I said last month that I thought I'd be writing much the same stuff about the 453's bendies as I did about the 436's, but I was largely wrong. The punters seem to know what they're doing this time around. In two trips I made today I witnessed no arguments and only a few people who continued to open up their pass wallets. This time the driver made sure to let people know he didn't have to see them any more, and sounded chuffed to bits about it! He'd accidentally left his mike open so we could all hear.

Naturally one of my buses was boarded by a team of inspectors (told you I wouldn't see them again till a conversion day!), but this time they came up empty.

An important change of practice to note over last month's route 436 report is that a lot of drivers are not opening the front doors at all - mine waved the handful of boarders to the centre doors at more than one stop. Although the stop bays have been extended so that the artics can overshoot the bus stop pole itself, there were still a couple of people who expected to get on at the front, and indeed those who boarded amidships still came up to the front to show their passes (to no avail). I still think the front doors ought to be deleted altogether from the specification, to give the driver a bigger and more comfortable cab in total safety.

Whitehall is the scene for Plumstead's 23013 (LX03 HCN) running as PD421 at 1:45 this afternoon. They were originally to be the MA class before class codes were abandoned. A bit of bunching was evident, with some 453s being turned from the south at Horse Guards, but otherwise a good first day. Despite the fact that the livery omits the colourful swirls of the normal Stagecoach livery, the interiors are certainly more adventurous than the London General / London Central versions, and like all new buses, they smell great!