With the Olympic Games opening ceremony taking place today, I thought it good to mention how I was affected by the Olympic Torch Relay at some point during its parade around the country. To be fair, though, the problems surrounding road closures and curtailed journeys weren't too bad - my company had unusually done their homework and had quite a tight set of schedules in operation and had given a good fortnight's notice of the changes on both their website and on board their vehicles.
Of course there are still going to be people who are caught out. That's life. I suppose you could shoot them all in the head, but suddenly your employer would notice a reduction in revenue, as so many thick people use the bus.
On the day I was affected I had to operate a wholly different route within this suburb of a much larger town. The diversion saw me use a parallel road to the one I'd normally use. Unfortunately for me, I was driving the diversion as the crowds that had gathered to watch the Olympic Flame pass by were heading home both on foot and by car. The linear road was a like an assault course of parked cars that I needed to weave in and out of, with lots of cars parked on either sides of the road.
There are no bus stops along this road as buses don't use it normally and passengers had been told the hail the bus at a safe point. No one hailed me that I knew of and as I got to the end of the road I had to stop at some traffic lights. I heard a very loud knocking at my doors. A guy was stood there so I let him board.
"Didn't you see me stood back there?" he said, breathlessly.
"No. Where were you stood?"
"Opposite the supermarket. There aren't any bus stops down her you know!"
"Oh right. Did you put your hand out?"
"I didn't think I needed to!"
Now that says at all. Baring in mind over 1,000 people were returning home from watching the torch, the majority of which were using this road, and this guy thinks he can just stand by the kerb and the bus driver will somehow psychically know that he wants the bus.
Common Sense Solution: You have to ignore people like this. If common sense doesn't dictate to you that you need to physically hail a bus to stop it on a diversionary route with no bus stop signs amidst 1000 people milling about then are you really equipped with sufficient life skills to get on in life? Some people simply are not. Does this guy have kids? If so how does he keep the fact that Santa and the Tooth Fairy do not exist? How does he pay his bills on time, organise his life, pass an interview? It's all very amusing really.
Showing posts with label Bus Stop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bus Stop. Show all posts
Friday, 27 July 2012
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Into the Headlights
An observation I've made for many years yet never aired in public is what certain passengers do as you're approaching them at their bus stop. They'll be stood there, but the bus stop sign attached to the pole and may even extend their arm to hail the bus to stop. You will, from a distance, signal your intention to pull over by indicate to the left. You begin to slow down at a level acceptable to be smooth and progressive so that you stop by the bus stop pole and the passenger.
And what do they do? They walk briskly in the direction of the bus, i.e. away from the stop - the point you're aiming for in order to smoothly stop the bus.
Why don't they just wait at the stop? Why do they wander in the direction of the bus, away from the stop?
I continue in the same way I'd previously done, and pass them by and stop by the bus stop pole, where they'd been stood up until 5 seconds ago. They then have to about-turn and wander back. They never say anything, although I wish they would as my response has been formulated well over the past years.
Not everyone does it and it's not usually reserved for retards. Often old and young do it and people in suits. Why? Are they incapable of judging a bus's speed as it's approaching a stop and believe it to stop sooner? Could they be spatially unaware? There must be a reason.
Common Sense Solution: Keep on doing as you have been. Pulling up at the bus stop is always the safest option. Should anything happen at least you have on your side the fact that you stopped in the right place. Never 'stop short' for a made passenger dashing towards you on foot.
And what do they do? They walk briskly in the direction of the bus, i.e. away from the stop - the point you're aiming for in order to smoothly stop the bus.
Why don't they just wait at the stop? Why do they wander in the direction of the bus, away from the stop?
I continue in the same way I'd previously done, and pass them by and stop by the bus stop pole, where they'd been stood up until 5 seconds ago. They then have to about-turn and wander back. They never say anything, although I wish they would as my response has been formulated well over the past years.
Not everyone does it and it's not usually reserved for retards. Often old and young do it and people in suits. Why? Are they incapable of judging a bus's speed as it's approaching a stop and believe it to stop sooner? Could they be spatially unaware? There must be a reason.
Common Sense Solution: Keep on doing as you have been. Pulling up at the bus stop is always the safest option. Should anything happen at least you have on your side the fact that you stopped in the right place. Never 'stop short' for a made passenger dashing towards you on foot.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Missed Stop
Sometimes passengers are in worlds of their own and through their daydreaming they miss their stop. Usually, the bell is rung not long after the missed stop and the passenger rushes to the front, asking to be let off. If there's a stop very soon indeed, I usually pretend I'm a little deaf and ask them to repeat themselves, by which point we're at the next stop and I've not had to do an unscheduled stop. Often these unscheduled stops can be in places that aren't too safe and the passenger just thinks you're being a bigger twat than normal by not stopping the bus immediately.
Today, a woman rang the bell as I was level with a bus stop at the junction of the main road and Street Y. I was doing 40mph at the time - the speed limit at this point along the route. I did wonder if she wanted the stop in question, but at 40mph and parallel as the bell was rung, there was no way I was even going to contemplate slamming my brakes on. I was starting to slow though as I was making the next left turn, into Street Z.
As I turned into Street Z there's an immediate bus stop. The woman who pressed the bell as I was passing Street Y started to complain that I was going the wrong way as I turned into Street Z. She thought that I was turning a street too soon, into Street Y. That's how much notice she was taking. As I opened the door, she must have realised her mistake.
The nasty bitch then started to bollock me for not stopping at the stop before!!
Can you believe it?! I was going to argue, but luckily a number of people were leaving here - all of whom wanted to leave here and her protestations were drowned out by my thanking others leaving the bus here. I made no eye contact with her, just said "Thanks!" on a number of occasions as everyone else got off.
Common-sense solution: We all miss our stop. I've daydreamed before and gone the wrong way. That's life. If I can stop safely I will, but usually that's not the case. So you have to walk back a block - deal with it. Most do. This woman was so unaware she hadn't realised she'd gone past her stop and yet chose to tell me off for not stopping for her. I'd have needed to know she wanted the stop before she rang the bell - late. I sensed there'd end up being a slanging match, which is no good for anyone. I was happy in the knowledge she'd rung the bell too late by anyone's book and this would be shown using the CCTV. This only happened today, so expect a follow-up entry if she phones to complain!
Today, a woman rang the bell as I was level with a bus stop at the junction of the main road and Street Y. I was doing 40mph at the time - the speed limit at this point along the route. I did wonder if she wanted the stop in question, but at 40mph and parallel as the bell was rung, there was no way I was even going to contemplate slamming my brakes on. I was starting to slow though as I was making the next left turn, into Street Z.
As I turned into Street Z there's an immediate bus stop. The woman who pressed the bell as I was passing Street Y started to complain that I was going the wrong way as I turned into Street Z. She thought that I was turning a street too soon, into Street Y. That's how much notice she was taking. As I opened the door, she must have realised her mistake.
The nasty bitch then started to bollock me for not stopping at the stop before!!
Can you believe it?! I was going to argue, but luckily a number of people were leaving here - all of whom wanted to leave here and her protestations were drowned out by my thanking others leaving the bus here. I made no eye contact with her, just said "Thanks!" on a number of occasions as everyone else got off.
Common-sense solution: We all miss our stop. I've daydreamed before and gone the wrong way. That's life. If I can stop safely I will, but usually that's not the case. So you have to walk back a block - deal with it. Most do. This woman was so unaware she hadn't realised she'd gone past her stop and yet chose to tell me off for not stopping for her. I'd have needed to know she wanted the stop before she rang the bell - late. I sensed there'd end up being a slanging match, which is no good for anyone. I was happy in the knowledge she'd rung the bell too late by anyone's book and this would be shown using the CCTV. This only happened today, so expect a follow-up entry if she phones to complain!
Monday, 19 March 2012
Walking to the Light
There are a few things that passengers do that bemuse me. As 'avids' will know by now, I come across some right thickos in my job. I can try and fathom why they act as they do, but sometimes there is no explanation. One such example is when a passenger is stood at a bus stop in the correct place - just where you'll pull up - but upon you indication and pulling up to the stop, the put their head down and walk towards you, leaving the place they were stood which happens to be the place you'd geared yourself up to stop at.
They start walking towards you, remaining on the path.
Why?
Just stay where you are! You may have (or may not have, in so many cases) hailed the bus to stop and seen the driver apply the left indicator, so guess what? He's pulling over to allow you to board.
Why then walk towards the bus that's heading at you at speed?
STAY WHERE YOU ARE!
I wonder what a psychologist would make of this?
Common-Sense Solution: Just pull up where you'd originally budgeted to. Don't brake any harder to stop sooner as this will detract comfort for your existing passengers. Go past the person walking towards your headlights like a lemming and pull up precisely where they were standing. Make them walk back to you. They might learn.
They start walking towards you, remaining on the path.
Why?
Just stay where you are! You may have (or may not have, in so many cases) hailed the bus to stop and seen the driver apply the left indicator, so guess what? He's pulling over to allow you to board.
Why then walk towards the bus that's heading at you at speed?
STAY WHERE YOU ARE!
I wonder what a psychologist would make of this?
Common-Sense Solution: Just pull up where you'd originally budgeted to. Don't brake any harder to stop sooner as this will detract comfort for your existing passengers. Go past the person walking towards your headlights like a lemming and pull up precisely where they were standing. Make them walk back to you. They might learn.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Just Plain Thick
There are two bus stops located along a stretch of road I was driving along today. The first is at a memorial and the second is by a school. They're around 0.25 miles apart. A woman flagged me down right in the middle of the two stops today. I stopped and let her board and after she paid I asked her to wait at either the memorial or school bus next time. She said she'd phoned my company before venturing out (sensible!) and that they'd told her there was a bus stop located by the school (all correct). The punch line, if that's what you call it, was not what I was expecting:
"I wasn't sure how near the school they meant so I thought I'd just stand outside my front gate to make sure."
Bullshit. Complete and utter fucking arse. The lazy cow couldn't be bothered walking to the bus stop - clearly sited outside the frigging school - and so thought she'd flag me down outside her house. She also dropped into the conversation that she wasn't used to catching buses. It shows.
You see buses stop at these things called bus stops. This way, it ensures everyone is treated fairly and that the bus isn't unnecessarily delayed by stopping too often, for example, for the idle wankers who want a personal taxi service at a fraction of the cost.
She asked for the suburb I was heading for he city centre.
The city centre most of my services call at has two major bus stops. On the way in is a row of stops at the far end of the pedestrianised area and beyond that is the second and final stop in the bus station. As I approached the centre, most alighted at the first stop, outside, by the pedestrianised area. She and a couple remained on for the bus station.
Mid-way between the two points, the idle woman got up, strolled to the front and said: "Here please!" Ha! Yeah, right. Now it was pay back time. I tried the old faithful at first, ignoring her completely, in the hope she thought I simply hadn't heard her, but this woman was having none of it. "I said HERE please!"
"I'm sorry, the next stop is the bus station. We only call at the bus stops I'm afraid!"
"Well I want to be at that shop there!" she said, as we whizzed past it at a very satisfying 30mph.
I told her that as it was mid-way between the two stops (a bit like her house) she had to walk regardless of which stop she chose to leave.
Then she started moaning very loudly about how dire the service was and how glad she doesn't have to rely on buses and how rude and ignorant the drivers are. I then lost it. I slammed the brakes on and shouted. JUST SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP AS I COULD CRASH THE BLOODY BUS WITH YOU GOING OFF ON ONE!
All that investment in my Driver CPC and NVQ going right out the window. She sat down and shut up. Perhaps I should mention that at my next training course, that it could be an effective way in which to deal with dickhead passengers?
The sensible thing to do now is back-track, but in such a way that the passenger doesn't know you're doing it. She'd plonked her fat arse down directly behind my cab, so I said fairly loudly that there was CCTV fitted throughout the bus and that my boss takes a personal dislike to passengers distracting the driver and stopping between bus stops and it can compromise safety. I also added that I'd already broken the rules by picking her up in between stops earlier in the route.
The plan was to make her sufficiently aware of how her actions would not be condoned by the depot and so she wouldn't dare phone in to report the incident as her story would effectively drop herself in it.
Needless to say, I've now got a mental image of her and shall be driving past the next time if she flags me down in between stops.
Common Sense Solution: Exactly what I did. Initially point the error out to the passenger (as I did) and hope they learn from it. Many will and many won't, usually in equal measure. If you should find you have a thicko who doesn't quite understand anything you're telling them, you may need to re-emphasise the point in another way, if this presents itself - luckily for me it did when she wanted me to drop her off in between stops. Yes, you'll get hassle but at the same time you're investing in a trouble-free life for the journeys to come as she won't dare recreate the situation. Probably.
"I wasn't sure how near the school they meant so I thought I'd just stand outside my front gate to make sure."
Bullshit. Complete and utter fucking arse. The lazy cow couldn't be bothered walking to the bus stop - clearly sited outside the frigging school - and so thought she'd flag me down outside her house. She also dropped into the conversation that she wasn't used to catching buses. It shows.
You see buses stop at these things called bus stops. This way, it ensures everyone is treated fairly and that the bus isn't unnecessarily delayed by stopping too often, for example, for the idle wankers who want a personal taxi service at a fraction of the cost.
She asked for the suburb I was heading for he city centre.
The city centre most of my services call at has two major bus stops. On the way in is a row of stops at the far end of the pedestrianised area and beyond that is the second and final stop in the bus station. As I approached the centre, most alighted at the first stop, outside, by the pedestrianised area. She and a couple remained on for the bus station.
Mid-way between the two points, the idle woman got up, strolled to the front and said: "Here please!" Ha! Yeah, right. Now it was pay back time. I tried the old faithful at first, ignoring her completely, in the hope she thought I simply hadn't heard her, but this woman was having none of it. "I said HERE please!"
"I'm sorry, the next stop is the bus station. We only call at the bus stops I'm afraid!"
"Well I want to be at that shop there!" she said, as we whizzed past it at a very satisfying 30mph.
I told her that as it was mid-way between the two stops (a bit like her house) she had to walk regardless of which stop she chose to leave.
Then she started moaning very loudly about how dire the service was and how glad she doesn't have to rely on buses and how rude and ignorant the drivers are. I then lost it. I slammed the brakes on and shouted. JUST SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP AS I COULD CRASH THE BLOODY BUS WITH YOU GOING OFF ON ONE!
All that investment in my Driver CPC and NVQ going right out the window. She sat down and shut up. Perhaps I should mention that at my next training course, that it could be an effective way in which to deal with dickhead passengers?
The sensible thing to do now is back-track, but in such a way that the passenger doesn't know you're doing it. She'd plonked her fat arse down directly behind my cab, so I said fairly loudly that there was CCTV fitted throughout the bus and that my boss takes a personal dislike to passengers distracting the driver and stopping between bus stops and it can compromise safety. I also added that I'd already broken the rules by picking her up in between stops earlier in the route.
The plan was to make her sufficiently aware of how her actions would not be condoned by the depot and so she wouldn't dare phone in to report the incident as her story would effectively drop herself in it.
Needless to say, I've now got a mental image of her and shall be driving past the next time if she flags me down in between stops.
Common Sense Solution: Exactly what I did. Initially point the error out to the passenger (as I did) and hope they learn from it. Many will and many won't, usually in equal measure. If you should find you have a thicko who doesn't quite understand anything you're telling them, you may need to re-emphasise the point in another way, if this presents itself - luckily for me it did when she wanted me to drop her off in between stops. Yes, you'll get hassle but at the same time you're investing in a trouble-free life for the journeys to come as she won't dare recreate the situation. Probably.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
First Argument of 2012
Needless to say the first indiscretion of the year took place on my first day back after the New Year extended weekend.
I was working a shift where I was to receive a very generous break of 20 minutes every time I got to a particular terminus. I need this time as break as I do a 7-hour stint and the law says that if I do more than 5.5 hours, I need to have a minimum of 45 minutes in the short breaks in between journeys before the stint ends. Even then I cannot work more than 8.5 hours, when a minimum of 30 mins break is additionally needed.
I don't expect the passengers to be aware of this.
I arrived at the terminus and the passengers got off. I could see some people milling around for my return journey which was to leave in 20 minutes time. But I was going to leave the bus and use the local rest room in the form of a portakabin. It has a kettle and a sink. I wouldn't drink anything from the kettle or use the sink, but that is by the by; it is somewhere I can go to get away from the cab.
On the journey in, two passengers said that they'd rung a bell in the lower saloon and nothing happened. Consequently they'd had to call out that they wanted the next stop. I left the engine running now the bus was empty, left the cab and walked the full length of the bus to check the bells. All seemed to work OK. I then went upstairs and checked those there - all OK.
All very mysterious. I can downstairs and turned the engine off. I collected my cash tray and put my coat on. All indicative actions of someone about to leave a bus. I turned to the door and saw a queue of 6 or 7 people waiting to get on.
As I opened the door, I told them that I'd be 15 minutes. I could have said fuck-all like some of my colleagues, but chose to let them know.
"Oh, that's a bit much!" the woman at the front of the queue said.
"I beg your pardon?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Well it's cold out here and we've got to wait all that time!"
What had happened was that she couldn't bare not to be first in the queue and so had left her seat in the relative warmth of the mini bus station. Someone was now sat there. It was a gamble that had not paid off. And before you ask, no, we're not allowed to board passengers only to then leave them alone on board while we use the loo or get a drink. In any case, when passengers see others on board, they have this uncontrollable urge to open the doors themselves to join their fellow campers on board. They do not know how to close the doors behind them and you lose track of who has paid and who hasn't - and there's always the opportunity for someone to claim they've paid when they haven't.
"I'm not being rude, love, but I don't leave until on-the-hour, so I will see you shortly before then." and then I walked off.
Common Sense Solution: I think I did it. Passengers often claim that other drivers do what they're asking you to do. I'm surprised she didn't say this to me today. It is almost always bullshit. Consistency, as I've said on many times previous, is the name of the game. If this woman learns that all drivers take 15 of their 20 mins turnaround she will know to keep her fat on the bench until the driver returns.
I was working a shift where I was to receive a very generous break of 20 minutes every time I got to a particular terminus. I need this time as break as I do a 7-hour stint and the law says that if I do more than 5.5 hours, I need to have a minimum of 45 minutes in the short breaks in between journeys before the stint ends. Even then I cannot work more than 8.5 hours, when a minimum of 30 mins break is additionally needed.
I don't expect the passengers to be aware of this.
I arrived at the terminus and the passengers got off. I could see some people milling around for my return journey which was to leave in 20 minutes time. But I was going to leave the bus and use the local rest room in the form of a portakabin. It has a kettle and a sink. I wouldn't drink anything from the kettle or use the sink, but that is by the by; it is somewhere I can go to get away from the cab.
On the journey in, two passengers said that they'd rung a bell in the lower saloon and nothing happened. Consequently they'd had to call out that they wanted the next stop. I left the engine running now the bus was empty, left the cab and walked the full length of the bus to check the bells. All seemed to work OK. I then went upstairs and checked those there - all OK.
All very mysterious. I can downstairs and turned the engine off. I collected my cash tray and put my coat on. All indicative actions of someone about to leave a bus. I turned to the door and saw a queue of 6 or 7 people waiting to get on.
As I opened the door, I told them that I'd be 15 minutes. I could have said fuck-all like some of my colleagues, but chose to let them know.
"Oh, that's a bit much!" the woman at the front of the queue said.
"I beg your pardon?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Well it's cold out here and we've got to wait all that time!"
What had happened was that she couldn't bare not to be first in the queue and so had left her seat in the relative warmth of the mini bus station. Someone was now sat there. It was a gamble that had not paid off. And before you ask, no, we're not allowed to board passengers only to then leave them alone on board while we use the loo or get a drink. In any case, when passengers see others on board, they have this uncontrollable urge to open the doors themselves to join their fellow campers on board. They do not know how to close the doors behind them and you lose track of who has paid and who hasn't - and there's always the opportunity for someone to claim they've paid when they haven't.
"I'm not being rude, love, but I don't leave until on-the-hour, so I will see you shortly before then." and then I walked off.
Common Sense Solution: I think I did it. Passengers often claim that other drivers do what they're asking you to do. I'm surprised she didn't say this to me today. It is almost always bullshit. Consistency, as I've said on many times previous, is the name of the game. If this woman learns that all drivers take 15 of their 20 mins turnaround she will know to keep her fat on the bench until the driver returns.
Friday, 2 December 2011
The Jobsworth Passenger
So, a number of bus drivers are regarded as jobsworths when they do not do what the passenger wants them to do. I can see it from both sides and don't always side with a colleague when what the passenger is asking is not in anyway dangerous, unsafe or breaking any laws, guidelines or local agreements.
Today, I had a 'jobsworth' passenger. That's right! Rather impressive.
We have a bus stop near a school. The bus stop never used to exist but a recent change to the way the school wants its school buses to operate has meant that the school stop has been moved to the current location. A bus stop flag has been attached to a lamp post to show that buses stop here. Additionally, other buses that pass this location on their normal services during the day stop here, upon request. It would seem a little silly to tell them to ignore the stop.
In the opposite direction things are different. There is no bus stop opposite as school services operate a one-way loop. Service buses during the day pass in the opposite direction, though, and we have been told not to stop opposite the bus stop sign as a very large road exit is located her and parked cars either side of that. The bus stop sign opposite does not have 'either side' or 'bus stop opposite too' on it.
Today, a woman rang the bell to get off opposite this stop. I did what I've done since the stop has been in use and rightly assumed she wanted the next actual stop in this direction. As I passed the bus stop flag opposite the lady said "Can you stop here please?" I played partially deaf and waited a few seconds before asking "Sorry?" by which time we were fast approaching the next, actual bus stop. This technique doesn't show ignorance, just that I'm concentrating on my driving, like a good bus driver.
"You should have stopped there." she said.
"There's no bus stop there, just one opposite. And that's only there because we drop school kids off there in the mornings" I said.
"It's all changed now though!" the woman replied.
'It's all changed now though'? What the fuck was she banging on about. What has changed? Was she somehow telepathic and aware of a pending change to our stopping pattern that even our boss hadn't come up with yet? Had there actually been a notice informing us to drop off in between parked cars of the entrance to a road junction that I'd missed?
Of course not, she was just being thick.
As a meaningless gesture of goodwill I dropped her of 5 feet before the next bus stop and told her the (above) reasons why that is not an either side bus stop.
Her response? "Oh, I think you find that it is."
Common Sense Solution: The customer is NOT always right. Any company with this ethos nowadays is on a slippery slope. There had NOT been any alteration to our stopping pattern here, I checked. Although not illegal, it is very dangerous to drop passengers off in between parked cars and blocking a road junction to drop passengers off carries a £60 fine if the policeman watching you is in a bad mood. A driver may have dropped her off here before and thought nothing of it. This is possibly what caused today's exchange. Passengers will immediately believe that this dangerous or fine-worthy act is the correct procedure and they then equip themselves with this information, wielding it out as fact when it is absolutely nothing of the sort. Stay firm, toe the party line and be prepared to refuse them their request. Consistency is, as I've said before, key.
Today, I had a 'jobsworth' passenger. That's right! Rather impressive.
We have a bus stop near a school. The bus stop never used to exist but a recent change to the way the school wants its school buses to operate has meant that the school stop has been moved to the current location. A bus stop flag has been attached to a lamp post to show that buses stop here. Additionally, other buses that pass this location on their normal services during the day stop here, upon request. It would seem a little silly to tell them to ignore the stop.
In the opposite direction things are different. There is no bus stop opposite as school services operate a one-way loop. Service buses during the day pass in the opposite direction, though, and we have been told not to stop opposite the bus stop sign as a very large road exit is located her and parked cars either side of that. The bus stop sign opposite does not have 'either side' or 'bus stop opposite too' on it.
Today, a woman rang the bell to get off opposite this stop. I did what I've done since the stop has been in use and rightly assumed she wanted the next actual stop in this direction. As I passed the bus stop flag opposite the lady said "Can you stop here please?" I played partially deaf and waited a few seconds before asking "Sorry?" by which time we were fast approaching the next, actual bus stop. This technique doesn't show ignorance, just that I'm concentrating on my driving, like a good bus driver.
"You should have stopped there." she said.
"There's no bus stop there, just one opposite. And that's only there because we drop school kids off there in the mornings" I said.
"It's all changed now though!" the woman replied.
'It's all changed now though'? What the fuck was she banging on about. What has changed? Was she somehow telepathic and aware of a pending change to our stopping pattern that even our boss hadn't come up with yet? Had there actually been a notice informing us to drop off in between parked cars of the entrance to a road junction that I'd missed?
Of course not, she was just being thick.
As a meaningless gesture of goodwill I dropped her of 5 feet before the next bus stop and told her the (above) reasons why that is not an either side bus stop.
Her response? "Oh, I think you find that it is."
Common Sense Solution: The customer is NOT always right. Any company with this ethos nowadays is on a slippery slope. There had NOT been any alteration to our stopping pattern here, I checked. Although not illegal, it is very dangerous to drop passengers off in between parked cars and blocking a road junction to drop passengers off carries a £60 fine if the policeman watching you is in a bad mood. A driver may have dropped her off here before and thought nothing of it. This is possibly what caused today's exchange. Passengers will immediately believe that this dangerous or fine-worthy act is the correct procedure and they then equip themselves with this information, wielding it out as fact when it is absolutely nothing of the sort. Stay firm, toe the party line and be prepared to refuse them their request. Consistency is, as I've said before, key.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Blind to Indicators
With a title like today's you'd perhaps think that it will be a rant about other road users not using their indicators. Actually, it's not. It is a humerous observation about passengers hailing a bus.
Don't get me wrong, hailing a bus is NEVER a bad thing - even if you're stood at a bus stop where only 1 bus calls and there are 30 of you stood there - it's just sometimes passengers cannot correlate the gesture of outstretching their arm and what to do with it after that.
What generally happens is that a driver will see a person shove their arm out long before the bus pulls up at the stop. I generally indicate left to show the passenger that I'm aware of their hand gesture and that I will be pulling over. But the majority of people do not put their hand away until the bus is about to hit it.
You'd have thought that, once it was clear the bus was pulling over (the bus indicator is clearly flashing) the passenger would put their arm down, safe in the knowledge that the bus was pulling over. They don't.
I refuse to believe that this is because drivers have driven straight past. This doesn't happen anywhere nearly as often as people would have you believe - especially when the bus driver has indicated to pull over.
Common Sense Solution: I don't think there is the need for one as the passenger is doing the right thing but hailing a bus.
Don't get me wrong, hailing a bus is NEVER a bad thing - even if you're stood at a bus stop where only 1 bus calls and there are 30 of you stood there - it's just sometimes passengers cannot correlate the gesture of outstretching their arm and what to do with it after that.
What generally happens is that a driver will see a person shove their arm out long before the bus pulls up at the stop. I generally indicate left to show the passenger that I'm aware of their hand gesture and that I will be pulling over. But the majority of people do not put their hand away until the bus is about to hit it.
You'd have thought that, once it was clear the bus was pulling over (the bus indicator is clearly flashing) the passenger would put their arm down, safe in the knowledge that the bus was pulling over. They don't.
I refuse to believe that this is because drivers have driven straight past. This doesn't happen anywhere nearly as often as people would have you believe - especially when the bus driver has indicated to pull over.
Common Sense Solution: I don't think there is the need for one as the passenger is doing the right thing but hailing a bus.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
HAIL (and ride)
So I was driving my favourite shift on Saturday. It's a rural duty and I'm out in the sticks on my own, with my meal break out there and the gap in service covered by another driver who does 1 round trip as part of his own shift. It is nice out here. People are much more pleasant and polite, though this is not our bread-and-butter work, unfortunately. We ply our trade in "shit-kicker" territory, as one of my friends would say.
But although people are much nicer out here, they're still thick.
I was travelling along a road with houses on the left and the speed limit is 40mph. I was travelling at 40mph and noticed a number of pedestrians on the path to the left, between my and the houses. Some were walking and some were conversing while stationary. Suddenly, one of these stationary conversers shoved their hand out to get me to stop. Instinctively I indicated to pull over and stopped.
I'd gone past them by about a bus length. There was no bus stop in this area, it is technically hail-and-ride - the term that fills bus drivers with dread as passengers simply cannot be trusted to stand in a safe location or to simply HAIL the bus.
All four of the stationary conversers headed towards the front of my bus. They all seemed pleasant enough, so I thought I'd start in the same manner:
"I don't suppose next time you could put your hand out a little earlier, could you?"
"We didn't think we needed to."
"You looked like you were just chatting or waiting to cross the road."
"No. We wanted to catch you. We even phoned the depot and they said it was hail and ride."
"Yes it is. But you need to put your arm out so that I know!"
"Oh right, we just thought you'd stop."
This group had done the right thing. They'd contacted my depot before travelling. They'd been correctly told that where they wanted to board has no fixed bus stops and so we employ hail and ride. Clearly no further discussion had taken place. These people had no idea what hail and ride meant. They didn't seem thick or particularly under-class. I issued them their tickets and they sat down.
As I drove on, I couldn't help thinking to myself what they must have thought when the depot told them it was hail and ride. All I could imagine is that they assumed it meant the bus driver would stop for anyone who was motionless on the path. If that was the case, I'd be stopping everywhere.
Common Sense Solution: Make hail-and-ride sections of route ILLEGAL. Local authorities should refuse to accept registration documents for tendered services that have hail and ride sections. Local authorities are equally at fault as many are responsible for bus stop infrastructure in their area and can't be arsed to splash out a few quid for bus stop flags and timetable cases. You don't have this attitude in the railways. Nor do you have this attitude in the large urban areas. That's where the money is so all parties actually give a toss.
But although people are much nicer out here, they're still thick.
I was travelling along a road with houses on the left and the speed limit is 40mph. I was travelling at 40mph and noticed a number of pedestrians on the path to the left, between my and the houses. Some were walking and some were conversing while stationary. Suddenly, one of these stationary conversers shoved their hand out to get me to stop. Instinctively I indicated to pull over and stopped.
I'd gone past them by about a bus length. There was no bus stop in this area, it is technically hail-and-ride - the term that fills bus drivers with dread as passengers simply cannot be trusted to stand in a safe location or to simply HAIL the bus.
All four of the stationary conversers headed towards the front of my bus. They all seemed pleasant enough, so I thought I'd start in the same manner:
"I don't suppose next time you could put your hand out a little earlier, could you?"
"We didn't think we needed to."
"You looked like you were just chatting or waiting to cross the road."
"No. We wanted to catch you. We even phoned the depot and they said it was hail and ride."
"Yes it is. But you need to put your arm out so that I know!"
"Oh right, we just thought you'd stop."
This group had done the right thing. They'd contacted my depot before travelling. They'd been correctly told that where they wanted to board has no fixed bus stops and so we employ hail and ride. Clearly no further discussion had taken place. These people had no idea what hail and ride meant. They didn't seem thick or particularly under-class. I issued them their tickets and they sat down.
As I drove on, I couldn't help thinking to myself what they must have thought when the depot told them it was hail and ride. All I could imagine is that they assumed it meant the bus driver would stop for anyone who was motionless on the path. If that was the case, I'd be stopping everywhere.
Common Sense Solution: Make hail-and-ride sections of route ILLEGAL. Local authorities should refuse to accept registration documents for tendered services that have hail and ride sections. Local authorities are equally at fault as many are responsible for bus stop infrastructure in their area and can't be arsed to splash out a few quid for bus stop flags and timetable cases. You don't have this attitude in the railways. Nor do you have this attitude in the large urban areas. That's where the money is so all parties actually give a toss.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Just Desserts
We bus drivers can, occasionally, get our own back on certain passengers who have caused us grief over the past few weeks/months/years. They're tiny victories but victories nonetheless.
Today I got one over on a particularly miserable, rude and ignorant OAP. It was pissing down with rain in a Force 8 gale and she asked me to go slightly past the bus stop and drop her outside her house. I declined the 'offer'.
"Well that's funny, all the other drivers reckon to when it's raining!"
Not me, flower. Perhaps if you said 'thank you' occasionally when leaving my bus or greeted me with a smile from time to time, I'd be more obliging. As it is, you don't so I'm not.
Naturally I kept these thoughts to myself, but took great delight in seeing her become a drowned rat within seconds.
I know some of my colleagues wouldn't do it for anyone, so to suggest everyone else did it is rather disingenuous to say the least.
Common Sense Solution: Officially, bus companies would rather their drivers not 'ad lib' as it were, and stick rigidly to the stops. If one OAP sees this, you can be sure another on board will want the same treatment. Also, the first OAP could come to expect this 'personal' touch, which delays the service somewhat. The woman in today's tale of woe would have possibly expected me to drop her outside her door when it was a bit chilly outside next. As I've oft-lamented, CONSISTENCY is the order of the day.
Today I got one over on a particularly miserable, rude and ignorant OAP. It was pissing down with rain in a Force 8 gale and she asked me to go slightly past the bus stop and drop her outside her house. I declined the 'offer'.
"Well that's funny, all the other drivers reckon to when it's raining!"
Not me, flower. Perhaps if you said 'thank you' occasionally when leaving my bus or greeted me with a smile from time to time, I'd be more obliging. As it is, you don't so I'm not.
Naturally I kept these thoughts to myself, but took great delight in seeing her become a drowned rat within seconds.
I know some of my colleagues wouldn't do it for anyone, so to suggest everyone else did it is rather disingenuous to say the least.
Common Sense Solution: Officially, bus companies would rather their drivers not 'ad lib' as it were, and stick rigidly to the stops. If one OAP sees this, you can be sure another on board will want the same treatment. Also, the first OAP could come to expect this 'personal' touch, which delays the service somewhat. The woman in today's tale of woe would have possibly expected me to drop her outside her door when it was a bit chilly outside next. As I've oft-lamented, CONSISTENCY is the order of the day.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Hail 'n' Ride
The term Hail 'n' Ride throws fear and dread into a bus driver's life. With the average IQ of those being conveyed so low, the ambiguity a scheme like this produces is ticking time bomb, just waiting to go off.
Effectively, a bus operator designates certain stretches of route as Hail 'n' Ride because they can't be fagged to cough up for some bus stop signs to attach to lamp posts. They have to registered which sections are Hail 'n' Ride with the Traffic Commissioner with the bus service registration document, but have no obligation to make reference to it in the public timetable. This is a good thing.
One passenger's 'safe' location is not always the driver's. We have a rural route that passes through a number of villages where Hail 'n' Ride is employed. To make matters worse, rather than there be no bus stops at all in the villages, there are some. One village has its eastern half littered with them but none in the west. Another has one in the middle (timing point) but none anywhere else.
The guys I work with do not make things any better. Some drivers are happy to stop a million times in the same bloody hamlet, dropping old ladies off at their front doors. Others, with a sense of punctuality, do not.
And this is when the arguments start. I'm all for making life easy for both passengers and drivers, but Hail 'n' Ride works contrary to this. Passengers simply are not qualified sufficiently to assess whether the location they're stood is safe for a bus to stop. A sad but accurate truth.
If someone is stood on a road junction and flags me down, I pass them, slowly, and pull over a little further up, so that my 40-foot bus is not illegally obstructing the road adjoining from the left. This woman I collected from this location today was most put out at having to walk 35 feet to board. I told her that she needs to stand here in future so that I'm not blocking the junction. Her response?
"I've always got on at the corner!"
No you haven't you two-faced lying cow. I know as I've picked her up here before. I'm sure they do it rather than acknowledge that something a bus driver has said is actually true.
"Can you drop me off at the horses?" is another request often given.
But the main entrance to the equestrian centre is not enough - horse owners want to be dropped off at the actual stable within the complex, each backing onto the passing road. Tough shit. You get dropped off at the main entrance and picked up there afterwards.
Then there are the occasions when the passengers aren't at fault (yes, it does happen). I stopped outside a tiny retail park on Saturday, to drop some OAPs off, and as I pulled off I spotted a collection of people stood four or five bus lengths down the road, who proceeded to flag me down. They were new to the area and I collected them as they were stood in a very clear and safe locality. But what can you say? If you tell them to wait where the small retail park is, they could legitimately say: "But where does it say to do that?" or "But where in the timetable does it say I have to wait in that specific spot?"
All true.
Common Sense Solution: Ultimately, operators' and local authorities' hands need forcing by making the stoppage to load/unload passengers anywhere other than a signed bus stop illegal. This would force them to splash out on some bus stop signs. Some authorities take responsibility for the erection of bus stops and timetable information and these tend to be more comprehensive than areas where bus operators are responsible. A bus stop flag is surely an advertisement tool - paint the countryside with them, to promote your service. Don't be stingy and rely on Hail 'n' Ride schemes as a cheap cop-out. Drivers should be consistent and all adopt the same policy on what is and what isn't a safe place to stop.
Effectively, a bus operator designates certain stretches of route as Hail 'n' Ride because they can't be fagged to cough up for some bus stop signs to attach to lamp posts. They have to registered which sections are Hail 'n' Ride with the Traffic Commissioner with the bus service registration document, but have no obligation to make reference to it in the public timetable. This is a good thing.
One passenger's 'safe' location is not always the driver's. We have a rural route that passes through a number of villages where Hail 'n' Ride is employed. To make matters worse, rather than there be no bus stops at all in the villages, there are some. One village has its eastern half littered with them but none in the west. Another has one in the middle (timing point) but none anywhere else.
The guys I work with do not make things any better. Some drivers are happy to stop a million times in the same bloody hamlet, dropping old ladies off at their front doors. Others, with a sense of punctuality, do not.
And this is when the arguments start. I'm all for making life easy for both passengers and drivers, but Hail 'n' Ride works contrary to this. Passengers simply are not qualified sufficiently to assess whether the location they're stood is safe for a bus to stop. A sad but accurate truth.
If someone is stood on a road junction and flags me down, I pass them, slowly, and pull over a little further up, so that my 40-foot bus is not illegally obstructing the road adjoining from the left. This woman I collected from this location today was most put out at having to walk 35 feet to board. I told her that she needs to stand here in future so that I'm not blocking the junction. Her response?
"I've always got on at the corner!"
No you haven't you two-faced lying cow. I know as I've picked her up here before. I'm sure they do it rather than acknowledge that something a bus driver has said is actually true.
"Can you drop me off at the horses?" is another request often given.
But the main entrance to the equestrian centre is not enough - horse owners want to be dropped off at the actual stable within the complex, each backing onto the passing road. Tough shit. You get dropped off at the main entrance and picked up there afterwards.
Then there are the occasions when the passengers aren't at fault (yes, it does happen). I stopped outside a tiny retail park on Saturday, to drop some OAPs off, and as I pulled off I spotted a collection of people stood four or five bus lengths down the road, who proceeded to flag me down. They were new to the area and I collected them as they were stood in a very clear and safe locality. But what can you say? If you tell them to wait where the small retail park is, they could legitimately say: "But where does it say to do that?" or "But where in the timetable does it say I have to wait in that specific spot?"
All true.
Common Sense Solution: Ultimately, operators' and local authorities' hands need forcing by making the stoppage to load/unload passengers anywhere other than a signed bus stop illegal. This would force them to splash out on some bus stop signs. Some authorities take responsibility for the erection of bus stops and timetable information and these tend to be more comprehensive than areas where bus operators are responsible. A bus stop flag is surely an advertisement tool - paint the countryside with them, to promote your service. Don't be stingy and rely on Hail 'n' Ride schemes as a cheap cop-out. Drivers should be consistent and all adopt the same policy on what is and what isn't a safe place to stop.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
The Surreptitious Wavers
Some people have no idea about travelling on buses. That's not to say we drivers should lambaste them at all times for this ignorance, as this won't assist modal change at all. But there are some occasions when people are beyond help. One such incident took place today.
I, due to the rota I'm on, have a nice rural Saturday shift every 10 weeks. It is a wonderful shift that goes between Town A and Town B. I do a number of runs in the morning and have 1 run covered by another driver, before doing a couple more in the afternoon. The driver who did my missing run had brought a couple of OAPs from Town A to a country house which is on the way into Town B. I know this as I asked him. As they alighted, they asked him where they should wait for the bus back to Town A. He told them to stand opposite and hail the driver 'so he doesn't think you're just waiting to cross the road'. All well and good.
At the time, I didn't know about this exchange and I was passing the country house heading towards Town A. I saw some people stood on the opposite side of the carriageway (a single carriageway but there's a barrier in the middle to stop people turning right from the country estate). I thought it odd that two people should be stood where they were as I was the next bus in that direction in a little under 2 hours.
As I was passing at 50mph (legal limit for my road) I saw the female of the couple stick her hand out from her waist. Not her arm outstretched, just her hand. It was both pitiful and laughable. And of course futile as I was headed in the opposite direction at 50mph and there was a barrier separating the carriageways so it would have taken literally 5 minutes for them to walk around. Five minutes I didn't have and five minutes my existing passengers wouldn't have wanted to be needlessly delayed while I waited for them.
I can't fathom why they thought the return to Town A, from whence they'd came, would be in the direction of the adjacent Town B - and after the driver who brought them here told me what he'd told them, how can you convey people like this when they can't even understand a very straightforward instruction.
Yes, yes, I'll be old one day, but when I'd told to stand opposite and outstretch my arm, I'll, er, stand opposite and outstretch my arm.
Common Sense Solution: Precisely what happened. Sometimes it is simply unsafe to stop. Passengers do not research their journey by bus in the same manner that they would by train and certainly by plane. Buses benefit from being the ultimate in turn-up-and-go public transport, but then suffer from the associated arrogance and ignorance when people become blahzay.
I, due to the rota I'm on, have a nice rural Saturday shift every 10 weeks. It is a wonderful shift that goes between Town A and Town B. I do a number of runs in the morning and have 1 run covered by another driver, before doing a couple more in the afternoon. The driver who did my missing run had brought a couple of OAPs from Town A to a country house which is on the way into Town B. I know this as I asked him. As they alighted, they asked him where they should wait for the bus back to Town A. He told them to stand opposite and hail the driver 'so he doesn't think you're just waiting to cross the road'. All well and good.
At the time, I didn't know about this exchange and I was passing the country house heading towards Town A. I saw some people stood on the opposite side of the carriageway (a single carriageway but there's a barrier in the middle to stop people turning right from the country estate). I thought it odd that two people should be stood where they were as I was the next bus in that direction in a little under 2 hours.
As I was passing at 50mph (legal limit for my road) I saw the female of the couple stick her hand out from her waist. Not her arm outstretched, just her hand. It was both pitiful and laughable. And of course futile as I was headed in the opposite direction at 50mph and there was a barrier separating the carriageways so it would have taken literally 5 minutes for them to walk around. Five minutes I didn't have and five minutes my existing passengers wouldn't have wanted to be needlessly delayed while I waited for them.
I can't fathom why they thought the return to Town A, from whence they'd came, would be in the direction of the adjacent Town B - and after the driver who brought them here told me what he'd told them, how can you convey people like this when they can't even understand a very straightforward instruction.
Yes, yes, I'll be old one day, but when I'd told to stand opposite and outstretch my arm, I'll, er, stand opposite and outstretch my arm.
Common Sense Solution: Precisely what happened. Sometimes it is simply unsafe to stop. Passengers do not research their journey by bus in the same manner that they would by train and certainly by plane. Buses benefit from being the ultimate in turn-up-and-go public transport, but then suffer from the associated arrogance and ignorance when people become blahzay.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
The Waver
I was 7 minutes late today on a service where a bus operates every 2 hours. It is unusual to be late on this journey as the timings are very slack, but I managed it, sadly. On a street with a bus stop at the start and the end, and a 0.25-mile gap in between, a female Oriental was walking down it, about mid-way. She was on the phone. She had what I describe as a token glance over her shoulder and saw me approaching from behind. She flung out her arm, yet the phone remained glued to her ear.
My foot remained glued to the accelerator pedal.
One of two things would have happened, had I stopped for her. Most likely is that she didn't want my bus, but the more frequent service that ran down this street (every 30 minutes), in which case it would have been a wasted stop. Least likely, but possible, is that she would have calmly boarded, still on her phone, and asked for a ticket to my destination, completely oblivious how lucky she was to have caught my bus. There certainly wouldn't have been a 'thank you' or a 'phew, that was lucky'. She'd have refused to communicate with me, putting me in second place to her phone.
Common Sense Solution: Bus stops are sited where they are for a reason. At 7 minutes late and with many years experience of situations like this, I know that for once I did the right thing.
My foot remained glued to the accelerator pedal.
One of two things would have happened, had I stopped for her. Most likely is that she didn't want my bus, but the more frequent service that ran down this street (every 30 minutes), in which case it would have been a wasted stop. Least likely, but possible, is that she would have calmly boarded, still on her phone, and asked for a ticket to my destination, completely oblivious how lucky she was to have caught my bus. There certainly wouldn't have been a 'thank you' or a 'phew, that was lucky'. She'd have refused to communicate with me, putting me in second place to her phone.
Common Sense Solution: Bus stops are sited where they are for a reason. At 7 minutes late and with many years experience of situations like this, I know that for once I did the right thing.
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