The 347 London's Least Frequent Bus
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- čas přidán 9. 01. 2024
- Out in East London in the Borough of Havering is a bus that only runs four times a day - a total of 24 times in a week. It heads across the Greater London boundary into Essex ... but where does it go? And who uses it? It's time to ride London's Least Frequent Bus Route!
Note - This doesn't include the 6xx School Buses or the 969 Mobility Service ( At somepoint, I will go and ride and make a video on the 969! )
The Mike Harris excellent Bus Map is here: www.busmap.co.uk/
The TfL Consulation of the future of Route 347 is here : haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/bus-ro...
( we still love Roger's boots )
What do we think of the 3xx buses though - how many of them are Double Deckers, and how many of them are smaller routes, run by Single Decker buses?
Always nice to see Roger.
Does the 3xx have any sense or are those randomly assigned?
Single deck 3xx routes:
300
303 (uses DD’s sometimes)
305 (Got withdrawn in 2018)
309
312 (Partially DD)
314
315
316 (Sometimes has DD’s on it though residents in Ladbroke Grove don’t like DD’s on the 316)
318
322
323
324
325 (Has used DD’s during the pandemic)
326
327
331
336
339
346
347
350
352
354
355 (Partially uses DD’s)
356
Sunday only 357’s
358
359
360
362
364
366
367
371 (Partially uses DD’s)
375(Partially uses DD’s)
376
377
378
379
380
382
383
384
385
386
389
391 (Withdrawn in 2020)
393
394
395
396 (Partially uses DD’s)
397
398
399
DD 3xx routes (Not including routes that partially use them except 357)
301
302
304
306
307
308
313
317
319
320
321
328
329
330
332 (Withdrawn in 2023)
333
335
337
340
341
343
344
345
349
353
357
363
365
368
370
372
381
387 (Renumbered EL3 in 2017)
388
390
Several times while passing through Heathrow, I've seen a bus at Hatton Cross for "Butts Farm" but never had time to ride on it. I imagine something like Viz' Arse Farm. Would love to see Geoff out there.
375 is sometimes a double decker
Four services a day?! Wow! That's our most frequent bus service where I am!!
One per week where I live. :(
We only have them when we don't need them. lol
My nearest 3 times day 3 days a week between 10am and 1pm
@@AngelaHurst-tu7phunited states ?
One every 15 mins here 😢😢 😂
Love Roger, he's a gift that keeps on giving. Please more of him Geoff 😅
Because he’s an icon thats why!
He's just been featured on a BBC report about a once-per-week one-way only rail replacement service for Chiltern Railways. I wonder if Geoff will do a video on this at some point.
@@andymerrett uhhh why is the bbc doing a report on it... its a year old...
i hate the mainstream news sometimes....
I love the 1968 bus map. And the boots.
I often use the 347 to get to Upminster from Gallows Corner as it saves me using two buses to get there.
A few years ago Geoff (or a friend of his) asked what the least used bus stop is in London. I suggested Wylie Veterinary Centre on the 347 route. I noticed a close up of this on the next bus stop display.
Homage to my suggestion? Probably just coincidence.
Finally, around 8 years ago I noticed that Sydenham Hill station had no buses serving it except one on a Friday morning.
Obviously I don't live that way anymore so I cannot verify if this service still exists.
The service that served Sydenham Hill was the 931 which was a mobility route. It no longer exists, now the closest route is the 450 which serves Kingswood Estate.
1:26 Roger’s boots are the definition of SLAY 🔥
They were certainly unexpected - I had to pause the video and go back to make sure I wasn't seeing things!
One long gap between bus stops is between Hogarth Roundabout and Hammersmith Bridge Road on the 533. The 533 is an odd route, as it was started when Hammersmith bridge closed, and it goes from one side of the bridge to the other, Castelnau-Hammersmith, via Chiswick bridge. But between Hogarth and Hammersmith it uses the A4, which doesn't have any bus stops on it (and they didn't bother building any new ones), so it doesn't stop.
Nah I think the longest distance might actually be near Romford on routes 66/296 between Mawney Road & Whalebone Lane North.
I live next to Mortlake Bus Garage and it’s all a bit weird here now!
On the TfL Bus Network I would have thought the longest gap between stops would have been either on the X26/SL7 between either Croydon-Wallington or -Kingston--Heathrow, or on the 465 between Leatherhead (or Mickelham)-Dorking or possibly some sections of the 464 in Tatsfield (Surrey (Well actually, maybe not after consulting a map [EDIT: I mean distance of stops here, not whether Tatsfield is in Surrey or G. London]).
Another Edit: I completely forgot about when the X26/SL7 is on diversion due to the major cycle event starting in Kingston causing a long diversion via the M25, thus avoiding Kingston and going via I think the A3 then M25 instead if memory is correct!
@@wclifton968gameplaystutorials Tatsfield is indeed Surrey. The urban settlement on the Greater London side in that area is all Biggin Hill.
I would have guessed 465 as well :~)
Fun facts about the 347:
The route originally launched in November 1993 under a different route number, 349, between Harold Hill and Lakeside to help route 510 as well as keep more services running to help decongest the busy 348 at the time. The route was diverted to Romford on October 22 1994. The route was withdrawn on October 10 1998 and replaced by alterations to the 348 when it's Aveley service was withdrawn and replaced by the 324, now known as the 372 since 2002. The route later existed again under the same route called the 952 which was a mobility route that only operated on certain days of the week. By 2004 it was withdrawn, and replaced by the 347 but withdrawn between Lakeside and Ockendon Station.
When I lived in Upminster, before the M25, I used to consider my school, The Coopers' Company and Coborn School, the true edge of London. The playing fields backed on to a farm, mostly cabbages, and we had to run cross country all round the fields and lanes. Out the front entrance turn left and it was virtually all town to the city centre.
As a kid I was fascinated how red buses gave way to green near the fringes of London. The bus stops used to have green roundels around the edges of London too. The 251 from Southend to Wood Green was an odd one. Green buses usually ran to the nearest Greater London town before turning back towards the countryside.
The 251was never a London Country service but operated by Eastern National (who generally worked further out in Essex) and just happened also to use a green livery. There were in fact two Eastern National services linking London and Southend - the 251 which went all round the houses and the 400 that was an express service that basically went along the Arterial Road. With traffic as it is today, I think the 251 would take about half a day to complete its route.
@@HampsteadOwl Ah yes, it was Eastern National, you're spot on. I should have realised that because it was usually a Bristol VR and London Country had Atlanteans. I'm getting old and forgetful.
That route would be a long old crawl now.
We had similar in Glasgow. City buses were almost entirely run by Glasgow Corporation (later Strathclyde’s Buses), whereas country buses were run by Scottish Bus Group companies (such as Central, Western, Midland, even Eastern). So, the city buses were green (later Strathclyde Red - essentially Orange) and the country buses were a mixture of reds, blues and greens. Even today, the distinction is there in some places, though not noticeable. The dominant operator in Glasgow is First Glasgow, but their licence is split in 2 with First Glasgow No.1 being the legacy city operator (with 1 and 2 digit numbers) and First Glasgow No.2 being the country operator of the former Central routes (with 3 digit numbers).
@@HampsteadOwl Actually the 251 ran from London Wood Green (the garage used in the tv series On The Buses) to Southend on Sea via Brentwood, Billericay and Wickford.
But it started by the City bus company before being taken by Eastern National, also the City Bus Company had a depot in Brentwood which later became the Thermos company and is the site of Sainsburys.
Yes, I always blink twice when I see red buses on routes starting with 3 or 4, being old enough to remember the Country Area. Living in Surrey, if we wanted to go north on a Green Rover ticket, we often used the 347, which ran from Uxbridge via Watford to Hemel Hempstead. Usually RMLs if I remember rightly.
I have ridden the route 388 in Sydney. This operates once per weekday in one direction only, from Wolloomooloo (2 miles SE of the harbour bridge) to Bondi Junction. It is a special variant of the route 389 that serves some public housing.
A Geoff Marshall bus video about the town I grew up in, what a treat. Watching you nerd out about the routes I used to take every day is an absolute gem.
Hurrah for Geoff Marshall bus content! I am in a right rabbit hole of London's weirdest and best routes. Thanks for the video!
There is a limited bus service which shares between Doncaster and Epworth known as the 399 which, is run by Hornsby’s and is continuing to Scunthorpe via Westwoodside. Only 2 a day each way
I'm going back a bit but I remember the 18A and/or 18B that would do Doncaster to Dinnington but go via some villages such as Clifton near braithwell and conisborough and there was one or two a day. And not once did i see anyone get on or off there!
@@onlineamigait was 18B which use to run a weekend only to Maltby, assuming I’m correct the bus you’re referring to was the 396.
@@jamesrobert994 yes it probably was that. It was usually a tiny bus as well.
There are plenty of bus routes about the place that only run once a week
@@grassytramtracks yes my local route is one bus every two weeks
The R5 and R10 in Orpington are only every 2.5 hrs, although the start may be earlier, so more busses in total but less frequent during its operating hours.
These 2 routes have a loop, the R5 goes one way around the loop and the R10 goes the other way around. So for part of the route they are basically the same, making it more frequent than the 347, but if you need to go around the loop in a specific direction, it's less frequent.
I believe a single bus serves both routes, alternating between them.
I used the R5 a few months back, lovely route to travel on. (And you're right about the R5/10 sharing a bus.)
Another fun route to ride would be the 465 which goes all the way to Dorking!
I am surprised that Roger did not open up his old Country Bus Map and point out the old (green bus) route 347. It ran every 30 minutes from Hemel Hempstead to Uxbridge via Watford, Northwood, and Denham. I first used it in about 1960.
It became the number 8 which has since been the 528 and now the 328. Arriva jiggle it every few years/months/days but its most recent guise is only Northwood to Watford. Last year it was Northwood to Hemel. Before that it was Abbotts Langley to Northwood. How they ever thought it would be on time from Hemel to Uxbridge I do not know.
I wish routes like this existed now, living in Cheshunt, going to Enfield or Edmonton by bus is annoying really, should be 1 bus the whole way but instead is 1 frequent bus to Waltham Cross and 1 that may not turn up or a long wait on the Herts side, county boundaries shouldn't be stopping quality and consistent bus services to neighbouring towns from existing. I envy the days of London Country and Greenline, would've loved to have experienced it.
I used this as a kid living in Northwood in the late 60s and early 70s. Double decker every time, I seem to recall
@@thomasohare8552 Believe it or not, but back in the early nineteen-sixties when I traveled on the Hemel-Uxbridge 347 it usually ran to time! But the vehicles were crew-operated RTs (later RMs) and there was less traffic congestion.
Yes, always double deckers. Single deckers were quite rare back then and usually indicated a low bridge somewhere on the route. (Although someone even nerdier than I am might inform us of the low height double deckers which used to serve serve some of those routes.)@@adamdenning1
Here in NYC, most buses run 24 hours a day or on the 5 AM-12 AM schedule. However, Staten Island is unique for having their limited variants be different numbers instead of tacking on LTD or SBS after the route number. So officially, they are completely different routes. In Staten Island, these routes are additionally peak only, so AM trips go towards St. George and PM trips go from St. George. But even more crazier than that, there are three routes that only operate in the PM Rush Hour, the S81, S84, and S86. According to the timetables, the S86 has only five trips per weekday, making it the least frequent bus in NYC.
I really enjoyed this video, but I really don't know why! Perhaps it is simply Geoff and Roger's joy and excitement on this bus ride!
It's funny how virtually no one rides this route.
I personally like to think the driver(s) choose to wear a rabbit helmet every now and then.
thanks, that's so kind! it IS exciting, just to ride an odd/obscure bus route like this ...
When I went to Tromsø, I looked at going to one of the places at the end of one of the routes where the views seem amazing. I found a bus that would get ,there for around 2/3 p.m, the only problem being the bus back wasn’t until 6 a.m the next day.
Indeed. In the sparsely populated outskirts of Tromsø (my hometown!) busses are very infrequent. They certainly aren’t profitable, but do provide an invaluable service for those that can’t drive for whatever reason. The government should offer more support to up the frequency.
Surprised Geoff's forgotten the 307, a double decker route which runs between (among other places) High Barnet and Oakwood. A tube challenge staple.
Here in Australia, we call those boots FMB’s.
Great to see another bus video, thanks!
I remember the 347 well, having grown up in Upminster, and lived from 2010 to 2012 very close to the Gallows Corner Tesco bus stops! The 347 always seemed a real anomaly - a useful way to cross over from Harold Wood to Upminster (or vice versa) directly - yet far less frequent than you would think was needed! I’d have liked it to run more frequently, but I guess there just wasn’t the demand for it.
It actually was originally known as the 954 in 2004 and even before that it was the 349 in 1998.
@@NiceABCD That’s ironic, because I now live near Stamford Hill, where the current 349 red bus route terminates. But the only other route I remember going through Upminster and Ockendon way back then, was the 373.
@@NineWorldsFromDrew I mean the 348 came along in 1990 and then eventually there 349 in 1993
The 347 (and less usefully the 346 and 346A) was my local bus service back in the day. But that was nowhere near Ockendon, but in the Watford area. It terminated at Uxbridge.
With all the cuts TfL has had to make (in the suburbs etc) I'm surprised a route like this hasn't been cut.
I guess this service is using a bus and idle time in shifts between the peak hours
lol tfl just consultated on removing the 347. Turns out tfl failed to cut it xD
They almost did! They've revised their plans after consultation due to the loss of a bus service around the Cathedrals Estate (named so because a lot of the roads are named after cities and towns with well known Cathedrals) in Cranham. A lot of bus users are also older people and abolition of the route may cut them off from accessing shopping facilities, doctors surgeries and more.
London gets buses that nobody wants or needs. Meanwhile the rest of the country gets their services cut even though they are necessary services. Such is life.
Depends really which fourth party runs the service. They may have a contractual obligation to run X amounts of services etc. TfL just rent the buses really don’t they from the bus companies. Like Arriva etc
Correct me if I’m wrong
A suggestion for an update is the Stalybridge to Stockport parliamentary train. It has been 7 years since you last did it but it no longer has evil Pacers and now runs on a Saturday. It also stops at a least used station. The challenge would be to record the entire episode in the 34 minutes between the two trains at Denton. I suspect the answer to almost every "does it have" question would be "no".
Genuinely excited that you've done a video that goes into Thurrock 😊
I thought there would be a lot of comments about busses outside of the TFL area. This video and comments would be useful as part of the "levelling up" debates . Or, Monty Python could have a sketch about it - "4 buses a day, you were lucky! We only had one on Feb 29th" etc
it drives me MAD it would be such a good bus route as it now goes to the lizzie line from upminster to harold wood, the part where you said no other bus goes on to, but i’ve lived 5 mins from the 347 my entire life and got on it once x
There is another route that is the 375 which goes from Romford Station to Passingford Bridge which has a service every 1 hour and 25 minutes up until 6:50pm which I believe shares the same bus as the 347 as they change every day😁👍
You are correct that the 375 uses the same bus, but there are two of them. Both routes share ENL111 and ENL112 (which are ex Stagecoach London buses which have had a very good refurb), although 375's sometimes sees double deckers which is a real treat, unlike the 347 because of the low bridge at Upminster
The 375 actually replaced withdrawn Arriva route 500 that went between Romford and Harlow, when it was introduced in 2008. TfL chose Passingford Bridge as the terminus because they only wanted to focus on Havering-atte-Bower and that was the first safest place to turn around. I think it's significance increased when the 575 was withdrawn.
Reminds me of CapMetro in Austin's couple routes that run hourly during midday but only on one day of the week.
To be pedantic (can't resist!) - the route of the 347 north of Ockendon station is shared by both the 370 and the 269 Grays - Brentwood bus. The 370 turns left after a mile or so to go via Corbetts Tey, whilst the 269 and 347 continue along the same road until the the 347 turns left to go via Cranham. The 269 was originally an Eastern National route and is now operated by NIBS (I think) under contract to Essex County Council.
Yes, the 269 is now run by NIBS. It's possibly the only London Service Permit route that links Greater London and the Essex admin area too (exc. Thurrock/Southend boroughs), which leads to this ticketing curiosity - for cross-boundary journeys you can use the Essex Saver on applicable TfL buses (provided you already bought one on a non-TfL bus).
The 372, which goes pretty much past my house, is usually a double decker, runs between Hornchurch and Lakeside Shopping Centre. The 370, as mentioned, goes from Romford, through Hornchurch and Upminster to Lakeside
The 372 used to be known as the 324 and I prefer it when it was the 324. The reason being is that the route went all the way from Romford to Gravesend and the route is exactly the same as the 324 in October 1998 except it doesn't have services to Thurrock College as that I believe was renamed Palmers College or just doesn't exist anymore.
Longest distance between bus stops may depend if the Hail and Ride routes or school services count. 19 mins on the W5 between Harringay Superstores & Crouch End. 601 school service takes 5 mins between stops "Bexley Park" and "Wilmington School," but route B13 has 2 where it takes over 2 mins. However, routes 40 and 63 has a stop where its under 30 seconds between the stops of "Southwark Station" and "Pocock Street"
I used to go to the church near there I used to race the bus at times to see if I could keep up lol
The stops from Southwark station to St George’s Circus are really close to each other lol
I think the shortest distance between stops has to be Catford bus garage to Bellingham Road in the direction of Downham and Bromley. The stops are less than 100m apart. Other contenders are Lewisham Park to Lewisham Hospital and Catford town centre to Bromley Road/Lewisham town hall. Bromley Road has a ton of short distance stops.
Near me is the route 29, and it has a bus stop going south towards Trafalgar Square called "Rowley Gardens" shared with the 141 and 341. The next bus stop is "Manor House station" exclusively for route 29, which is so short it's about 100 metres between the bus stops.
Came to you for your tube content but happy to stay for the random bus videos. Its good to see this side of London transport that I'd never really ever think about.
Dam right
I thoroughly enjoy your bus videos.
Lovely video Geoff. Hope you make more bus videos in the future!
Geoff and Roger work so well with these kind of videos 👍
Geoff, it would be cool if you and Roger would ride the Sunday Summer extension of London Bus Route 246 which enters into Kent (KCC) at Westerham daily and extended to Chartwell National Trust On Summer Sundays. Probably one of the furthest London bus routes into Kent country side.
It’s nice to see you uploading another bus video, also there are thousands of more bus routes across the country that are even less frequent than any of the TfL routes
Luxury! I once got the bus from Haverfordwest to Rosebush to do a hike up to the top of Foel Cwmcerwyn. It was a bit of a rush as missing the last bus of the day (about 16:00) would've meant waiting a week for the next one.
You were lucky. We dream of 1 bus a week in North Yorkshire
Interesting video and the bit between Upminster and Ockendon is lovely and very scenic. However, it goes downhill a bit in Ockendon. No wonder Geoff and Roger left swiftly.
Following on from your recent video of the least used station in Lincolnshire of Kirton in Lindsey.
There is actually a very limited 94 bus service that goes from Kirton in Lindsey to Brigg if any enthusiasts are wanting to tick off the unique 1 round trip railway stations.
Done that 😁
Thank you for sharing this video Geoff that was very interesting and useful information. ❤
Longest distance between stops… here in New York City that has to be either one of the busses that runs over the Verrazzano Bridge because it’s 2 miles long, and the stops are bit of a ways off from the access ramps OR the Q60 that runs from Manhattan to LaGuardia airport via the Triborough bridge, but I’m not sure if that’s longer than 2 miles.
Otherwise the distance between stops is supposed to be 750 feet, but because of the street layout it’s sometimes more like approximately 750 feet.
It’s nice to know we’ve graduated to least used bus routes.
There are a few Dales bus routes into the Yorkshire dales that there is only one bus a week on a Sunday these only operate for about 6 months. Thus giving you about 24 buses per year on those routes!
very trippy seeing you zooming around my area! maybe i should actually take this bus one day…
I love your enthusiasm. 😀
I grew up in ockendon, its really cool to see that this very unkown town is being mentioned.
Longest distance between stops - I imagine some of the longest may be those routes that serve Heathrow central, with it being so tucked away in the centre of everything.
Great video! I’m probably one of the few people watching this video who has already been on this bus before. A very cool route, I hope it doesn’t get cut.
Great start to 2024 Geoff thank you.
Thanks for the boots shot. Geoff and Roger side channel is a must surely?
I was out and about too. It was cold, but the sun made up for the wind chill factor. Smiling helps. Love ya mate.
Nice quirky video Geoff. Thanks, I enjoyed it. Took me back to my south Essex childhood many decades ago. The 370 service went between Romford and Tilbury Riverside train station - when the station was in existence. The bus was indeed green, was open ended and had cables to ring the bell. Was very exotic for me at the time! A piece of London so close to home. And Lakeside didn’t exist. It was just water filled gravel excavation pits. Progress? I’m not so sure…! 😬
TFL does not use any specific numbering system unless it’s a prefix (mostly). Usually they share a common area or function. The ELs share Barking Riverside, the Ws are within the Waltham Forest area, the N routes for night services.
There are also examples of 3xx routes being bigger, and/or double deck. The 368 is a local route, but uses double decks. 370 is a longer route, but is more out of the way.
And the SL's for Superloop 😉
In south London you have the P buses which I believe is for Peckham (although the P4 doesn’t go past Peckham and we used to have a P3 that became the 343)
The D buses for the docklands
The C buses which I would assume is for central
Oxford Circus has big bus routes like the 139, 390, 453
K busses for kingston
@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1 The P5 doesn't go through Peckham either.
347 green bus was Hemel Hempstead to Uxbridge via Watford and Northwood.. brilliant route..
There are a few routes across London that are 300 routes which I know of that operate as double decker such as the 320,333,337,341,343,345,353,363,390.
On BBC London News today, they ran the news that the route has been saved from being scrapped.
Probably not your bag but, two stops west outside the Zones and a 10-minute walk from Staines railway station, there's the White Bus 438 which does a one-way route, five times a day Monday to Saturday, to and from Staines bus station in a loop via a housing estate in neighbouring Laleham. The entire bus route is less than 25 minutes and starts at 10:00 / 11:30 / 13:00 / 14:30 / 16:30.
Great video Geoff. Always enjoy your videos and especially when you do buses. Got a few 3xx routes in Enfield. 313,317,307,327, 329, 349, 382,383,384,389 and 399. The 313,317, 307 and 329 double decker but the 313 used to be single deckers until 2020. The 313 goes to Potters Bar which is outside of London. As well as the 317 and 327 going to Waltham Cross.
Where I live in Cornwall the 373 runs once a week. The 371 twice a week and the 372 once a week. Now that's even more less frequent than London.
In Levin NZ 🇳🇿..population 20K..there is no internal bus service but 2x a week a bus does the round trip 50km north to Palmerston North..two other days take you 40 km south to Waikanae to connect with the top end of the electric trains 80km on to Wellington and all scenic points in between..Miss the 3pm return bus back from Waikanae...and you're Stuck...until the Capital Connection train ..8 Mk 2 refurbished carriages...rolls through over 3 hours later.
3:59 that deceleration definitely sounded like an MCW Metrobus MK1 😂
This is the kind of bus which would’ve been totally cancelled had London buses been deregulated along with the rest of the country. Sure it doesn’t get a ton of use, but some people clearly use it - and it gets folks in out-lying areas onto the greater London transport network. Much like with the Beeching Axe, the idea that these smaller routes might contribute to major (profitable) routes’ success is lost on the purely-income minded manager.
A lot of places just outside London have lost routes like the 347 (and even routes far more significant) because of austerity even in towns that are similar to towns on the current edge of greater London. Waltham Abbey's last bus is at 9:30PM and very few operate after 7PM and yet neighbouring Chingford has a dozen routes all operating every 10 to 15 minutes to 1AM and a night service, they aren't busy after the evening rush hour but people clearly use them that it adds up and the whole area is suddenly more accessible and are crucial to people supporting local businesses. If buses were funded properly and publicly owned in this country, there would be at least twice (if not more) services in most urban areas I think. There are quite a few places I would go in my county that I don't right now if the bus service was reasonable.
@@aaronsmith9209 hear hear. Council funding propped up similar services from deregulation up until austerity, then those remaining started dying-out too. A handful of rural-ish and small-town areas have had those buses brought back by local bus coops, but that’s by far the minority situation.
@@kaitlyn__L It's really frustrating having to rely on an hourly bus service in the evenings (its every 15 minutes in the daytime) in my area just a few miles north of London just because its expected to pay its way and the Tory council don't want to fund it at all. Ironically the places with good bus services outside of London are either a public or private local monopoly that plan a whole network rather than individual supposedly competing routes.
@@aaronsmith9209 the fact those other cities and towns which kept or regained control have the best transport outside London should be proof enough that the deregulated privatised model doesn’t work. I don’t understand how anyone (mostly politicians) try to claim we’ve simply not given the model enough of a chance to judge it yet.
@@kaitlyn__L Yeah it's true, it shows how illogical transport policy is in Britain. On Christmas Day, just two places had bus services, Edinburgh ran by the council and the Isle of Wight ran by private Southern Vectis but subsidised by the council, both are natural monopolies in their areas and often regarded as the best services outside of London. Hopefully what Manchester is doing with its buses will work out in the end. In general, privatisation of everything has been thoroughly put in disrepute, covid removed any doubt. If only we had a government that had proof based policies to run things in the best way we know.
I remember route 347 commencing operation in November 2004, when it replaced the majority of mobility route 952 which operated between Romford and Lakeside.
Great video by the way Geoff, and at 7:02 I was genuinely yelling "Do It!" to riding the bus back to Romford - which I'm glad you and Roger did.
Even before that the 952 replaced Capital Citybus route 349 which was withdrawn on 10 October 1998, the main difference between the 349 and 952 is that the 349 went via Main Road like the 347 does now while the 952 went via Balgores Lane.
Always good to see a bus video! 👍👍
Always
lines like these are completely normal here in Denmark, where you need a bus route to someplace where there isn't a train connection (because there is some clause that villages over a certain size must have public transport), but there aren't enough pasengers to really justify a bus service. We also have them here in Copenhagen, where they make less sense.
I live in the west end of Copenhagen and last year they started running line 134 around here, which is a fairly short route that a few times a day goes an obscure zig-zag between some residential areas. Bits of this line runs a route that either was once part of a different bus line that no longer exists, or part of a line that was planned and never run. 134 was introduced because there are rather large areas between the other bus lines, so you may have to walk a couple km to get to a bus, and for an area that has a sizable population of elderly, that resulted in a lot of complaints. Where the 134 will remain is uncertain, but for now it maintains a few departures a day
Most of these routes are getting cut thanks to our amazing Transport Minister who loves cars more than public transport.
I used to live in Harold Wood and often used to to get my shopping from Gallows Corner Tesco, often walking there and catching it with my shopping on the way back
Yesssss Roger fantastic 👏 ever since he waved to the bus at Inverness Airport station he became a vital reporter to bus videos. Long live the 347
We should cherish every route that goes 'beyond the fringe,' especially in these cash-starved times - we should also cherish that all-London map - TfL appears to only do local spider maps now, which makes transport advocacy harder \m/
I used to take the 370 from 6th form to visit my cousin in ockendon. I never saw the 347 and this explains it!
300 series numbers takes me back! My friend Eddie owned Leyland National SB 312, and drove it along the 355 route it used to ply when we were at school together.
Cool seeing Geoff in my town.
There was a route in Wolverhampton that ran to Codsall which has two bus services but the 10B Only Monday - Friday at 09:30, 11:30 and 13:30 three times a day usually operated by Double Deckers that did the morning 10 to Perton and then a School bus or did the School bus before the 10B. I called it illstrusious as I only ever saw it 1 or 2 times and never caught it
Taking the 246 from Bromley to Chartwell on Summer Sundays and Bank Holidays is fun. Single decker down narrow lanes way put of Greater London.
They should really use minivans for these routes. I know it's impossible because you never know when a wheelchair user or a group of schoolchildren will show up but still. In most cases, 13 passenger seats would be plenty.
I got confused for a second when recommended this video because I live in Perth, Western Australia and the 347 is my local bus route 😂. Not quite as low frequency as this one though and packed full of students in the morning and afternoon. It runs between a high school and one of the major shopping centres.
Great video gents - you have made a bus video interesting!
Geoff the part of London by Waltham cross actually officially stops by Bullsmoor lane with the bourgh of enfiled extending to included the m25 however every every south of the m25 normally dealt with by London, between bulls moor lane and the m25 is usually a joint operation depending on scale of the task and every north of the m25 is dealt with by ever Hertfordshire or Essex. Waltham cross it self is usually not dealt with by any of London’s services at all and never dose the enfiled or London boundary include Waltham cross. The only thing London is the 5 tfl routes there but most bus services are private and head towards Essex
We love you Geoff
Love it geoff looks a nice little route
A route that connects where I lived until I was 10, where I lived in my school years and where I'm planning to move to this year! Don't think I've ever been on this bus though 😅
Hi Geoff love your videos I drive busses here in Auckland New Zealand and one of our routes 128 has a journey that is 30kms long and with only 4 bus stops runs hourly M-F and 2 hourly on weekends average passenger numbers is about 4 on each trip sometimes nobody first stop from start is 10kms away
9:49 There are quite alot 3** buses that are double deckers Geoff 🤣. Dont worry it happens to alot of us. Try the 307 it serves between Barnet Hospital and Brimdown located in the Enfield borough. It even serves Oakwood station on the Piccadily line. You should try it, TFL even orginally proposed it to be part of the 24 hour weekend buses when Night tube services are available, it didnt fall through but it was a cool suggestion. Great video as always, looking forward to your next one.
Our bus was once a day in each direction, that enabled you to have approximately an hour or so in town before returning. Then it went to twice a week and finally was taken off all together, the company claiming 'no one used it'... I rode it a few times and found it was used mostly by pensioners from a caravan park to get to our local hospital/town and was therefore busy for half the route! (Could it be they were all bus pass holders and not profit generating?) Our only alternative now is a 30/40 minute walk down narrow lanes with no verges to a bus stop with a service that had it's frequency reduced from half hourly to hourly by the former local councillor... Ah the joys of a rural life!
Another amazing video! Keep it up! Also how do you make those animations? Ive always wanted to make them!
it goes to a bunch of useful places within the borough, so us havering people do make sure to use it, too. It's a decent enough way to get to upminster (and thus the tube) from romford if the overground is doing its usual thing of taking bloody ages.
I kinda wish the Romford - Upminster line was converted to light rail, with extra stops at Wingletye Lane and Brentwood road for local school traffic.
Never in a million years extension to Grays, allowing it to serve Cranham and Ockendon.
@@Garfie489 well, the havering tram project (harold wood to rainham) would make the entire line redundant... but it's never gonna happen
@@Name-iq8tewas that a plan?
@@richardwager283 it's been proposed by the council administration haha
The 347 is quite a rare route but has very scenic parts along the route.
370 a lot better
If you include hail and ride sections I reckon the 336 has one of the longest sections without a bus stop between Lewisham town hall and Dunfield Road (towards Locksbottom). Thats about 1.5 miles. Thats one example near me but I'm sure there are others that beat it.
Thanks!
I live in Upminster and the 347 is the nearest stop and it is used more to Romford then ockendon
Great video! This has me thinking: have you ever thought about a video/videos covering Hail & Ride route sections? I've found a couple of pages online, but know for a fact that neither are comprehensive!
I rode the 347 alone for the full trip. How peaceful it was
Nice video smashed it again
This is my local bus so excited to see you here
Nicely done!
Yep!
Roger looks really dapper and cool.
I use this bus on a regular basis, it has the most passengers on the first run of the day, mostly older people going out for shopping. It connects well with Harold Wood Station for the Elizabeth line, but all this will change with the new bus route of the 346.
The original 347 also ran into London, way back when it ran around Uxbridge.... When this 347 started it was operated by Blue Triangle buses, back in the days when BT was a small independent, enthusiast type operator, before it was sold to Go-Ahead. One route i never drove when i was a driver at BT, back in the early 2000s, it had it's own little pool of drivers who worked it.....
Actually originally it was First London that created the route after withdrawn 954 but it was later transferred to Blue Triangle