3 Versus 458 : Same But Different
Carousel's new route 458 between Slough and Uxbridge is in direct competition with First Bus route 3 but the two are not exactly the same. Bus watchers do wonder why the difference. fbb will, in this blog, contrast and compare the actual routes before moving on tomorrow to look at publicity and promotion.
We begin by looking at routes eastbound out of Slough where there are three nearly parallel roads.
The A4 London Road carries First Bus route 4 (ORANGE) to Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3. Trelawney Avenue carries route 7 (BLUE) to Heathrow Terminal 5. First's service 3 is the hero of this piece taking its happy passengers to Uxbridge and using Langley Road (PINK).
Langley Road has a mix of property but it is mainly privately built housing of relatively low density.
There are plenty of cars parked in driveways and concreted front gardens!
Carousel's 458 uses Trelawney Avenue sharing its local customers with First's route 7.
fbb is no expert on the anthropology of Slough residents, but is guessing that this estate developed as Council rental property before WW2 and may have been completed after. Property has now been upgraded but the disease of concrete front gardens is still evident here.
Trelawney Avenue has a substantial shopping centre ...
... a Roman Catholic Church ...
... and a Public Library ...
... now under threat of closure from a Council that is "committed to maintaining a good Public Library service."
Yeah, right!
It appears that Trelawney Avenue is better bus territory that Langley Road, so one point to Carousel.
The next excitement is a low bridge at Langley (Bucks) station.
Just prior to the bridge (which is why 3 and 458 are single deck routes) is a footpath and a sign for the station. The roundel tells us the the main service is provided by Elizabeth Line line trains running between Reading and Paddington.
Immediately after passing under the bridge is an anonymous set of steps ...
... which, you would think, might also lead up to the station!
At the next road junction on the right is another anonymous footpath ...
... which used to boast the double arrow railway logo. Other Streetview "angles" show it as NOT there! But up the path is a real treat. It is the magnificent station building.
At its western end is a humble and utilitarian footbridge ...
... whilst the eastern end provides a shiny new footbridge with lifts.
Note the yellow warning on the two northernmost platforms to warn innocentl6 wandering passengers that fast GWR trains zoom through and that the stopping service leaves from over the footbridges.
Why keep the old footbridge? fbb guesses that it is the only way to get to the platforms from the footpath with the Liz Line roundel!
Sadly bus stops for both the 3 and the 458 are not close enough to the station to encourage interchange.
Spot the stops: spot the rail overbridge!
Next point of call for both routes is Iver Village with the customs barriers being unmanned when Streetview passed by.
Iver was once a pretty rural village; but development into a "Commuter Belt" town has deprived it of some of its historic quaintness. As you enter, you notice a small terrace of shops ...
... and a once picturesque terrace of older properties.
But, before getting to the "village" centre and its shops and services, both routes swing a sharp left and strike off into more open country on Bangors Road South.
They are both, apparently, aiming for Iver Heath
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The 3 turns left off the rural Bangors Road South aiming for Flowerland ...
... and the pulsating community that really IS Iver Heath. After passing the floral emporium, the route turns right ...
... to make for the road to Uxbridge.
At said junction, the 3 should turn right, but it doesn't.
Instead it turns LEFT and goes for an exciting diversion to U-turn at the Crooked Billet Roundabout.
... before serving the bustling centre (?) of Iver Heath.
The 458 does none of this and only catches the very eastern edge of Iver Heath at this double roundabout ...
... coming in on Bangors Road South from the right after serving almost nobody along the way.
There are aa few posh pads, but they seem unlikely to fill the seats of the 458 with their posh posteriors!
So most definitely one point to First Bus for serving Iver Heath properly.
The only excitement between there and the metropolis of Uxbbridge is the crossing of the M25 ...
... where passengers on the 3 or the 458 can chortle with joy as they pass over four lanes of traffic jammed solid in each direction.
Streetview passed over at a very quiet time for the M25!
Both routes terminate at the Uxbridge Underground Station where there IS excellent interchange! There are buses a-plenty, mainly red London ones with white roofs!
fbb does find it strange that Carousel should miss out Iver Heath completely but, by way of compensation the company should do better on Trelawney Avenue (Slough) than First on the slightly more upmarket Langley Road.
Either way, there isn't anywhere near enough business between Slough and Uxbridge to justify four buses an hour!
Who will blink first, First or Carousel?
Recent history elsewhere suggests a very obvious answer.
More about timetables and publicity in tomorrow's blog.
Next going ahead blog : Weds 7 Jan
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