Ouch - where's Rob when you need him?
Driving a bus I would assume.
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Why not bring back bus conducters I say to prevent these inordinate delays on one man buses whilst they block the road taking fares instead of moving. They would also be taking care of the various drunks and nutters who can distract the drivers attention and make travelling on public transport such a pleasure.. The last time I was on a bus the guy behind spent the twenty minute journey coughing his lungs out over everyone non stop , he sounded as though he had been on 80 a day for the last 50 years - nice NOT. Thats why I drive a car.
Either that or get a decent pre pay ticketing system.That said who really wants to let a bus out and get stuck behind it at 30 mph for a couple of hundred yards and then stop again while they take on passengers.
Local to work they have spent thousands on a new 'fastway' bus system which has disrupted the area with roadworks for a couple of years but at least they are trying .They have dedicated kerbed off lanes that cars cannot enter and apparently a system to change the lights in their favour, decent shelters with tube type electronic boards etc.
I wouldn't have a bus drivers job. - Rob - I salute you.
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Sorry - Rob The Bus.
Like his occupational steed, he'll be along in a while I'm sure...
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In Australia the regular bus users (and day pass holders) have a pass similar to our Travelcards which you just poke into a machine, of which there are 2/3, it reads it then spits it back out. The bus drivers rarely have to issue tickets. In LA they have machines next to the driver that you drop the correct change into (no change given) and it issues a ticket....no more "sorry mate, have you got change for a £20?".
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Fill what's empty, empty what's full and scratch where it itches!
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It's just like that in central London except more Hi-tech. We have 'Oyster' cards which you can charge up with some money, and then you just wave them near the card reader and they let you through onto the tube, or onto the bus.
Come and try them, and be converted to public transport. Leave the car at home! [retires for cover]
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He'll probably come along with a couple of his mates and they'll post three times one after another!
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Heli that's funny.
However, in the absence of Rob the Bus for a couple of days I feel compelled to write in the defence of (some)bus drivers.
First, I do sympathise with those who have complained about rude or inconsiderate bus drivers - we've all experienced them and they are probably two a penny.
Secondly, though, I think maybe people should think about their job and the pressures that they are under. We all, in working situations, have deadlines to meet, and people pressurising us. It's no different with bus drivers. They are told that they must make a certain trip within a certain time. And, regardless of the Highway Code, I myself see on 99% (estimate) of occasions no-one willing to give way, as they should, to the bus trying to pull out in front of them. (And to be honest, Phoenicks, I haven't had the problems you've had with them pulling out without indicating etc - that is NOT a biased view!)
I am not saying for a minute that all bus drivers are perfect, far from it. But I think it is perhaps also partly borne from the majority of 'other' drivers, who cannot possibly waste a couple of minutes of their journey time waiting for the bus's next stop before they can overtake, that a lot of this attitude may have emanated.
Maybe the bus drivers are acting inconsiderably too, I don't dispute that. But they are not all like that, and maybe if other road users were a little more considerate then other bus drivers would feel more prone to acting more considerately too.
Personally I feel Rob is at times over-considerate on the roads - but I guess if every motorist did this then the world would be a happier place!
Hope this didn't offend anyone,
HF
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HF - For reasons I won't bother to explain I know a couple of guys who are bus driving instructors in London so I am aware that there are pressures & problems , ie if you want to make decent money then overtime is a must etc. Driving a bus in London and also dealing with joe public face to face is a double nightmare in my book.
Thats why I said - I salute him.
C'mon everybody - next time you're on the road let the bus go first.
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In central London the drivers don't really have to deal with the public face-to-face anymore, either they are driving the good old Routemasters where the passengers hop on and off the back (the best buses IMHO); or the new articulated long buses where you pre-buy your ticket and just jump on. I think all the buses running in central London are now all pre-pay tickets, so you don't have to delay the driver when you get on. However I've found most of the ticket machines at bus stops pretty unreliable and eat coins.
From my experience bus drivers in London are far more aggressive, and far more likely to pull out without checking its safe to do so than in other towns and cities. Though the worst incident I had was years ago near Bristol where a bus pulled out without indicating on a 50mph SC road just as I was within a couple of metres of it. I had to swerve around it, and the traffic island in the middle of the road which was adjacent the bus stop. I wasn't best pleased to say the least, and felt like stopping off at the next bus stop to poke him in the eye, but I didn't.
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If you want to develop a dislike for bus drivers then try cycling around Cambridge regularly.
Over ten years later, I can still remember many moments of utter terror while riding past a stationary bus at a bus stop only for it to pull out suddenly and sggresively while I and my little pink body are roughly level with the driver. Avoid that if you can.
There is no warning other than the sudden rise in revs as he prepares for his jack-rabbit start. Indicators? Hah. Mirrors? Don't make me laugh.
The point is that buses are larger, harder to maneuvre well than a car, and stop more often. As a result, a professional bus driver must display a higher standard of driving than the rest of us in order to maintain the necessary standard of safety for everyone
Many do, and for that reason I likewise salute them and respect their skills.
Some do not.
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I was nearly wiped-out the other day in N London by a "mirror last" merchant
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I drive buses and have to say it is the most thankless job in the world.
Yes there are bad bus drivers but then there are bad policemen, bad doctors etc. Not a day goes by without verbal abuse, threats of violence on late shifts and kamikaze kids who DELIBERATELY step out in front of me to force me to brake, of course if I hit one it would be my fault and not theirs no matter what..
Plus most of us have to work 50-60 hours a week just to earn a "living" rather than just existing on normal take home pay.
Ah I hear you ask "Why do you do it then? Why not get another job?" Unfortunately for me and most other bus drivers it is all we are trained for, plus it is a rock solid job security wise. However once the mortgage is paid off I will be straight down the job centre for a less stressful occupation (roll on 2018!)
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I'm a loser, baby....so why don't you kill me?!
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From my limited experience of bus journeys I would make a terrible bus driver. I wouldn't let half the pond life at bus-stops on my bus. I do not doubt for a minute that it is a thankless job. And as you rightly point out, bus drivers do not have the monopoly on poor driving.
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Although bus drivers sometimes wind me up for the reasons stated I am still courteous to them most of the time as I don't see it as just thjem and me-I think of it in terms of the passengers on board-I mean if there are thirty people on board, what makes my journey so much more important than theirs?, so I let them out.
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>>what makes my journey so much more important than theirs?
Something that we should all remember, not just with bus situations but in all of our driving. A very good point, well made.
HF
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Decided to reply to this as i am now off work as a bus driver having suffered my fifth assault in 20 odd years fo bus driving.
The answer is we ALL need to be more tolerant and understanding of each other.
Thanks to a taxi driver who was parked on double yellow lines blocking everyones way i am now sat at home with a broken finger and having to drink through a straw simply because he thought it was his right to do as he pleased.
When i politely asked him to move i was spat at in the face and punched to the ground because according to him he could park where he wanted.
Bus driving is now a hateful job that is why there is always a shortage, but i also dis like the attitude of some of my collegues who boast of their delight at being obnoxious.
It would be a good idea for some drivers to drive a bus then i am sure they would be more understanding.
Anyway rant over and back to the straw for a nice cup of tea.
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My sympathies, Dagwood, and I don't think I'd be alone in offering to make sure he has more than a broken finger to worry about if you just care to point him out...
I think this thread should be more aimed at taxi drivers than bus drivers - they are the ones who don't seem to give a damn about what they do. Had three on the way home tonight, two who jumped lights by about 5 years and one who decided to start reversing around a corner with me about 15 yards behind him and traffic oncoming... There is also one corner where I turn left in to it where I have had taxi drivers cutting across me hundreds of times, including one who didn't seem to notice I was there at all.
Bus drivers have a hard job dragging a big lump of metal around the roads. Even minibuses aren't exactly easy. Taxis however are much easier to drive - they are just cars after all. The drivers have no excuse.
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