How long does it change to swap bus drivers?
 

In message , Neil Williams
writes
or to an important appointment.
These people won't be seen dead on a bus then.
--
Clive.

How long does it change to swap bus drivers?
 

Ian Jelf wrote to uk.transport.london on Wed, 9 Feb 2005:

In message , Mrs
Redboots writes
I find even motorways in this country (with the possible exception of
the M6 toll) too uncomfortable to read on.
I suppose it's a matter of personal taste. I've never had a problem with
reading on any form of transport (bicycle excepted!).

Perhaps you never suffered from travel sickness! Sea-bands and the
spread of the motorway network have transformed matters, but I still
find reading in a moving road vehicle very iffy.

I can, and do, read on
French motorways - we seem to get a better ride quality. Although the
worst motorway ever was the one between Linz & Vienna, both daughter & I
disliked that one!
I take it you've never been on a Polish motorway, then? They have to
be felt to be believed!

No, I haven't yet had that pleasure!
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 23 January 2005 with new photos

How long does it change to swap bus drivers?
 

"David B" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
oups.com...

foxy 1 wrote:
I have seen this take just over 2 minutes, although no doubt can be
done
much quicker.

Some drivers take longer because they like to have a chit chat as
they
probably havent seen each other for days.


There was no chit-chat - the new driver was casualy walking up the
street, cigarette in mouth after the old driver had left. It didn't
take too long to 'log on' and fill in his paperwork once he got on the
bus (about 5 minutes) but then he started adjusting the steering wheel
console, etc.

Not supprisingly most people at the bus stop were moaning about
travelling by bus being "so inefficient" but still said thanks to the
driver when leaving !?

Most bus passengers are a miserable bunch. They whine and moan about
everything and anything, particularly if there is a delay of any sort.
Coach passengers on the other hand tend to be different and don't seem to
mind late running. As a for instance, I used to drive route 24 which had a
5 minute headway in the daytime. One particular morning the bus in front
was 'missing' (either broken down in the garage or no driver available for
it) so the gap was increased to 10 minutes. It was around 8am, the morning
peak and I filled rapidly and the bus behind caught me up. The whining and
bitching and complaining at each stop as I picked up was unreal. "we've
been waiting 15 minutes for a bus and then 2 come at once etc" - I knew it
had been 10 mins since the last one went, I watched it leave. I also knew
a bus was missing and wasnt allowed to leave early. And I also knew I'd
lose time because of it.

Nowadays I work a National Express coach into London and I'm frequently
late due to traffic and sometimes due to people having lots of luggage and
a tight timetable. But unlike with buses, first use check of the vehicle
can take up to 15 minutes. Once I started a journey almost 15 minutes down
because of a toilet problem which needed fixing. I didn't get a murmour of
complaint from my passengers, some of whom had been waiting at the stop
for 30 mins. They were just glad I had come at all!


National Express coaches rarely drive past their stops and don't pick up
passengers.

Don't get me wrong, I have bus drivers in my family, and a friend who was
one. I've seen bus drivers do some really insensitive things to people.
Like, when it's late at night and the busses aren't running frequently. I
was at a stop, and flagged the bus clearly, only to see this nearly-empty
bus slow down, drive past the stop, then race off without letting anyone on.
That hardly screams "good service" to the cold, confused public.

The public wouldn't moan if there was nothing to moan about. I understand
about bus schedules and the problems traffic can cause. The bus services in
London are great, and usually work really well, but sometimes they screw up
in such a way that it really affects travellers. That feeling isn't great,
and doesn't leave quickly. If bus drivers acted more considerately, the
public would be less vocal about their shortcomings.

How long does it change to swap bus drivers?
 

"David B" wrote in message
...

"Neil Williams" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 10:38:50 -0000, "David B"
wrote:

A London city bus, OTOH, may well have people on their way to work or
to an important appointment. Not only that, but if your journey is
only 10 minutes long, you're not going to put 20 minutes' slack into
it, while those travelling for 6 hours probably won't think twice
about leaving an hour spare.


IMHO if you need to be somewhere at a certain time, moreso if you have an
appointment or interview, you simply have to add extra slack to guarantee
arriving on time. I think this applies whether you use public transport or
your own car, the difference being that if you use your own vehicle, you
can't blame someone else for not providing a service if there is a traffic
jam due to an accident or breakdown. If people generally left earlier,
their journeys would be less stressed and they would be more relaxed and
lets face it, in the example I spoke about we are talking about waiting
5 - 10 minutes longer than they would have otherwise been, time which
could be lost in a traffic jam anyway. In fact if I recall, because there
were buses behind me, which thankfully overtook to help me out, I made up
all of the lost time anyway - didn't get any thanks of course. I could
understand people being angry at a 20 minute+ delay, but 5 - 10 minutes is
IMHO pathetic.

Whilst a lot of my coach passengers use it because of its low cost
compared with the train and are only going as far as London, a lot are
going to airports or have connections for coaches going further west and
north from London and so in a sense their journeys are time sensitive. It
is true the train is faster but there is no guarantee of a seat and no
real sense of security particularly late at night although it is true most
coach passengers probably don't have a car.


Yes, I understand what you're saying here, but to ensure there are no
problems with my journey via bus, I'd have to give myself an extra 20
minutes for a 20 minute bus ride. Doubling your journey time to ensure
promptness is plain ridiculous for the money spent on busses. It's not as
if people are complaining their busses are 30 seconds late, but sometimes
many times the scheduled wait. If your national express coaches were
scheduled to leave London every hour for Bristol, and they ended up leaving
every 2 hours instead, you'd witness similar unhappiness.

How long does it change to swap bus drivers?
 

"Neil Williams" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 7 Feb 2005 10:38:50 -0000, "David B"
wrote:

Nowadays I work a National Express coach into London and I'm frequently
late
due to traffic and sometimes due to people having lots of luggage and a
tight timetable. But unlike with buses, first use check of the vehicle can
take up to 15 minutes. Once I started a journey almost 15 minutes down
because of a toilet problem which needed fixing. I didn't get a murmour of
complaint from my passengers, some of whom had been waiting at the stop
for
30 mins. They were just glad I had come at all!

Not in any way justifying those who treat staff in an inappropriate
manner, but most of those who travel by express coach (except, I
suppose, those heading for airports) do not have a time-sensitive
journey, as if they had they'd probably use another, faster mode.

A London city bus, OTOH, may well have people on their way to work or
to an important appointment. Not only that, but if your journey is
only 10 minutes long, you're not going to put 20 minutes' slack into
it, while those travelling for 6 hours probably won't think twice
about leaving an hour spare.

Neil

Also, when the 271 driver decides he wants to annoy passengers waiting for
his first stop at Highbury Corner by driving round the roundabout repeatedly
before finally (4th time round) deciding to turn off to our stop (we can see
the roundabout very clearly from the stop), he shouldn't be too surprised
when passengers call him some choice names when we're finally let in from
the cold.

I mean come on, we're only human :)

How long does it change to swap bus drivers?
 

In message , d
writes
The public wouldn't moan if there was nothing to moan about.

That is a possible contender for the most inaccurate statement I've ever
seen on Usenet! :-))

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk