Seen Around London

Tuesday 29th July 2025

July’s month end round up is over brimming with items not previously blogged about so I’m splitting it into two bites with today’s installment covering a few items ‘seen around’ London and Thursday’s post will be devoted to matters spotted outside London.

Welcome to an extended route 241

I got round to taking a ride on the recently extended route 241 from Stratford City Bus Station through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to Here East earlier this month.

Introduced on 14th June, this extension carves out new bus territory in the former Olympic Park for the London bus map (if TfL could be bothered to produce one) with a ten minute somewhat tortuous route…

… taking in the London Aquatics Centre, a skate park, new premises being finished for the BBC, Sadlers Wells and the Victoria & Albert Storehouse…

… and a whole host of flats yet to be built.

Buses terminate outside Here East which still seems to be contracting its own bespoke buses to ferry staff and visitors to and from central Stratford. At least it was, when I took a ride earlier this month.

According to its website, Here East “is owned by clients of Delancey, a specialist real estate investment advisory company and innovators, disruptors, visionaries and like-minded people are invited to share – and participate – in the making of game-changing innovations.” The complex is also served by bus route 388.

My sample ride on the newly extended 12 minute frequency route 241 (10 minutes in peaks) saw a handful of passengers ride out from Stratford bus station to various stops on the extension but only one passenger return. But it’s early days and I’m sure one day, in a few years time, the extra three buses now needed to run route 241 will be justified.

Hopefully by then Stratford’s bus station’s bus stops will have been updated to show the new destination…

… and the departure listings by bus stop updated.

But at least the spider map had been updated.

Welcome to Route 700

Down in Merton a new temporary bus route has been added to the London bus map (if TfL could be bothered to produce one). Route 700 takes passengers who normally use route 200 between the Phipps Bridge residential estate near Mitcham to Colliers Wood for the Northern line Underground station.

A smart looking brand new Go-Ahead London electric bus (a Wright StreetDeck Electroliner EV) is providing a temporary shuttle service on a daytime half hourly frequency (20 minutely in the peaks – ignore what it says on the incorrect notice on bus stops) keeping residents on the move while Thames Water and Southern Gas coordinate works which have severed the normal route taken by buses through Lower Green West approaching Mitcham on route 200 between Raynes Park, Colliers Wood and Mitcham, necessitating a diversion along Western Road which by-passes the Phipps Bridge area.

It’s good to see TfL’s bus stop plate contractor has been out fixing 700 plates to all the bus stops and the timetable case contractor has installed a notice about the 700’s frequency at all the bus stops, albeit with incorrect details as already highlighted.

I took a ride on the route being joined at the front of the upper deck by a young lad recording the 14 minute circuit through Phipps Bridge and back by holding his smartphone against the front window for the whole time which made me realise we’ve come a long way from the days when I’d take a well worn AtoZ street map book with me on expeditions of this kind, 60 or so years ago.

It’s good to see a well used temporary bus route proving its worth and just a shame in so many towns and rural areas outside London utility companies take no interest in facilitating replacement buses for temporary arrangements. I assume in this case they are providing some funding. Here’s a map to explain what’s happening until “mid September”.

Where are the renamed lines?

I thought the whole idea of naming each of the Overground lines was to make it easier to let passengers know how to navigate the system and pass on news of disruption in a concise way.

Yet TfL’s own trains on the Elizabeth Line either still refer just to ‘Overground’ on the next station displays or ignore it completely when showing status updates.

Eyesight test at LST

Maybe it’s just my aging eye sight but the other day when passing through Liverpool Street it hit me just how hard the departure board is to read with relatively small print compared to, for example, the newly reinstated board at Euston.

These are NOT toilets you see before you

This month’s toilet news features Stratford where you could be fooled into thinking there were toilets at the station by observing the signs on the door … to the, ahem, toilets. But the notice outside tells you otherwise. Meanwhile spot the door for the accessible toilet.

In other news, the toilets at Farringdon (platform 4) are now back open again, so hurrah for that.

Kingston’s not on the level

It’s unusual to see one of these signs in the middle of a platform. But you can at Kingston.

Zone 6 Boundary issues

Sometimes it’s cheaper for me to buy a one-day Travelcard from my local station, Hassocks, and then a separate single or return from the boundary of Zone 6 to whichever station I’m heading to, eg Letchworth Garden City.

It works out cheaper than buying a return from Hassocks to Letchworth Garden City. And I have the flexibility of travelling all over London for the day. The problem is, when the ticket office is closed, despite what Southern say, their TVM’s won’t allow you to buy a ticket from the Zone 6 Boundary to another destination, such as Letchworth.

I was told by Southern’s Customer Relations team when I complained to enter ‘Boundary Zone 6’ as the origin…

… they obviously haven’t tried doing that lately, as it doesn’t exist. And it’s no good entering Hadley Wood (as the last station within Zone 6) as (a) I’d need to get a train that stops there rather than a fast one that doesn’t and (b) it’s more expensive than from the Boundary. Just another facet of our wonderful railway ticketing.

Hammersmith Bridge is back open for buses

It’s been over five years since Hammersmith Bridge had to be closed to buses but thanks to blog reader Peter who spotted TfL have quietly announced it’s back open again with all six pre-closure bus routes running as normal again linking north and south of the River … or at least that’s what the Spider Map posted at Barnes Bridge station advises.

And it must be true as the adjacent poster tells us Great British Railways is “Coming soon”.

Luggage must be safely stowed

Long distance travel by train is characterised by luggage these days, and more and more of it. I reckon this passenger I spotted at St Pancras the other day had more than his fair share though.

It was 55 years ago this summer – a personal reminisce

This summer marks 55 years since I took up my very first taste of proper paid work (aside from a paper round) in the form of an eight week summer holiday fill in job with London Transport as a Temporary Clerical Assistant. I was aged just 16 and was based in the Staff Superintendent (Buses) office at the hallowed 55 Broadway offices above St James’s Park Underground Station.

I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be working for LT, as it was known in those days, and enjoying having a staff travel pass giving free rides on all London’s buses and Underground – and getting paid.

But, goodness, how times have changed. I found my appointment letter the other day and realised I got paid the princely sum of £9.04 a week (£470 pa) which works out at just £1.80 a day. You can’t even buy a latte for that these days. But I loved every minute and it was great experience followed in subsequent summers by stints as a bus conductor at Palmers Green bus garage during the time when the wonderful Ken Blacker was the Garage Manager.

Little did I know then, what I know now, 55 years later. Older and wiser. Including the fact £1 in 1970 is worth around £20 today.

More Seen Around from outside London on Thursday.

Roger French

Summer blogging timetable: 06:00 TThSSu