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I was looking at the most recent audited accounts of East London Bus & Coach Company Ltd (a component of Stagecoach London) recently, and the loss was dire, to the extent that if you weren't taking comfort from the covenant of the parent company, you'd be seriously concerned about solvency. The...

Early in the privatisation era I was a season ticket holder on c2c, though only from Barking to Fenchurch Street. Annual season ticket holders were able to purchase a Prism Rail day rover for a trivial sum - £2 comes to mind, though it may have been £5. This gave unlimited weekend travel across...

That’s a shame. London Road by the Gatwick Airport perimeter, in December, just as an A380 takes-off, would be a memorable experience from an open top!

I use KeyGo (Southern’s PAYG card) to travel between my Sussex station and Ewell, or Epsom, walking between the Croydon stations. It always charges correctly as one single point-to-point fare, ignoring the taps out and in at Croydon.

If Standard Premium is often full, or fairly full, it’s difficult to argue that it’s over-priced.

Generally, I dislike the personal number plate brigade. However… A very short registration on an old wreck is, in my view, the epitome of class. If I win the lottery, I’m going to buy a two or three character registration plate, and a beige Austin Maestro (1.3 City X) to wear it.

Yes, a Mk1 Polo.

This illustrates the viability challenge for on-train catering. A round trip from Norwich to Stansted is 4 hours. Staff costs for the trolley person will be minimum £25ph once you include employer NI, pension contributions, training, paid breaks, holiday pay, other benefits etc. So £100 may...

If you just want the railway, you can drop-off for free at Horley station, less than a mile up the line. Or there are residential streets in Horley that give pedestrian access to Gatwick within ten minutes walk - barely longer than the walk from the official drop-off at the airport.

For a junction that doesn't live-up to the promise of its name, I offer Beckton Alps, on the A13 in Newham. It's an old spoil heap from Beckton gas works that was fashioned into a dry skiing centre in the 1980s (a good school trip!), but which fell into disuse in the early 2000s and is now an...

On Thameslink, weekends and evenings especially, obnoxious people head to first class. You see and hear them swaggering through the train with their coarse language, broadcast music and vapes. They get a buzz from breaking rules, and sitting in FC without any form of ticket is just another...

The main crossroads in Upminster is known unofficially to most locals as Bell Corner, after a long gone pub. Visiting my grandparents, as a kid, we’d navigate Charlie Brown’s roundabout in South Woodford (North Circular Road). I was about 25 before I understood the Charlie Brown in question...

Havering was very competitive territory. The 248, for example, has been with all four major operators – Capital Citybus (First); Blue Triangle (Go Ahead); Stagecoach, and now Arriva from Grays garage. But the exit of First from the London market and Go Ahead’s relocation to a garage further up...

The image provided refers to 'services of 3 hours or more in duration', not 'journeys of three hours or more'. The distinction may be important. To me, this suggests that sandwiches won't be loaded for (eg) Paddington-Bristol/Cardiff, but they will for Paddington-Plymouth/Penzance. However...

J-prefix (91-92) Renault 5 Campus, rusty and looked like a daily driver for the owner’s local trips. After the Clio was introduced, Renault continued to make the supercinq 5 for a few years in basic trim as the Campus, as a budget option.

Where the route is a localised town service - which is the function of the R9 in Orpington - I think Ramsden Estate is fair enough, as the locals will know where that is. But if we're talking about the 353, which comes across from Croydon borough, then I agree that Orpington Ramsden Estate would...

Regarding blinds: I spent some time in Romford this week, and noticed the 175 (Arriva) now displays North Romford Hillrise Estate, instead of just Hillrise Estate. Similarly, the 370 (also Arriva) now displays Romford Mercury Gardens, whereas many buses had been running around with the unhelpful...

What runs on the line in the afternoons and evenings?

Launching with single deck buses would be unfortunate, and a decision that’s already been reversed on the SL5. That said, I’m not overly familiar with the Dulwich area. How much of a diversion would the nearest double decker-compliant routing entail? (Or, to ask the same question another way...

This could become the railway equivalent of the empty hospital of ‘Yes Minister’ fame. Management and union representatives unable to comprehend the fuss, telling the transport minister how Bicester-Bletchley has the best performing service in the country, with zero cancellations, zero safety...