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In the early days of route
tendering there used to be routes I'd avoid,
travelling by roundabout ways so I didn't have to
go on them. Their fledgling operators would buy
up some old superannuated rubbish from one of the
PTEs whose patronage had been clobbered by
deregulation and try and convince us that they
were appropriate in London conditions. They
weren't. That brute introduction to market forces
put many passengers off for good, returning them
to their cars. This time, the things I avoid are
artics, and another bunch of them has just
entered service on the 149. Although the route is
long and straight, it's also extremely heavily
loaded at any time of the day. The withdrawal of
semi-local service 22A a few years ago prompted
an extension to the 149 which took it to London
Bridge, where it encounters massive numbers of
commuters who will have already had to stand like
cattle on their inbound trains. Instead of making
us all suffer by taking away two-thirds of the
seats, these artics would have been so much
better put to use on an expansion of the Red
Arrow network, short-hop services to which
they're genuinely suited.
A very shaky
first day out, not helped by two of the new
machines breaking down before the afternoon was
out (MA 20 wilting at Stamford Hill with bonnet
open, which helpfully allowed us to examine the
retro-fitted anti-fire system, and MA 24 KO'd
northbound at Tottenham). I observed an amazing
five pairs of 149s, which are timetabled to run
'every 5-8 minutes' according to the singularly
unhelpful bus stop timetables, and large gaps
that had to be put right on the spot by turning
buses short. Invariably the first of the two
buses would come in stuffed to bursting, and the
second empty. I had to let one go by in this way
when I gave the new 149 a try this afternoon,
because I feel I deserve to be able to sit down
if I take the trouble to pay a fare (and I'm
afraid I know the population of Tottenham and
Edmonton far too well to assume that all of them
will be paying...)
The operations
are also unusual - of course the wretched things
won't fit into a normal garage, so they have to
be operated from one where they will, Edmonton.
To avoid having to close Stamford Hill, that
garage's crews are ferried to and from Edmonton
to sign on. Thinking ahead to the much-dreaded
conversion of the 73 to artics, the expensive
rebuilding of Tottenham is going to prove a
complete waste of time if the artics for that
route won't fit in there either, as looks the
case from frequent observation of the premises on
my way past on 230s.
Bearing the now
requisite thunderously dull livery, livened up
only by a roll or two of sellotape that doesn't
even go all the way round the bus (come on, TfL -
make an effort! Make us proud to be Londoners!),
brand new MA 16 (BX04 MXP) is seen at
Stamford Hill. Not immediately apparent from the
southbound blind, and certainly not from the
publicity is the fact that the 149 has been
withdrawn north of Edmonton Green, meaning that
through travellers living between there and
Enfield who need to get into town will now have
to drive.
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