Remember Superloop?
It's Mr Khans spiffing idea to have a limited stop bus service right round London sort-off following the North and South Circular roads - but it has a huge gap where the loopy route doesn't cross the Thames on its Eastern flank. So it won't be a proper loop let alone a super one!
The section featured in today's blog is the bit shown in ORANGE on the above highly stylised diagram of this less than super Superloop. It has a close affinity with the existing 183 route, so, as predicted, it will be numbered X183.
The present 183 (no "X") runs from Pinner to Harrow ...
... continuing to Golders Green.
But the X193 doesn't!
It starts at Harrow and runs to North Finchley.
In their on-line "consultation" (don't laugh!) document, Transport for London give us an excellent map of the proposed route. To help us all follow this, the X183 is no longer orange but has become BLUE with white dots ...
... the 183 is PURPLE, and ...
... the 125 joining the X183 from Hendon to North Finchley is, obviously, orange.
Thanks for confusing us all, TfL.
No thanks to TfL, who don't tell us the timetables, the 125 currently runs every 10 minutes ...
... and the 183 every 7/8 minutes approx.
It would seem unlikely that these frequencies will remain at these levels when the X183 starts. Indeed, TfL explains what will happen.
We are also told what will happen to the 183.
TfL's mathematics are difficult to follow, but one thing is clear; combining a 12 minute frequency (X183) with a ten minute frequency (183) can never produce an even interval service over the common sections of route.
Not only that, but the X183 is "Limited Stop" which means that at the non X183 stops, there will be a reduced frequency from evey 7/8 to every 10.
The 125 timetable will not change; so, on that shared section, passengers will have an increased frequency at the X183 stops,
And there's more!
TfL are anxious to show us all the possible connections available with Superloop X183. The map is magnificent and fbb will chop it in two so that readers can enjoy its opulence. Here is the western half ...
... and then continued to the east.
Both maps will enlarge if you click thereupon!
But where wil the X183 stop? All we have, so far, is a straight line diagram showing ...
... exactly what? Are these the only stops to be served? In which case it will be VERY limited stop. In the now-closed "consultation", contributors were invited to make suggestions as to where the limited stop stops might be. So maybe more are under consideration?
fbb really cannot see the advantages of going "limited stop". Will it really speed up journeys? Most of the route is along already busy roads and via congested town centres. How much faster will the X183 be compared with the 183?
fbb suspects not a lot!
fbb started researching the new X183 route at Harrow bus station ...
... aiming to begin with a quick dekko at the Harrow "Spider" map.
Only there isn't one!
Thanks a bunch TfL!!!
fbb will doubtless return to this section of the proposals when "it" happens. In the meantime other "proposals" are out for "consultation".
From the TfL definitions dictionary.
Super!
And a question for TfL.
Bearing in mind the lovely full colour maps as reproduced above, will TfL be providing a route map and timetables for the Superloop "network"?
Thought not.
Remember The Triumph Herald?
In all honesty, fbb has never really been interested in cars. Provided it has the requisite number of wheels, a working engine and several important other bits, to fbb it's a car.
But in 1959, aged just 14, your aged blogger does remember just a twinge of excitement at a new car then announced.
It just looked really "cool" - although the word was not in youth-speak vocabulary then. If fbb ever owned a car it would have to be a coveted Triumph Herald.
What was more, Dinky Toys introduced their Herald at the same time as the real thing which, way back when, was unheard of!
fbb really, really wanted to buy one - but it was the wrong scale for his slowly developing OO gauge model railway, so he bravely abstained!
Two years later Corgi responded with their Herald, and it was a superior model.
This was the coupe version and the bonnet lifted to reval a model engine.
Then along came Airfix with a plastic kit to roughly the same scale ...
... which was also available in a special "starter set" with glue, paint and brushes.
fbb never bought any of them, and never owned the real thing. But once, and only once, a pal loaned him his Herald and fbb had a short drive. It was as lovely as he imagined it might have been all those years previously.
The gearbox was "worn" so finding the correct gear was an adventure. But, that aside, it drove like a Rolls Royce!
Tomorrow we will pay a visit to here.
Today's blog (and possibly tomorrow's) has been slightly curtailed to allow time for preparation for our monthly Fellowship meetings.
Next Electric Bus blog : Wednesday 28th June
That looks like Bluewater Shopping Centre for the next blogs. Whatever your content it should be entertaining ready - another area where Arriva are slowly vanishing...with more route cut backs coming soon in Kent!
ReplyDeleteMy mother had a first-generation Triumph Herald convertible. Although I had lessons with a driving school, she took me out for lots of practice drives and I passed my test first time. A nice car with an amazing turning circle but a tendency to "lose" the rear end - not that I ever did.
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