C11 bus service in London, very poor

I would like to submit the number of a C11 bus driver (North London) who was so absolutely wonderful to his passengers. We actually clapped him twice and this was on a very short journey (West Hampstead to The Royal Free Hospital) on August 12th btween 09.15 and 10.15. I do not know how to put his name/number forward for Bus Driver of the Year and would like you to tell me how. His number is 810009. Thanks for your help.

c11 sucks pretty much worse than any other bus I can think of. plus sometimes I get the bus and the driver will just tell us all to get off the bus we have waited up to 40 minutes for after only a few stops. boggles the mind that such an important bus route is so inneficient and all around crappy. plus heres a thought. MAKE IT DOUBLE DECKER. it doesnt go under any bridges and if your gonna be so late at l;east dont be so packed.

I'm feeling your pain. I live in Liverpool and often experience a whole world of issues with the number 60 service. Sometimes I feel I've got more chance of winning the lottery than the 60 being on time.

To further compound the issue the bus that turns up is probably the oldest in the fleet, with a driver who complains about having no change, when last time I checked all he did all day was collect change from people!

THE C11 IS GREAT.

its beeen part of my way to school for the last 5 years.
and generally it HAS improved
(which shows how bad it used to be)

people moan waayy to much.

C11 = mucho stress. I'm off to buy roller skates.

Right then - it's all agreed, the C11 is the worst bus service in London.

But, now what?

I have written to Thorpes, as most of you probably have, and got the bog standard response which does nothing to fix the ever-growing problem.

I think we all agree, at least if we knew when it was coming, it wouldn't be so bad, because then we could walk, walk to the tube, get a cab, or at least phone ahead and say we will be late.

So, LCD ticker countdown screens is the answer. How can we all get together and get them to sort it out? I suggest a C11 free day where we all don't use the C11 for a day? Perhaps someone could organise, we could put flyers up etc etc. That way we hurt someone in the pocket and they will listen. There's no point in hassling the drivers, it's not their fault, or is it?

What a fibber Susan is. They are many routes to the Royal Free, Bus 24 and the North London Line among them. Otherwise two bus journeys will get you there from any part of Camden or Islington. And if you live 2 Km from the Royal Free, damn well walk. It's healthier for you.

I cannot agree enough about the C11-it is like a rural bus service,and yet for many people it is the only link to the Royal Free Hospital.It is notorious as a service-everyone I know complains about it.I would urge everybody to write to Ken Livingstone about it as I am doing.

For a while the c11 improved, was on time and everything seemed well. Enter the New Year. It's been late for over half an hour every morning and I'm thinking it's best to walk to work from now on. The worse thing is that it only takes about 20-25 minutes max to get to Swiss Cottage from West Hampstead, but the waiting time for the bus outweighs the actual journey time. I think we should all campaign for a waiting time lcd board, then we would know whether to wait for the bus or just walk. I had a funny journey yesterday going from Swiss cottage to west end lane. The bus stopped at the island that stops between Waitrose and the road that goes down to west end lane, and the driver turned to all the passengers and frantically said 'which way! which way'. Then one of the passengers said 'left' and he went left and back on track. That was hilarious. Today, I had a bunch of people talking so loudly on a packed bus, they were so loud that passengers did not want to go near them and I even had to turn on my cd player louder just to cope. Then When I started to get up from my seat (to get off the bus), a women pushed me aside and said she wanted to sit down. Well, I hadn't even got up and out yet and she was blocking my way – I could not get off the bus. Manners seem to be lacking so much these days. Sorry for the rant guys, but I've had a terrible morning already thanks to the C11.

The C11 is a nightmare. What I don't understand is how if a bus leaves Brent Cross every say 12 minutes, how come I sit at Mill Lane for 30 minutes, then three arrive. I know traffic is a problem, but Brent Cross isn't that far?

This is one service that needs a 'MINUTES TO ARRIVAL BOARD' at every stop. If we knew how long at least we could make other arrangements.

I have written to F E Thorpe complaining and got the biggest load of crap reply saying the average waiting time is 1.5 minutes over the schedule.

ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH - IS HE HAVING A LAUGH?

This bus is shocking during the day and in the weekends. It is a combination of:
- bad bus design with few buttons to push the bell;
- rude thoughtless drivers who argue rather than apologise;
- a segment of smelly rude passengers who frankly are a waste of space.

I have had several experiences on this bus, such as pushing the bell well before the stop and the bus driving right past the stop and the driver saying "you didn't push it" and then "oh well you can walk" ignoring my elderly mother behind me and the other pensioner. The driver who drove maniacally so that a child fell over and hit her head on a pole hard and then he refused to pull over to let the parent and child out. The rude young passengers who occupy seats while the elderly stand, the people who stand halfway down the bus and don't move.

Thorpes should lose the franchise and the drivers given training in customer service, and the fares increased to keep the rude chavvy kids off it.

sort the cars out, then we'd be okay, but some of the bus drivers have real bad attitudes - how do we change this?

If everyone knows the C11 is bad, why doesn't anyone higher up who manages the C11 get this sorted. I feel sorry for DM, why do they have to wake up super early to catch the bus, surely the timetables should be honest and reflect the true waiting times. It's a service and DM has the right to say what they think. DM is not a nasty person, and whoever said that is, because on this site we are expressing our opinion and in this country we have the rigtht to do so. Just last week I was on the C11 and one of the passengers mentioned someone had left a package on the bus, but the driver did nothing and alot of people were looking scared for their lives. I do not think the C11 service is honest, but people make do with it because that's ll there is bus wise in the area. I commend DM for being honest enough to rant about someothing everyone has swept under the carpet for years. Way to go!

Buster, that was a fantastic post. NOW I remember why I'm a townie not a city dweller and why I stopped using buses! :)

DM,

Your a nasty person, as Buster correctly said, rad conditions ,heavy traffic,all affect time keeping.As for parking on stops, it's NOT the bus drivers fault he can't get onto the stop, blame the INCOSIDERATE CAR DRIVER.

You should try driving a bus ON time, I'll bet YOU can't do any better.

Nasty SOD.

,,,

The bus then goes down Adelaide Road, Whoopee, there are only a few stops and we can move along at a pace. Bah, the bus then turns into Englands Lane. Bet your bottom dollar that the gas people have got the road up. On reaching Haverstock Hill up past Belsize Tube Station it proceeds to the Royal Free Hospital, down Pond Street, yet another jam at the bottom of the hill at South End Green, then down Constantine Road, with yet more humps courtesy of Camden Council, and then onto Gospel Oak, where my knowledge of the route peters out, as Darkest Africa.

Now you try driving a long single decker bus along all that and keep to a timetable. I bet you couldn't keep your timekeeping in a Citroen C2.

Come on, give the C11 a break. I ride it everyday, but I get up super early when there is little traffic and the rush hour has not begun. At that time in the morning it is efficient and the buses are usually on time.

Look at it like this: the C11 begins at Brent Cross. Anyone who has been there in a car knows exactly how long it takes to get out the car park on a Saturday or Sunday, Brent Cross is a transporation nightmare, the result of mad men in the Town Planning dept of Barnet Council. Then it proceeds along a narrow side road towards Cricklewood, another Barnet nightmare, a road which has six or seven mini-roundabouts.

On arriving at Cricklewood Thameslink station crossroads, there you have the slowest set of traffic lights ever. Cars queue up tailing back 400 yards from the junction. The bus then proceeds along Westbere road, recently humped by Camden Council. On reaching Mill Lane, the bus has to slow down to 20 mph, another crazy traffic scheme. And Mill Lane has parking on both sides of the road, so it's even narrower than you might think from the map.

The bus then joins West End Lane, and proceeds towards West Hampstead tube station. There are always jams along this street.Then is passes along a side street to Finchley Road tube station, another road recently humped by Camden Council, with parking on both sides of the street, and where there are shops or pubs, it only takes a couple of delivery trucks totally to gum up the works. Ah, we reach the Finchley Road, a clearway with bus lanes, but someone gets on the bus and insists on paying for their fare in cash, more fool them. The bus lanes are jammed with cars, or more delivery trucks as they are only operational at certain times of the day.

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