472 Becomes SL11 - One

The Same But Different?

We know that the recent new route SL11 was a direct replacement for its predecessor, service 472. although no map of the 472 remains on the Transport for London (TfL) web site other sources confirm this direct match with one small change at Woolwich.

Historically the eastbound 472 followed a "back street" wiggle, possibly to get the service a little closer to Woolwich Arsenal station in one direction at least.

Note, in passing, that, if you wished to continue Superlooping by crossing the Thames by foot tunnel or free ferry, the ideal stops would be near the Leisure Centre on the High Street. But, in the interests of completing the outer circle round London loop (NOT), the SL11 does not stop there.

You need a hefty heave from Beresford Street.

But that begs a wider question? Who actually benefits from the limited stop and speeded up replacement for the 472.

TfL's web site shows 15 stops end to end for the newcomer.

Now, fbb thinks that he read somewhere that there were 37 stops on the 472. Calling at one in three stops is about average for a Superloop service that enhances an existing all-stops bus route.

That is beneficial if you are making a long journey on e.g. the SL11. BUT, apart from slightly insane bus enthusiasts, how many folk are likely to ride all the way from Abbey Wood to North Greenwich?

By far the huge majority of passengers are taking shorter journeys; shopping, socialising locally or connecting with train journeys further afield.

Even with the arrival of the swish newcomer, all parts of its route have reasonably frequent all-stops services running prallel. So ...

... if you were going from Abbey Wood station to a stop on the loop unserved by SL11, you would always have the 229.

The 229 runs every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday ...

... and every 15 evenings and Sundays.

Thus, you may have less choice, but local journeys are always still possible. If you are travelling a bit farther, there may be a time disadvantage if you have to change. 

So hard cheese to you!

So what are the journey time differences between the former 472 and the present SL11?

Here is a chunk of a recent 472 timetable ...

... and a bit of an SL11 table.

Comparing the two, we see that a journey on the old all'stops 472 between Abbey Wood and Thamesmead Centre takes 12 minutes.

A similar journey on the limited stop express SL11 ... takes 12 minutes.

But, if we were to go from Thamesmead centre to Woolwich on the 472, it would have taken 18 minutes.

But on the super Superloop we would speed along at only 10 minutes, a saving of a massive 8 minutes.

Frankly, fbb does not believe those figures.

How about from Charlton Station to North Greenwich?  On the 472 we ride for a modest 12 minutes.

But now we can take the speeded up Superloop schedule and nake the journey in ...

... a modest 12 minutes.

Hmmm?

Two possibilities exist. Either TfL is deliberately loading the time savings on the busy section of the route leaving the extremities to be used for 'recovery', or, their calculations are just plain wrong.

Who can ever understand the dark deeds of necromancy if TfL's  skilled timetable planners?

But there are a few more challenges to face the users of the SL11, some partly inherited from the 472.

So tomorrow we take a ride on the SL11 and seek to understand its good bits and its limitations. Showing no fear, the old man will also explain the terminus arrangements at Abbey Wood station.

Ha! It looks simple enough!

Simple? Remember, this IS London.

PLEASE NOTE

This blog has been split into two more manageable parts to protect the sanity of its readers and, more importantly, to mitigate the insanity of its author. Much of Part Two is about maps!

  Next SL11 exploratory blog : Sat 7th Feb