The humble London bus is crap, MPs acknowledge

cleanbluesky · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:22

MPs acknowledge failures in non-London buses, stupidly cite London busess as a sucess

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6086668.stm

The committee's chairman, Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, said: "The public image of buses needs to be improved.

"There is still a perception that bus services are generally unreliable and of a poor quality; that vehicles are old and inaccessible; that drivers are rude and that passengers are unsafe and uncomfortable."

The strange thing about bus drivers is that they're possibly the most polite drivers on the road, but as soon as you step into their big red box they're officious and obnoxious anti-social rejects who think they can hold you to account over the slightly-malformed copper coins you give them to pay their extortionate fare...

[DOD]Asprilla · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:26

Surely this article says that the London bus service is good (because it is regulated) and mostly it just talks about perception in other areas rather than the actual service.

chimaera · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:26

Actually i think London bus drivers are some of the most patient people i've ever met, they get treated like crap by car drivers and a fair number of passengers too.

A few weeks ago there was an old lady who was screaming at the driver because he was late calling him all sorts of names, yes its annoying, but its hardly his fault, he gets on the bus when the last driver arrives, then does his route, if there's timetable problems its the companies fault for not adjusting it for roadworks etc etc.

Obviously there are some git bus drivers don't get me wrong.

Bus travel in central London is ten times better than it used to be and faster than the tube in a lot of cases, once you get outside London then it sucks big time, but i dont care about that

cleanbluesky · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:27

[DOD]Asprilla said:
Surely this article says that the London bus service is good (because it is regulated) and mostly it just talks about perception in other areas rather than the actual service.

No, its saying that deregulation has made the service worse, it does not subjectively rate the quality before deregulation

chimaera · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:31

cleanbluesky said:
No, its saying that deregulation has made the service worse, it does not subjectively rate the quality before deregulation

Seems to me she's saying that in England its made it worse, whilst in London its improved, thanks to Ken i might add...

[DOD]Asprilla · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:31

cleanbluesky said:
No, its saying that deregulation has made the service worse, it does not subjectively rate the quality before deregulation

I thought that this bit:

BBC said:
More research on the system operated in London - where services are privatised but regulated, and passenger numbers are rising - should be carried out.

Implies that the London system should be researched as a model for regional bus services. This certainly doesn't imply your title statement.

Goatboy · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:32

chimaera said:
Bus travel in central London is ten times better than it used to be and faster than the tube in a lot of cases, once you get outside London then it sucks big time, but i dont care about that

I just noticed your location, I had major trouble with buses when I worked in Barnet, the 307 is atrocious and it's the drivers to blame most of the time.

Mad old tory · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:34

Goatboy said:
I just noticed your location, I had major trouble with buses when I worked in Barnet, the 307 is atrocious and it's the drivers to blame most of the time.

My limited experience with the 381 has been fine, much better than the bus service around here, £2.60 for a 10-15min journey to uni and back each day ******** to that!

chimaera · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:36

Goatboy said:
I just noticed your location, I had major trouble with buses when I worked in Barnet, the 307 is atrocious and it's the drivers to blame most of the time.

the 307 is the worst bus route i have ever used in my life, its the only bus that goes down my road and i hate it so much i walk half a mile to the 184 route.

I should probably correct myself to say central london busses

i go from bank to holborn regularly and during rush hour its much nicer to catch a bus that runs every 2 minutes than get on the central 'heating' line.

cleanbluesky · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:46

[DOD]Asprilla said:
Implies that the London system should be researched as a model for regional bus services. This certainly doesn't imply your title statement.

Well spotted... I attempted to edit to reflect that, but it was unsuccessful

leaskovski · 26 Oct 2006 at 13:50

Why didnt they just say public transport in general? :rolleyes:

locquaciousfellow · 3 Dec 2023 at 04:34

Mad old tory said:
My limited experience with the 381 has been fine, much better than the bus service around here, £2.60 for a 10-15min journey to uni and back each day ******** to that!

Almost 20 years later now its £3.50 for a round trip on tfl busses.

locquaciousfellow · 3 Dec 2023 at 04:35

Goatboy said:
I just noticed your location, I had major trouble with buses when I worked in Barnet, the 307 is atrocious and it's the drivers to blame most of the time.

20 years later it still holds its title for the worst service in North London

Efour · 3 Dec 2023 at 06:15

20 years later no one cares, still.

Hagar · 3 Dec 2023 at 06:26

Gwyneth Dunwoody was a very effective and popular Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich. She was the MP before the MP before the MP before the MP that we have now.

BUDFORCE · 3 Dec 2023 at 06:52

Buses in London are great, I used to live in London, I don't miss it but you can't fault TFL, you go elsewhere you realise how good it actually is.

Uther · 3 Dec 2023 at 06:58

BUDFORCE said:
Buses in London are great, I used to live in London, I don't miss it but you can't fault TFL, you go elsewhere you realise how good it actually is.

Compared to the couple of buses a week we get here public transport in London is amazing!

Lopéz · 3 Dec 2023 at 07:07

locquaciousfellow said:
Almost 20 years later now its £3.50 for a round trip on tfl busses.

Round trip, there and back? That would be €5.20 here, so on that specific comparison London is not all that bad.

Bluecube · 3 Dec 2023 at 07:16

I don’t think there are bus services outside London. Buses are like the police and GPs and unicorns…

FBi7 · 3 Dec 2023 at 08:26

Best/worst thread necro ever.

Kudos to you, spambot.

The humble London bus is crap, MPs acknowledge

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