Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
London Transport (uk.transport.london) Discussion of all forms of transport in London. |
Reply |
|
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
kytelly wrote:
Ok last saturday my friend and I hopped on a bendy bus outside Selfridges to go a few stops down Oxford Street to Poland street (She had a bad leg we're not just lazy!) However when we got to Oxford circus the rest of the street was blocked off and the bus was sent on a diversion down Regent street. Fine we thought we'll get off at the next stop. However three stops later and no sign of the bus stopping my friend started getting very anxious (This is when I found out she was a bit claustrophobic) Anyway she asked the driver if we could get off at the next stop but he refused saying he wasnt allowed to stop at any stop on the diversion. She was then joined by heavily pregnant woman who also needed to get off but still the driver said he couldnt let anyone off and he said he had disabled the emergancy door releases. After a lot more harranging he eventually opened the doors on Shaftsbury Avenue about twenty minutes after the diversion had started. Now I know drivers cant let people off anywhere other than the official stops but surely thats not applicable where a bus is on diversion? Basically we were forced to stay on the bus againest our will for twenty minutes as it had got caught up in the regent st traffic. I got off the bus feeling very self rightous but what are peoples thoughts on this? Each diversion seems to have its own rules. I've also got stuck on a bus using that diversion, which is frustrating when you're sitting in traffic and realise that you could have walked past the diversion more quickly. Other times, drivers *are* allowed to serve stops on diversion; this happened with the Battersea Bridge closure when some 49s were diverted via Wandsworth Bridge, and when Broad Sanctuary in Westminster was closed for roadworks and buses were diverted along Artillery Road. My guess at the reasoning behind this is that on central London streets with a lot of bus services and multiple stops per location, the confusion in dropping off and picking up passengers can compound traffic congestion and cause further delays to undiverted buses. The driver was right to say he couldn't let you off because those were the direction he had been given by TfL via his bus company. However, I'm not sure about disabling the emergency door releases - that sounds a bit drastic (because what if there were an emergency...?). -- Dave Arquati Imperial College, SW7 www.alwaystouchout.com - Transport projects in London |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
The driver was right to say he couldn't let you off because those were
the direction he had been given by TfL via his bus company. However, I'm not sure about disabling the emergency door releases - that sounds a bit drastic (because what if there were an emergency...?). Is it actually possible - not only does such a button actually exist, but even if it does, can he/she *legally* do it? -- The presence of this signature shows that this message has been scanned for misplaced apostrophes by the common sense scanner. However, some apostrophes may not be included where required due to boredom, gross negligence, budget cuts, incompetence, stupidity or just plain laziness. http://www.railwaysonline.co.uk |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
Joe Patrick wrote:
Is it actually possible - not only does such a button actually exist, No, but (assuming it wasn't a bendy, where I believe the releases aren't just another door button but actually unlock something) the driver could sit there and keep pressing the close button. I've seen this done to stop kids getting on after messing with the release button on the outside. Neil |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
Neil Williams wrote: Joe Patrick wrote: Is it actually possible - not only does such a button actually exist, No, but (assuming it wasn't a bendy, where I believe the releases aren't just another door button but actually unlock something) the driver could sit there and keep pressing the close button. It was a bendy. Does anyone know if they can be turned off then or if the driver was talking through his hat? |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
It was a bendy. Does anyone know if they can be turned off then or if
the driver was talking through his hat? I'm more surprised you've found a bus driver that's willing to speak! ;-) -- The presence of this signature shows that this message has been scanned for misplaced apostrophes by the common sense scanner. However, some apostrophes may not be included where required due to boredom, gross negligence, budget cuts, incompetence, stupidity or just plain laziness. http://www.railwaysonline.co.uk |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
Neil Williams wrote:
Joe Patrick wrote: Is it actually possible - not only does such a button actually exist, No, but (assuming it wasn't a bendy, where I believe the releases aren't just another door button but actually unlock something) the driver could sit there and keep pressing the close button. I've seen this done to stop kids getting on after messing with the release button on the outside. I once saw a passenger use the emergency door release to open the front door when the bus had stopped at the traffic lights at Bexleyheath, a few metres short of the bus interchange! The driver didn't need to use the close button, as the passenger pushed the close button a second or two later as he stepped off. -- Aidan Stanger http://www.bettercrossrail.co.uk |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
Dave Arquati wrote: kytelly wrote: Ok last saturday my friend and I hopped on a bendy bus outside Selfridges to go a few stops down Oxford Street to Poland street (She had a bad leg we're not just lazy!) However when we got to Oxford circus the rest of the street was blocked off and the bus was sent on a diversion down Regent street. Fine we thought we'll get off at the next stop. However three stops later and no sign of the bus stopping my friend started getting very anxious (This is when I found out she was a bit claustrophobic) Anyway she asked the driver if we could get off at the next stop but he refused saying he wasnt allowed to stop at any stop on the diversion. She was then joined by heavily pregnant woman who also needed to get off but still the driver said he couldnt let anyone off and he said he had disabled the emergancy door releases. After a lot more harranging he eventually opened the doors on Shaftsbury Avenue about twenty minutes after the diversion had started. Now I know drivers cant let people off anywhere other than the official stops but surely thats not applicable where a bus is on diversion? Basically we were forced to stay on the bus againest our will for twenty minutes as it had got caught up in the regent st traffic. I got off the bus feeling very self rightous but what are peoples thoughts on this? Each diversion seems to have its own rules. I've also got stuck on a bus using that diversion, which is frustrating when you're sitting in traffic and realise that you could have walked past the diversion more quickly. Other times, drivers *are* allowed to serve stops on diversion; this happened with the Battersea Bridge closure when some 49s were diverted via Wandsworth Bridge, and when Broad Sanctuary in Westminster was closed for roadworks and buses were diverted along Artillery Road. My guess at the reasoning behind this is that on central London streets with a lot of bus services and multiple stops per location, the confusion in dropping off and picking up passengers can compound traffic congestion and cause further delays to undiverted buses. The driver was right to say he couldn't let you off because those were the direction he had been given by TfL via his bus company. However, I'm not sure about disabling the emergency door releases - that sounds a bit drastic (because what if there were an emergency...?). I was in a suburb where a diversion took the buses down the parallel main road to the usual one. My home was between the two main roads (both of which had bus routes) so being let off in either main road would do. But I was forced all the way to the end of the diversion. This was not a busy central London situation with lots of confused tourists, it was just people with heavy shopping being abducted to somewhere difficult to get home from. Not very helpful or considerate. But it's all a bit academic now, since the policy seems to be not to let people on or off at all, in the interests of reliability. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
Dave Arquati ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying : However when we got to Oxford circus the rest of the street was blocked off and the bus was sent on a diversion down Regent street. Fine we thought we'll get off at the next stop. However three stops later and no sign of the bus stopping my friend started getting very anxious (This is when I found out she was a bit claustrophobic) Anyway she asked the driver if we could get off at the next stop but he refused saying he wasnt allowed to stop at any stop on the diversion. She was then joined by heavily pregnant woman who also needed to get off but still the driver said he couldnt let anyone off and he said he had disabled the emergancy door releases. Each diversion seems to have its own rules. I've also got stuck on a bus using that diversion, which is frustrating when you're sitting in traffic and realise that you could have walked past the diversion more quickly. Ah, if only there was such a thing as a bus with an open platform you could just hop on and off as required... |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Not being let off the bus - this cant be correct?
Adrian wrote:
Ah, if only there was such a thing as a bus with an open platform you could just hop on and off as required... Perhaps a bus with a smaller turning circle than the current buses, enabling them to move quickly arround the narrow London streets without causing major blockages to multiple lanes, and in the case of bendy buses, and even the normal ones. Perhaps you could somehow segregate the driver from passangers, as in trains, allowing the driver to concentrate fully on the road instead of checking tickets? Maybe a guard could be employed, as on trains, to check and sell tickets, and assist passangers (which the driver can't do)? If you can't afford a guard on every bus, have a "buy before boarding" policy, and enforce with RPIs like on the trains and bendy buses that we have. does anyone know of a bus that would fill those requirements? |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Please stand behind the line as the train approaches and let passengers off before boarding | London Transport | |||
Oyster Exits at Kings Cross St Pancras not being recorded | London Transport | |||
Luggage from T5 opening fiasco now being auctioned off | London Transport | |||
being let through barriers with an Oyster, a couple of Qs | London Transport | |||
Oystercard 'price capping' not being introduced at fares revision | London Transport |