus routes. i have never used a routemaster because i am strickly 43.

― N_RQ, Friday, 1 April 2005 12:31 (twenty-one years ago)

No, no, no! "Driving the Bus" (top deck, front and right) is the best way to experience London's roads.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

It's so much easier to nab the top/front/right position on any old double-decker than it is to secure the bottom/front/left position on an RM that I'm probably prizing the rarity of the latter. It's great to be at ground-level though, yeah?

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I find it frightening and disorienting to be at ground level. I don't really like riding on single decker busses any more, either. I like flying above the traffic. (But then again, I don't really like driving either.)

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Or walking?

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I like walking, because I'm in control of that. Rather than driving, I should say that I don't like being in cars.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 12:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i get bus-sick when i'm at the back of a bendy bus, and never do on routemasters.

― colette (a2lette), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:00 (twenty-one years ago)

routemasters have a good top rear-end snuggleseat (poss only advisable attemtpin if you know who you are sat next)

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Aw, the snuggleseat, yes! It's been so long since I snuggled with anyone in one I had forgotten about it.

Note to self: aquire boyfriend before routemasters go out of service.

― Masonic Cathedral (kate), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I think there's quite a good air-flow on an RM when it's trundling along too; I've never experienced the asphyxiating heat of the top deck of any other dlb-dkr on one.

(Btw, I have never travelled on a bendy.)

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Friday, 1 April 2005 13:08 (twenty-one years ago)

good thing on ITV last night about the farcical situation - Ken's 'you'd be subhuman to want to get rid of the Routemaster' quote made before he was elected, then detailing how he spent millions getting a series of Routemasters 'upgraded' so they could still be used, only to get rid of the whole lot again this year. the only thing that even remotely made sense was the argument re wheelchair users...it's pretty hard to argue against bringing in the Bendy Buses to accommodate them (whereas the Routemasters obv. never could), tho when you consider the problem as is of the driver having to activate the ramp when everyone else is trying to get somewhere PLUS wheelchair users having to work out whether they can even get on the bus or not by looking at how many are already on board...it's a nightmare for them however you try and accommodate. of course all this means that if wheelchair users are having to wait for a quieter bus half the time anyway they might as well keep some Routemasters running, as the Bendy Buses don't seem to really be proving that much more effective.

― Sven Basted (blueski), Friday, 1 April 2005 17:49 (twenty-one years ago)

eleven months pass...
bendy buses, they are part of the landscape now, its starting to seem less strange that even the 29 should be one. so now that we have had a little time, what do we think? are we more used to them

i got the 29 to finsbury park this morning, and

1) there were a lot of people at the stop, and they all got on quickly, and efficiently, through the various doors. the process was noticeably faster

2) no one clicked their oystercards against the reader. i didnt either

3) i realise tfl are trying to move everyone onto prepay, so that youve paid anyway, but this leads to two questions.

a) everyone likes to track now, and build databases, so they can tell what people are doing, and where they are going, but no one pressed their oyster to the reader

b) if there are ONLY bendybuses, then it seems that prepay becomes nopay. i wondered when the last time i saw a ticket inspector of some kind on a bus was

4) just before finsbury park, i saw, yes, ticket inspectors! the bus stopped, and maybe 6 inspectors got on, another 5 remained at the stop, and there were 4 policeman as well. at first i thought there had been a happyslapping, and then i remembered thats much less important. anyway, it took ages! they didnt do it as the bus moved, the bus was stationary, and all the time gained by quick entry seemed to have been lost.

they have to enforce, and continually enforce, because bendybus=nopay in most peoples minds doesnt it?

5) bendy buses dont seem to carry many people, for something so big and long

― terry lennox. (gareth), Thursday, 9 March 2006 10:19 (twenty years ago)

i've had ticket inspectors on the 38 fairly often. they always catch 2 or 3 people out.

Prepay bugs me just because I've been caught out twice now, not realising I've run out until I'm on the bus and trying to press/beep/click the card against the reader. Dumb.

Perhaps the Bendy buses bring with them this supposed continental idea of trust among passengers...yes there's no consistent way to enforce payment, but why would people not pay? sounds silly of course. I just remember something Dave B said about public transport in Germany (i think) and how people will generally just pay because they know they should.

Bendy buses have fewer seats but this does mean they're a bit bigger and more comfortable when you can get one and I like that in a way. Standing up in a cramped BB is still more preferable to me than doing the same on a tube train.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:13 (twenty years ago)

Now of course Livingstone has ordered a review of bendy buses and may scrap them if the conclusions reached are negative.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:15 (twenty years ago)

Bendy buses throw passengers around more than others, I think. And the seats aren't as comfortable I reckon.

When are we due a review of Livingstone?

― beanz (beanz), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:18 (twenty years ago)

i realise tfl are trying to move everyone onto prepay, so that youve paid anyway

well, not really!

i'm too much of a pussy not to pay, the chance of getting caught is too great. but i take a double-decker anyway so it doesn't come up.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:18 (twenty years ago)

well, not really!

how do you mean? all that oystercard stuff, discounted rates if you go oyster. and them hiking up the single fares the whole time

oh! i see, you mean the little machines. i always forget about them. yea, i didnt mean they were pushing those. they wont last anyway, they are good vandalizations targets. i meant, trying to get everyone to oysterize themselves

― terry lennox. (gareth), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:23 (twenty years ago)

I only ever really use buses in London so Oyster doesn't make that much difference to me, in that I can just renew my seven-day bus pass using the card.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:26 (twenty years ago)

there are also a lot of new double deckers with less seats downstairs because they need the room to accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs.

i would like to see double decker Bendies now.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:33 (twenty years ago)

1) pre-pay doesn't mean you "pre pay". you're thinking about travelcards.

prepay is just the name of the mechanism of loading your oyster card with money and then using that to pay. but you still pay nothing if you don't beep.

2) there are loads of ticket inspectors on the 29 route. it is strange, the amount of people they send on doing it (like 10 'revenue recoverers and 4 community police') who can be used better elsewhere??? or are these folks the old routemaster ticket dudes who now need a job so they stick them in?

3) 29 is a good route for the bendy because traditionally it's always packed, and double deckers are rubbish when it's busy (getting on and off, often WASTED SPACE on the top deck when nobody is sitting but you can't get there because some no-bend is blocking the stairwell)

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:38 (twenty years ago)

there are also a lot of new double deckers with less seats downstairs because they need the room to accommodate wheelchairs and pushchairs.

the result being that the bus is so clogged up with wheelchairs and pushchairs that nobody can get to the upstairs bit.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:39 (twenty years ago)

it's not the result, it's the reason for there being less seats BECAUSE the seats used to get in the way

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:40 (twenty years ago)

so what's the point of having a double decker when masses of pushchairs mean it might as well be a single?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:42 (twenty years ago)

i didn't know the 29 had gone Bendy until Sunday. i'm not convinced though. it just means more people standing up which pisses everyone off. i doubt they're actually using more buses.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:43 (twenty years ago)

the result being that the bus is so clogged up with wheelchairs and pushchairs that nobody can get to the upstairs bit.

well it would be, except i hardly ever see wheelchair users on buses anyway. and there's only ever two pushchairs max on a Bendy and one on a DD on average it seems.

they've had to provide for them in this way but the result is more people standing because there are less seats.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:44 (twenty years ago)

so what's the point of having a double decker when masses of pushchairs mean it might as well be a single?

because it holds more people i suppose. i mean. what's your point?

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:45 (twenty years ago)

they should run the bendy buses for rush hour for all routes and then double deckers for quiet times.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:46 (twenty years ago)

What bit of the phrase "the bus is so clogged up with wheelchairs and pushchairs that nobody can get to the upstairs bit" do you not understand?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:47 (twenty years ago)

What bit of the phrase "the bus is so clogged up with wheelchairs and pushchairs that nobody can get to the upstairs bit" do you not understand?

but if you read further along the new buses are designed to not have this to happen by having more room for the wheelchairs and pushchairs, innit.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:48 (twenty years ago)

I can't speak for the number 29 service, but it is extremely common on South London double deckers (new design) to have to battle your way through legions of pushchairs and/or lazy sods "getting off at the next stop" to find you've got the upstairs deck all to yourself. If you can manage to reach the stairs, that is.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:50 (twenty years ago)

i think lazy sods hording the bottom deck are more the problem.

all the buses i go on the pushchair/wheelchair bit is behind the stairs.. so unless you try to get on the bus from the emergency exit at the back it can't really cause a problem!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:52 (twenty years ago)

Yeah but sometimes we're talking four or five pushchairs. Maybe it's a Streatham thing.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 11:53 (twenty years ago)

streatham be spawning! well i can see 4 or 5 pushchairs on it being a problem yeah.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:00 (twenty years ago)

i helpfully did the 29 bus survey last month. my pros for the bendy was "there is more room to stand" and the cons were "there are fewer seats".

i dunno whether that was helpful

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:07 (twenty years ago)

gareth (20 xposts) no i mean you don't really 'pay already' if you get an oyster card but don't beep it. i mean, you gotta keep a bit of money on it but...

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:12 (twenty years ago)

you can even have an oyster with no money on it!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:14 (twenty years ago)

also: i wonder if they have a mechanism set up already against you only bleeping your oyster (euphemism?) when you see ticket inspectors approaching

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:15 (twenty years ago)

A bendy bus blocked the entrance to Wardour Street this morning - it didn't think to stop before the street thereby letting people turning right into it. As a result, a motorbike who was annoyed at this kept his hand on his horn for the entire time until the bus had gone past - well over a minute. Fun for all concerned.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:20 (twenty years ago)

i see people beep their cards even tho there seems no need to do so. i keep thinking there must be some sort of reward scheme for doing so e.g. collect ten beeps and redeem a sachet of the new Ken Livingstone fragrance.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:21 (twenty years ago)

Maybe it's a Streatham thing.

one for the tourist board.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:22 (twenty years ago)

as a non-bendy-user, doesn't the driver shout at the non-beepers? as on the double-deckers when people try to get on the exit.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:23 (twenty years ago)

board any entrance on a bendy

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:25 (twenty years ago)

it is your duty to glower at people who don't beep (and maybe, even, beep, yourself)

― RJG (RJG), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:25 (twenty years ago)

board any entrance on a bendy
-- Ed (dal...), March 9th, 2006.

yeah but doesn't driver go "oi, beep you cunt" or whatever?

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:29 (twenty years ago)

They are 18m long

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:29 (twenty years ago)

they are quite long

crosspost

― RJG (RJG), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:30 (twenty years ago)

the drivers don't give a toss. it's a miracle if they actually let you off half the time.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:30 (twenty years ago)

(that was OTT)

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:31 (twenty years ago)

the time to load was definitely improved this morning. across a longish route, in peak time, it must make a significant difference to journey time

is there an argument for removing all seats from some buses? probably not, and they'd have to be peaktime commuter service only buses, because after 930, that wouldn't meet the needs of shoppers, mums'n'toddlers, and pensioners. at the moment, the bendybuses seem to be a halfway house though, this sort of perfunctory seating, which is neither here nor there

i wonder if there is less happyslapping on bendybuses, than on traditional double deckers

the bendybuses dont really feel like buses. they feel more like trams, perhaps it is the divorcing of driver from passenger

― terry lennox. (gareth), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:32 (twenty years ago)

the drivers don't give a toss. it's a miracle if they actually let you off half the time.

but i thought this whole conversation came from the fact that they're letting you off.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:32 (twenty years ago)

Drivers no longer even limit numbers on double deckers. The last time I saw one try and do this he got a torrent of abuse, there was amexican stand-off where he turned the engine off; he relented, crammed everyone on and continued on his way.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:33 (twenty years ago)

the bendybuses dont really feel like buses. they feel more like trams, perhaps it is the divorcing of driver from passenger

what i like even more though is the divorcing of passengers from other passengers i.e. if it's too rowdy at the back you can move further away etc. - even though there's less seats there's still a sense of having more space generally which i value a lot.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:35 (twenty years ago)

i wonder if there is less happyslapping on bendybuses, than on traditional double deckers

does it actually happen on buses? i get the sense that there is less scope for trouble on Bendies though yes.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:36 (twenty years ago)

bendy bus capacituy - 148 stood and seated
double decker 60-80
think single decker is about 45?

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:37 (twenty years ago)

double decker 60-80

does this account for anyone standing upstairs or on the stairs, which happens all the time? not that that would increase the number significantly

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:38 (twenty years ago)

my favourite seat on the bendy is the first aisle seat facing backwards on the driver side. there is a pole that is conveniently situated that makes it impossible to get on or off that seat in the orthodox position and often there is a girl there sitting in a fanny-pole-rubbing position which is very arousing.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:38 (twenty years ago)

one good thing about living a little further out: can usually get seat.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:40 (twenty years ago)

On the beeping conversation, you don't have to beep if you have a travelcard or bus pass - and shouldn't as it slows down everyone else who needs to beep on pre-pay. Yes its a fare dodgers charter, but its the closest Ken has got to legally introducing Fare's Fare. It is also why the Bendiest go to some of the more deprived areas of London and not Fulham.

― Pete (Pete), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:40 (twenty years ago)

ha ha. i always go for the back of the Bendy if i can. the first two seats past the third doors, on the left hand side of the bus.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:41 (twenty years ago)

I had to take a bendy bus the other day. I sat, by mistake, with my foot on the rotating section, and was alarmed when we turned a corner and my foot disappeared off, seemingly of its own will.

I was more alarmed to see that bendy busses, travelling in their natural state down a straight road, do not travel exactly straight, but slightly flexed. Maybe this is like airplanes, who travel slightly at an angle to their direction, so the wind forces do not tear their wings off due to their own symmetricality. Or perhaps it is more like ships, who have to make various tacks against the wind to travel on a certain course.

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:43 (twenty years ago)

Yes its a fare dodgers charter, but its the closest Ken has got to legally introducing Fare's Fare.

could he not do this legally rather than illegally? if legally, the fare-dodgers would be subsidized by everyone (ie 4wd owners); as is, it's all us billionaire bus-users who make up the difference.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:45 (twenty years ago)

probably the driver was making slight adjustments on his steering wheel

xpost aren't they subsidised at the moment by the penalty fare lottery system? (£20 a pop)

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:47 (twenty years ago)

No, it was a constant angle that the bus came back to when going straight. The minor adjustments were more visible. The things just don't drive straight.

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:49 (twenty years ago)

just wait till the ftr finally arrives

what a problem in london!

too many buses on roads
too many people on buses
no room for increased capacity in peak

solution - move to other city where you can luxuriate in empty buses that run every 2 hrs

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:49 (twenty years ago)

so the wind forces do not tear their wings off due to their own symmetricality.

OMG what's that all about? Something else to worry about :(

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:50 (twenty years ago)

Is that a guided busway or just a bus that get's priority at the lights?

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:52 (twenty years ago)

No, it was in a book about symmetricality. All planes are designed to fly at a slight angle to their direction of flight. They found this out by multiple tests in wind tunnels and things.

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:54 (twenty years ago)

they should dig up some tunnels so that buses can just travel through them in an underground network.

hang on..

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 12:56 (twenty years ago)

ftr is a bus dressed as a tram. dont think it will ever hit london cos there isnt really a problem with patronage but its a scam to try and get sceptical car drivers who associate buses with smelly people and bad things that in fact their city (eg yoerk, leeds) has suddenly spawned a comprehensive tram network, at a fraction of the cost. the principle means of deception is putting covers over the wheel arches so it looks like a tram rather than running on tyred wheels.

also, tv screens, PSPs in seats, AMT espresso on board, smartcard entry, first class section with reclining seats blah blah blah welcome to modernity etc etc*


*disclaimer: mysteriously your route will not have any ftr buses running on it and you will have to stick with the vintage old buses that the operators ragged out of the depths of the depot

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:01 (twenty years ago)

I'm sorry, I hate TV screens on busses. There was one on my bus last night, and it's just distracting and stupid. Even worse are the hypnotic ones that show loops of all the CCTV cameras in the bus. You cna't stop looking at them, trying to spot yourself.

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:03 (twenty years ago)

if they are going to have tvs, they should show exactly where you are on the map and/or route

― terry lennox. (gareth), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:09 (twenty years ago)

PSPs!!!!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:10 (twenty years ago)

and, when it comes to interchanges, they could switch to a spider map of that area, showing where you were on the spider map

― terry lennox. (gareth), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:10 (twenty years ago)

well, actually that'd be the same thing as a route map, showing where you are on the route, with the next area as the spider map, and you in relation to that

― terry lennox,. (gareth), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:11 (twenty years ago)

it'd be good if the TV shows proper telly (i.e. footie) rather than adverts.

in Singapore i think, the bus TV had no sound, but there's a FM frequency so that if you want to watch their telly with sound you can tune in. it's very clever.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:11 (twenty years ago)

they should show happyslappings.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:12 (twenty years ago)

that is correct, ken.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:13 (twenty years ago)

they should fixate the camera on that girl sitting at the pole-dancing seat.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:13 (twenty years ago)

That would be great, Gareth! it would be like the little route things on airplanes that show you where over the Atlantic you are - only more useful, because honestly, who's going to Parachute out when they reach Greenland? While you will be trying to get off a bus.

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:14 (twenty years ago)

They have screens that do that on the Meteor Metro in paris. Local streets bus, spider maps etc. for every stop.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:16 (twenty years ago)

CRYSTAL EYES MUST GO!!! Now there'd be a "more practical way to save energy"!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:16 (twenty years ago)

definitely need route map on bus TVs, but it has to factor in traffic and stuff. if the bus hasn't moved for a while though i envisage people venting their rage and smashing the screen for taunting them about it.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:18 (twenty years ago)

london, cradle of civilization.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:20 (twenty years ago)

i made all that other stuff up.

in some of the concept design stuff i saw for ftr it had tvs in the back of headrests and heated enclosed bus stops etc.

was impressed to see in chamonix a similar thing to the Tv showing route maps, location as you progress etc. announcements for eac hstop etc.

this is the future and everything looks backwards until i can see my bus moving along the road (google maps hybrid?!?!)

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:21 (twenty years ago)

they should just show movies like they do on planes. or trans-world sport.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:21 (twenty years ago)

or CCTV from OTHER BUSES

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

from OTHER COUNTRIES

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Last page of David Thomson's The Whole Equation to thread.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

yes! so you can watch the pole masturbation girl on both your bus and the next bus!!

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:24 (twenty years ago)

it would actually be amazing if there's an intercom where they can just speak to each other from one bus to another. because it's nice to talk to stranges on buses BUT NOT IF THEY'RE ON THE SAME BUS AS YOU! oh no.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:25 (twenty years ago)

HANG UP THE PHONE, HE'S CALLING FROM INSIDE THE BUS!!!!

― Fish is Biodegradable! (That Means It Rots) (kate), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:26 (twenty years ago)

reduced speed-dating

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:26 (twenty years ago)

New on CrystalEyes: BUNGEE HAPPYSLAPPING LIVE FROM BOSNIA

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:27 (twenty years ago)

they should show hitchcock's 'sabotage' (1936) amirite, film buffs?

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:28 (twenty years ago)

although this was supposed to be how bluetooth can work with mobiles! (where you do this toothjacking or whatever you call it)

xpost haha you can happyslap someone and bluetooth them the video as a souvenir

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:29 (twenty years ago)

henry behave

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:30 (twenty years ago)

the first part was about communicating with strangers in public transport

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 9 March 2006 13:30 (twenty years ago)

going back to gareth's first post:

2) no one clicked their oystercards against the reader. i didnt either

4) just before finsbury park, i saw, yes, ticket inspectors! the bus stopped, and maybe 6 inspectors got on, another 5 remained at the stop, and there were 4 policeman as well. at first i thought there had been a happyslapping, and then i remembered thats much less important. anyway, it took ages! they didnt do it as the bus moved, the bus was stationary, and all the time gained by quick entry seemed to have been lost.

did you get caught, then?

― toby (tsg20), Thursday, 9 March 2006 17:42 (twenty years ago)

he doesn't need to touch on buses he has a travelcard

― Ed (dali), Friday, 10 March 2006 10:30 (twenty years ago)

yea, i mean, it doesnt matter for me. but it did make me wonder, about stuff like when they want to collate data on travel patterns. they seem quite pleased that all this tracking is made so much easier by oystercards, but if people dont click?

like, on the 29, oystercard usage will show fewer passengers since the introduction of bendybuses, which is sort of a misleading conclusion

― terry lennox. (gareth), Friday, 10 March 2006 11:48 (twenty years ago)

i'm on PrePay at the mo and have forgotten to beep a few times due to being in the habit of having a monthly travelcard and not having to beep. good thing i didn't get inspected (oh noes what if they're reading?).

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Friday, 10 March 2006 11:52 (twenty years ago)

Change your name again, quick!

I hate the tellies too.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Friday, 10 March 2006 12:56 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...
have only read the first few posts here, but this guy seems to be fairly otm:

http://73omnibus.blogspot.com/

― toby (tsg20), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 06:38 (nineteen years ago)

What people have to realise is that transport, as well as everything else, in London is currently being run by a lapsed socialist with an ideological bee in his bonnet about four-wheeled vehicles. Despite the absurd over-expenditure on buses - all for the tourist-friendly centre of town, nothing for out in the sticks, where unfortunately most Londoners are economically compelled to live - Livingstone basically hates cars and buses and wants everyone to walk or ride their bike everywhere, as though London were Lisbon. As London was built as a commercial/business city this is impracticable, but Ken thinks it's all for the common good, i.e. his own coffers (which these on-the-spot ticket fines/penalties usefully top up on a regular basis).

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 07:11 (nineteen years ago)

> but this guy seems to be fairly otm

his first post is basically how to faredodge. last paragraph of 2nd post doesn't put him in a good light either. post #3, the poster campaign pretty much seals it - the guy is a mentalist.

― koogy wonderland (koogs), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 09:17 (nineteen years ago)

I have to say that getting the 73 bus back into town from Essex Road on a Saturday afternoon is not a terribly advisable notion.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 09:25 (nineteen years ago)

And getting the 38 bus isn't a noticeably advantageous alternative.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 14 June 2006 09:26 (nineteen years ago)

three years pass...

Looking forward to 38 debendification?

― American Fear of Pranksterism (Ed), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 12:53 (sixteen years ago)

so glad this didn't happen five years ago when i was often so broke that i could only travel on the 38 and 149. end of an era.

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:07 (sixteen years ago)

It's going to involve a change in queueing discipline at Victoria, that's for sure. Be curious to see how quickly you can get that many morning rush-hour people through one set of doors. I foresee delays and a few panicked "oh-didn't-mean-to-get-this-bus" de-boarders next week as they're faced with Having To Pay.

(I'll admit, I've fare-dodged on the 38. Or, to give it its proper title, Used Alternate Fee-Free Transport To Make Up For The Cancellation of the London Bridge Train. Didn't wash the one time I was caught).

― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:14 (sixteen years ago)

i used to pretend i couldn't speak english. my then-flatmate used to bat her eyelashes and/or cry. both worked all times we got caught! (i usually pay now.)

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:19 (sixteen years ago)

Fare dodged on the 12 a few weeks ago. Although I was caught, because I was on crutches and had a very obvious injury (and the inspector was presumably afraid of turfing me off the bus, only for to stack it and sue tfl) he reluctantly tapped my oyster for me. A small victory but a proud one.

― I never saw the advantage of peeing while standing. (Upt0eleven), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:20 (sixteen years ago)

if you fare dodge but have a valid PAYG is there anything to stop you just standing next to the oyster reader the whole time on the bus and then only tap it when you see inspectors are about to get on?

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:34 (sixteen years ago)

cos it's pretty easy to see usually when inspectors are about to get on, them being accompanied by 25 community support officers.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:35 (sixteen years ago)

The one time I was caught the Oyster readers had been malfunctioning while we were parked at Victoria; I then sat down and fell asleep as far as Piccadilly. I had £1.20 on my card too. I had so many possible excuses I was stuck for which one to pick (the cancellation of 07:53 London Bridge, forcing me to travel to Victoria, was the weakest option).

No fine but the scare obviously worked on a feeble suburbanite like me. I even let buses go on Shaftesbury Ave now if I know I've got under a quid on my card, and keep walking to Charing X. When I do catch it, I even pay as soon as I get on which I vowed never to do again on a southbound 38, cos they're notorious for terminating early.

The Bendy free rides are our generation's hanging-off-the-back-of-a-Routemaster

― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:43 (sixteen years ago)

I think I only once didn't pay (or twice?) when I wasn't able to go to the front of the bus to pay for a ticket. I had the buggy with me and I wasn't ready to let Ophelia topple over or something.

Bendy bus? Uh, great cause who the fuck likes to be with a gazillion others in a reg bus.

― Nathalie (stevienixed), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:50 (sixteen years ago)

if you fare dodge but have a valid PAYG is there anything to stop you just standing next to the oyster reader the whole time on the bus and then only tap it when you see inspectors are about to get on?

well, indeed

most of the time in the rush hour it's nigh-impossible to reach the readers anyway, not that it matters b/c the bus is too crowded for any inspector check to be remotely possible

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 13:53 (sixteen years ago)

Bendy bus? Uh, great cause who the fuck likes to be with a gazillion others in a reg bus.

something about standing on a bendy is worse than standing on a double decker - probably just because more people can stand and surround you. conversely the increased sense of space when they're not packed was a plus.

― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:13 (sixteen years ago)

they did random survey things when they first started the bendy buses - i took part and they asked like a couple of questions like this

Q: what do you like most about the bendy buses?
A: well I think it's great that there's a lot more standing room so more people can be on the bus.

Q: what do you like least about the bendy buses?
A: well I think it's rubbish that there's less seating room so more people have to stand.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:17 (sixteen years ago)

I felt like Andy Gray that morning I think.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:18 (sixteen years ago)

Tell you what I won't miss in Boris's Inflexible London - the smell of diesel fumes or engine oil or whatever the hell it was that you'd get in the seats closest to the bendy bit.

― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:18 (sixteen years ago)

I'll miss the Teletubbies-esque braking sound of the bendies

― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:19 (sixteen years ago)

Are they getting rid of all of these? I don't really mind them too much, depending on the route. Trying to cram Tokyo-style onto a 25 in Stepney or be late for work is some bullshit, but getting a 12 from East Dulwich is a piece of piss and I always get a seat

As noted, if it's bullshit crowded you basically get to not pay, if you're on prepay; the one time I ever got caught the reader had been turned off at New Cross for a few minutes so I got away with it

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:22 (sixteen years ago)

Always thought the braking sound was like the death cry of a tragic dog

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:22 (sixteen years ago)

double-deckers can get equally intolerably crowded if you don't have a seat, and at rush hour this applies to most people not near the start of the route. bendy buses, at least you're psychologically prepared for the sardine crush.

god i'm glad i don't commute any more.

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:25 (sixteen years ago)

other than the crush aspect i really didn't think bendy buses were any better or worse than double deckers.

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:26 (sixteen years ago)

yeah f'real, at least with a bendy bus you don't get some huddle of morons standing too near the front of the bus and inexplicably lining the stairs, obvlivious to the fact that there are 20 empty seats on the top deck

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:27 (sixteen years ago)

I'm fine with them replacing the 38 with bog standard double deckers (which probably should have replaced the Routemasters in the first place) but replacing the 521 with twice as many tiny single-deckers has pretty much ruined my life.

Also the view's much better from double-deckers innit.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:28 (sixteen years ago)

xp Ah yes the top deck gamble. Are all the people standing downstairs morons who didn't check upstairs, or will I look like a moron for going to check when everyone else is standing?

― George Mucus (ledge), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:29 (sixteen years ago)

Like when there's a queue for a bunch of cash machines, but one of them is free and doesn't look obviously broken.

― George Mucus (ledge), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:30 (sixteen years ago)

Ah yes the top deck gamble. Are all the people standing downstairs morons who didn't check upstairs

Some of them are morons who thought "ah I'm only on for 4 stops anyway"/got on when the bus was full and couldn't be bothered to go upstairs when people got off/don't like going upstairs when the bus is moving. And sometimes I am one of them. Not usually in London though.

― subtyll cauillacyons (a passing spacecadet), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:40 (sixteen years ago)

navigating the staircase on a moving bus is sometimes the highlight of my day.

― George Mucus (ledge), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:45 (sixteen years ago)

xp Ah yes the top deck gamble. Are all the people standing downstairs morons who didn't check upstairs, or will I look like a moron for going to check when everyone else is standing?

do you ever have drivers who at least push the button to have robot lady announce 'seats are available on the upper deck'? the 185 driver last night hammered that button a few times between Victoria and Vauxhall, and when people didn't actually move upstairs he got on the intercom and said 'look, I know most of you are getting off at Vauxhall, but can you please go upstairs so we can fit more people on the bus?' upstairs soon filled with sheepish passengers.

― salsa shark, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 14:59 (sixteen years ago)

still wish they'd vary the type of electronic voice - different voices for different routes maybe, or get random members of the public in to do it for cheap

― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:18 (sixteen years ago)

they'd probably just have Z-list celebrities queueing up for that.

'this is BB6 conestant Lesley Ann Sanderson telling you there are seats available on the upper deck'

― salsa shark, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:24 (sixteen years ago)

Pharoah Monch says "get the fuck upstairs"

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:27 (sixteen years ago)

they'd probably just have Z-list celebrities queueing up for that.

omg i'd actually really like this - atm it feels like the robot voice is constantly shouting rudely at you anyway (cutting through my headphones) so you may as well get some z-lister in for the laughs

(nb not peaches geldof)

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:29 (sixteen years ago)

Top three celebrity bus announcers - Levi Roots, Brian Blessed, Tim Westwood

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:35 (sixteen years ago)

would probably start paying for bendy buses if it was Westwood confirming that PECKHAM RYE: EAST DULWICH ROAD

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:37 (sixteen years ago)

Mr Versatile obviously

― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:37 (sixteen years ago)

could go for some Arshavin as well

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:40 (sixteen years ago)

Arshavin driving the bus in his shark costume, not knowing the route at all.

― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:41 (sixteen years ago)

I find the idea of Mr V going "TOTTENHAM SWAN" strangely hilarious.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:42 (sixteen years ago)

responding to every question with either the "shhh" or the "I'unno" gestures

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:43 (sixteen years ago)

Arsh

― MPx4A, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:43 (sixteen years ago)

Jose Mourinho "these people, they don't want to drive the bus, they just want to park it".

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 15:45 (sixteen years ago)

Ah yes the top deck gamble. Are all the people standing downstairs morons who didn't check upstairs, or will I look like a moron for going to check when everyone else is standing?

And then you think you will check upstairs, so stick your head above the parapet. Only you can't quite see over all the heads to tell if that seat at the back's empty or not and don't want to risk it only have to trudge back downstairs, your back melting under the glares of fifty schadenfreude-laden commuters.

Better to stay downstairs tbh.

― I never saw the advantage of peeing while standing. (Upt0eleven), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 16:29 (sixteen years ago)

people not wanting upstairs is great - once you make it up you just find a heaven of seats like you're in the first class lounge looking down on a bunch of peasants downstairs slugging it again - if there's no seats upstairs you just go back to the bottom of the stairs and stand there where there is also lots of room (and you can sit on the handrail) and when someone walks down you'll be first in line for the throne.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 16:33 (sixteen years ago)

sometimes when i walk down the stairs and see a sea of idiots i do tell them "hey there's about 20 seats upstairs you know" and then nobody moves but i felt i'd done a good deed.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 16:34 (sixteen years ago)

Always go upstairs. Even if there are no seats and you have to hover on the stairs for a bit, at least it means you're out of the crush/stampede when the bus nears its more popular destinations.

― Persian Pickle (Masonic Boom), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 16:36 (sixteen years ago)

(so long as you're aggressive about grabbing the first seat upstairs that becomes available. But then again, I do live second stop from the end on the two major routes through my area, so I feel a slight sense of "I'm going FURTHER than you" entitlement over the people who get off at Brixton.)

― Persian Pickle (Masonic Boom), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 16:38 (sixteen years ago)

Another reason to mourn the passing of the Bendy (or at least, the single-level, capacious bus of whatever description) - it's murder getting a 4-y-o and a 3-y-o up and down the stairs. When trying to get off, at best you miss your stop, at worst the bus lurches in such a way that one of them plunges down the steps. Either way, there's tears.

― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 11 November 2009 17:33 (sixteen years ago)

still it's great that we're spending loads of money to get rid of the buses with better capacity and access innit.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 17:38 (sixteen years ago)

im so glad that i'm soon out of the 29 bus route. the bendy 29 is shit now, but god i remember it in the pre-bendy days.

― ken 'a shaved finn' c (ken c), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 17:39 (sixteen years ago)

The Bendy free rides are our generation's hanging-off-the-back-of-a-Routemaster
--Michael Jones

I used to enjoy doing this but there was this one time when I swinging off the back of the No 10 (when it used to go past the British Museum). I had quite a bad hangover and suddenly I got really dizzy, felt my knees buckling and nearly swayed off the bus in a swoon.

Fortunately I recovered myself and in a rather elderly fashion shuffled well into the bus.

I think the main issue I have with bendy buses is as a non-bus user. They can be a bit of a hazard when cycling and also block crossings. Not unheard of for other vehicles to do that of course, but they're so long they can be a bit difficult to negotiate.

― 'virgin' should be 'wizard' (GamalielRatsey), Wednesday, 11 November 2009 20:24 (sixteen years ago)

if there's no seats upstairs you just go back to the bottom of the stairs and stand there where there is also lots of room (and you can sit on the handrail) and when someone walks down you'll be first in line for the throne.

nooooo! people who stand on that bit at the bottom of the stairs are a total pain. I'm a small person and trying to get by them when they DON'T MOVE and I'm TRYING TO GET UP/DOWN THE STAIRS is incredibly AGGRAVATING and sometimes I wish I were fatter or carried 5 handbags like every other woman on the bus so I could just SQUISH THEM IN THEIR STUPID LITTLE CORNER as I pass.

these kinds of aggravations do not exist on bendy buses.

― salsa shark, Thursday, 12 November 2009 12:32 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah. You stand at the TOP of the stairs so you can get out of they way when people are trying to go down. Or rather, you've already grabbed their seat before they even get to the stairs. ;-)

― Persian Pickle (Masonic Boom), Thursday, 12 November 2009 12:35 (sixteen years ago)

I stopped going upstairs when the playing music on your mobile phones craze was at its peak. Was getting into too many confrontations.

― I Poxy the Fule (Tom D.), Thursday, 12 November 2009 12:42 (sixteen years ago)

... that'll teach me to play music on my mobile phone I suppose

― I Poxy the Fule (Tom D.), Thursday, 12 November 2009 12:42 (sixteen years ago)

you and your Wurlitzer Classics

― mdskltr (blueski), Thursday, 12 November 2009 12:52 (sixteen years ago)


You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.
Site New Answers Search Boards ILM ILE Answers New Question New Questions New Poll Blog View Register Login