Grateful as we are for the 434 bus, it’s difficult to predict when it will arrive in upper Kenley. There’s a timetable of course, but between Purley High Street and the Kenley Hotel, there’s a blind spot. In this hail and ride section there are no bus stops to act as timetable markers.
According to the timetable the journey from Purley High Street to the Kenley Hotel should take 9 minutes. A tad optimistic perhaps. But how long will it take to get from Purley High Street to Wattendon Road for example? What if it’s running late? Knowing where the bus is would be helpful.
One possible aid is the Transport for London Go app. It gives the real-time location of the 407, 439 and the 434. Both the 439 and 434 can be tracked live along their route, but not in the hail and ride section.
Using the TfL Go App for the 434 for example, it’s possible to see when it is due to arrive at the Kenley Hotel and deduce it’s going to be about 5 minutes away from Wattendon Road heading towards Purley. From Purley it’s a little trickier, but probably around 6 or 7 minutes to Wattendon Road from Purley High Street.
Hail and ride makes prediction more difficult because on a busy day the bus may stop multiple times to pick up and drop off passengers. However knowing where the bus is at each end of the hail and ride section enables a better prediction. Which could be helpful when waiting in the cold and wet of winter.
Like all Apps it can take a little getting used to. Make sure your location is turned on to get ‘Buses near You’ feature. Of course the App covers all TfL services so could be a worthwhile app to have for all London travel.