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When do the new Routemasters arrive?

Orang Utan said:
Cos of the wide public perception that public transport is a much more dangerous place to be now - high profile murders n that
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But I dont think the perception is any worse than it was a couple of years ago when they didnt appear to have nay problems recruiting conductors. As Moneygrinders Organ says above, theres no problerm recruiting for jobs like Traffic Warden which can also be dangerous.

I'd be very surprised if they couldnt find any takers for conductors jobs tbh.
 
editor said:
Can't you read? The proposed new Routemasters would be fully accessible for disabled people*. But are you really arguing that old people would prefer not to have a conductor onboard?

(*that's what we were told, so we have to run with that for now)

Right. So 'progress' involves producing a bus that is more dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists, prone to catching fire and easy for fare evaders?
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I don't get the hostility to conductors when I'd presume the same people are happy to staff stations on the Overground which handle a few thousand people a day. A busy bus route probably handles more in an hour.
 
citydreams said:
With regards to the cameras, the original central zone cameras were only about 70% efficient at capturing your number plate. Penalty charge notices had to be checked in person. A very tedious job. New cameras are close to 100% efficient.
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Spike+ is just Western extension isnt it.
 
Belushi said:
But I dont think the perception is any worse than it was a couple of years ago when they didnt appear to have nay problems recruiting conductors.
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That *might* be because they already had enough iyswim ? there had been a run down in the number of conductors over the years and when the last routemaster ran they had had to redeploy (not very easy!) or make them redundant - i think (but couldnt give you facts and figures about it) that a lot of the conductors were older chaps who had been doing it for years anyway so getting new people in wasn't an issue because of that rather than there being plenty of people willing to do the job?
 
citydreams said:
Thanks... found it. Apparently it was commissioned by Autocar
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7149722.stm

Seems a bit strange that a car magazine would want to provide better buses.
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I've never ever understood this. I drive, and I live just off the car-park known as the M6. Even with the toll section it can, and often does, take hours to get north of Manchester or east of Coventry. I would like less cars on the road so that when I need to drive I can actually drive rather than mindlessly shifting between 1st and 2nd gear for an unpredictable amount of time. Public transport gets cars off the road and gives me more options. As a sane motorist, what the fuck else would I want them to spend transport money on? :confused:
 
scifisam said:
I agree. We do that already, though. We still have double deckers. But the Routemasters were phased out for a reason.
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I'm all for disabled access but the routemasters actually suited me better. Lots of bus stops have been moved further apart because the buses don't fit (get in the way of traffic lights or some such) and I can't hop off at the lights anymore. I can walk but not far. Also the bendy buses give me travel sickness which I could generally avoid on all other buses if I controlled my reading urge. :confused:

I get slightly miffed at bendy buses being presented as the answer for all disabled people. As always we're a hell of a large group with a multitude of needs. :(

Actually. all my quibbles could be solved by buses driving with the doors open. :cool:
 
drag0n said:
I'm all for disabled access but the routemasters actually suited me better. Lots of bus stops have been moved further apart because the buses don't fit (get in the way of traffic lights or some such) and I can't hop off at the lights anymore. I can walk but not far. Also the bendy buses give me travel sickness which I could generally avoid on all other buses if I controlled my reading urge. :confused:

I get slightly miffed at bendy buses being presented as the answer for all disabled people. As always we're a hell of a large group with a multitude of needs. :(

Actually. all my quibbles could be solved by buses driving with the doors open. :cool:
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I don't think we're ever going to go back to buses with open access like that, though. :( So surely the Bendy buses are still better than double deckers when there's no space left on the lower deck?

I wonder why bendy buses give you travel sickness, and others don't?
 
scifisam said:
I don't think we're ever going to go back to buses with open access like that, though. :( So surely the Bendy buses are still better than double deckers when there's no space left on the lower deck?

I wonder why bendy buses give you travel sickness, and others don't?
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Bendy buses are still better than double deckers when there's no space left on the lower deck. That is true. I agree. :)
I just hate them that's all. :(

I've been wondering about the sickness thing and part of it is the swing at the back of the bus so I have to find a seat near the front (easier I guess as it's harder to fare dodge up there) but it's not just that. Bendies move weirdly. :confused:
 
ymu said:
I've never ever understood this. I drive, and I live just off the car-park known as the M6. Even with the toll section it can, and often does, take hours to get north of Manchester or east of Coventry. I would like less cars on the road so that when I need to drive I can actually drive rather than mindlessly shifting between 1st and 2nd gear for an unpredictable amount of time. Public transport gets cars off the road and gives me more options. As a sane motorist, what the fuck else would I want them to spend transport money on? :confused:
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I think it's a great idea. And I'm impressed that they've actually bothered to ask a bus designer to work on it rather than some A-level students. But it's absolutely amazing that this is the only piece that they've ever written on the Routemaster. And even more astounding seeming as they're actually against bus lanes and cycle lanes.

If that wasn't suspicious enough, Autocar commissioned Capoco in December 2007 - a whole three months after Boris announced his intention to replace the Routemaster. Just enough time to cobble together a design that holds water, but not enough time to work out costs.

Could it be that Autocar just wanted to get Ken out of office? Well, there's no need to answer that is there!
 
Orang Utan said:
I'm a cyclist - what's so terrifying about them? They're just like any vehicle - stay the fuck behind them and you'll be alright.
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Until they overtake!

Naaa, never liked them. Fuck 'em off.

Bring back the Routemaster - keep the bendy's for airport shuttle runs and suchlike, no need to chuck them away.
 
A little bit of London history, 120 miles up the M1:

busyo1.jpg


:cool:
 
Recruiting conductors is like recruiting train guards !

Not that tricky if the terms and conditons are OK - and some people are ace at dealing sensibly with the public

(though they can wear you down !)


Crew operated buses move faster than others -so horses for couses etc ....
 
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