Why does it take so long for bus drivers to swap over and why is it
done half way through a route?

--
Chris

wrote in news:1107619097.868991.287180
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Why does it take so long for bus drivers to swap over and why is it
done half way through a route?


I find this rather annoying, especially if you notice another bus passing
that you could have got.

I guess it is conveniant to do it near a garage. Take 40 route for
example. Both ends of the journey are not near a garage so if a new driver
started at the end of the route, they would have to pay a driver's time to
travel to and from the garage. But that is not a good argument from a user
perspective.

DOes the time taken to swap drives impact on schedules? Can and should TfL
penalise them.

wrote to uk.transport.london on Sat, 5 Feb 2005:

Why does it take so long for bus drivers to swap over and why is it
done half way through a route?

It doesn't always take a long time if the replacement driver is waiting
- just the time for the getting-off driver to log out, and the
getting-on driver to log in. But you can wait ages if, for some reason,
he or she isn't waiting at the bus stop!

I agree, I wish they would warn of a crew change mid-run; I find the 159
is particularly prone to changing crews at Brixton garage. The only
time other buses stop there is if the driver is "taken short".
--
"Mrs Redboots"
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/
Website updated 23 January 2005 with new photos

wrote in message
oups.com...
Why does it take so long for bus drivers to swap over and why is it
done half way through a route?


It makes sense to change drivers partway through a route as it is more than
likely closer to the depot than either ends of the route.
In practise this shouldn't take too long, as the driver is approaching the
stop where the changeover takes place he can sign-off his module and print
off a waybill, then as the bus stops just grab his cash bag and leave the
bus, the new driver gets in, signs on his module and drives off.

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.

anyway just my 2p's worth.

Paul
x

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 !?

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!

David B wrote:

Most bus passengers are a miserable bunch.

I wouldn't go that far, though...

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.

.... that is very true.

...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!

Passengers on citytraffic are somewhat spoiled. They seem to tke it as
granted that there's a bus coming up every 5 to 10 minuteswhile regional
passengers do still cherish the few buses the get per day as long as
they show up at all.

On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 12:10:20 +0100, Guy Perry
wrote:

Passengers on citytraffic are somewhat spoiled. They seem to tke it as
granted that there's a bus coming up every 5 to 10 minutes

Not wishing to state the obvious, but if the timetable says every 5 to
10 minutes, they have a right to expect it. They are not "spoiled", it
is part of the "product" on offer.

ITYF that if all London bus routes operated hourly, there'd be a lot
more cars on the road, congestion charge or no. IOW, the two are not
comparable in that way.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.

Guy Perry wrote:
Passengers on citytraffic are somewhat spoiled. They seem to tke it
as
granted that there's a bus coming up every 5 to 10 minuteswhile
regional
passengers do still cherish the few buses the get per day as long as
they show up at all.

Not really.

When at home in the countryside I know the bus leaves at quater to the
odd hour between 8.45am and 5pm so I arrive at the bus stop a few
minutes before and get on (and get a seat or two).

In london, if there's a bus 'every 10 to 12 minutes' on one route and
'every 10-15 minutes' on the other this normally adds up to a
significant wait.

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

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
When replying please use neil at the above domain
'wensleydale' is a spam trap and is not read.