22 November - Bus bollocks from TfL
While
waiting 25 minutes for a 301 bus at Market Place (The Clock Tower) on Thursday a
number of elderly ladies with shopping trolleys were complaining about the same
thing. The 301s are very unreliable. Another was going on about the 132 but one had left shortly before she showed up so maybe she was simply unlucky.
How is it these days that old ladies with shopping trolleys think I am a safe bet for a quick moan about life?
It happens increasingly often. Fuming females must be something to do with Keir and Co.
Next day another disgruntled 301 traveller wrote to me about his 301 experiences and how TfL failed to answer his complaint.
Worse that that, they obviously don’t know what they are talking about.
As every 301 user knows, they invariably terminate on Arnsberg Way leaving
passengers to cross a busy road, dodge the buses going into and out of the tiny
bus station and then cross the busy bus only lane to get to the shopping centre,
yet the TfL timetables etc. tell you a 301 bus will take you all the way to
Market Place. (See Image 1 which coincidentally shows another 25 minute delay.)
My correspondent brought this inaccuracy to the attention of TfL who replied as
follows. (The complainant’s response is shown in red.)
Thanks for your web form on 27 February to ask about the
termination point of the 301 bus. I’m sorry you have concerns about safety when
crossing the busy carriageway on Arnsberg Way. Our apologies also for this
delayed response to you. We have brought your comments to the attention of our
Network Development team who advise that the 301 terminates where it does,
at the location of its stand. Market Place is not used for setting down buses
and is for boarding and through routes only.
This is incorrect. Buses 401 and 422 both terminate at Market Place. The Transport for London planner states
that the 301 bus also terminates at Market Place Bexleyheath. It does not; it stops on Arnsberg Way.
There are pedestrian crossings across both Arnsberg Way and Mayplace Road West to enable customers to get into the town centre safely.
This is not true. There are no Zebra Crossings at those points.
i.e. marked by black and white stripes on the road and two yellow beacons on either side of the road.
I trust the above response explains the situation.
You still have not addressed the problem of pedestrians having to navigate
their way through a greasy bus stand (where there are moving vehicles) to reach
Market Place. In view of the above, I wonder if anybody has actually visited
the site in question! Why cannot the 301 stop at Market Place as stated on the Tfl planner? (and then proceed to its stand on Arnsberg Way)
You do not appear to consider the safety and convenience of your customers. I would
be happy to meet a Tfl representative on site to explain the problem if necessary.
Thanks again for contacting us. If there is anything else we can
help you with, please reply to this email. Alternatively, you can call us on
0343 222 1234 and we’ll be happy to help you.
Kind regards
Alison Hayes
Customer
Service Adviser
Transport for London Customer Services
Comments unanswered nearly a year later.
Note five bus icons within a short distance of each other. The 301 terminates at the Arnsberg Way icon in top right corner of map.
Note: As I returned from photographing the 301 terminated on Arnsberg Way this morning, a 301 was departing Market Place
at 10:40.
I checked the departure board for the time of the next one but none was shown
and feared the worst but another showed up unannounced almost immediately. I watched the
destination board change from Bexleyheath to; what would it be? Eventually it
rolled around to Woolwich. I was on my way home by 10:44. You cannot even rely on a 301 to keep you waiting
in the cold!
Study the large version of the 301 bus photograph above carefully. Why is Bexley Council still
displaying a New Road Layout warning (left of image) more than
ten
years after the unsafe free-for-all-junction was introduced? Maybe it is an
acknowledgment that the junction is hazardous.