Bus Eireann driver (should he stop where I'm standing..)

BuzzFish

Well folks,

I'm getting a lot of grief from one particular Bus Eireann driver on route 126 over a stop I use in Naas to get the bus to town every morning. Basically he says the point on the road is not a stop. 1km up and 1km back the road there is a stop pole on each side of the road but at this place where I stand, there is only a pole on the opposite side.

I have always believed that in places like this you could take it that the bus would still stop. Not one of the other drivers have ever mentioned any problem to me, but this guy (on Tuesday morning) told me that we will drive past me in future. The same driver refuses to go to the docklands which is the stop I go to every day. Again, the other drivers have never even hinted at having an issue with this.

So what are your thoughts? Am I right to take this on or am I wasting my time. I have already called Busaras 3 times and although promised, I have not had one callback. The fact that different drivers on the same route work to different rules is frustrating. I just want to get to work and considering I pay €153 to Bus Eireann a month I don't thing I should have to worry whether the bus is going to pass me at 6:25am in the morning.

Also, has anyone else use this stop and had an issue?

StreetView of stop

ronaneire

This is what bus stops are for, stopping to drop off and pick up passengers. I agree with the driver. Bus stops are also put in places where people get on and off buses safely. If you look from the streetview map you posted there road is wider so buses can pull in safely.

Can you not walk to either of the two stops you have mentioned?

BuzzFish

ronaneire wrote: »

This is what bus stops are for, stopping to drop off and pick up passengers. I agree with the driver. Bus stops are also put in places where people get on and off buses safely. If you look from the streetview map you posted there road is wider so buses can pull in safely.

Can you not walk to either of the two stops you have mentioned?

So why would they put a stop on one side and not the other? Do people usually get on a bus in one place and get off 1km down the road on their return journey?

I'd understand if the offset was 100meters but it seems obvious to me that the pole was left from the other side as tree's are in the way and the path is too narrow to put one there. BTW the road is straight here so no danger to pull in on either side.

BuzzFish

ronaneire wrote: »

Can you not walk to either of the two stops you have mentioned?

Of course I can but I would like some consistency from Bus Eireann.

L1011

Its not uncommon for a bus stop be single-sided. Bus driver is entirely in the right.

Johner

The bus driver is in the right. It is dangerous for him to stop and pick you up. As you can clearly see on the other side there is a place for bus to pull in which isn't the case on the side you wish to get picked up on. You have no case.

emanresu

BuzzFish wrote: »

..... but it seems obvious to me that the pole was left from the other side as tree's are in the way and the path is too narrow to put one there. .....

You're mistaken if you think that's the reason that there's no bus stop pole, because there was no problem erecting a pole for the speed limit sign.

foggy_lad

Try contacting Bus Eireann by email or in writing, they may take it more seriously. There may be a stop there but the pole has been knocked down by a car or lorry or as stated it may not be possible to locate a stop there?

I myself would think the stop would not be places so close to the junction especially as the road has just opened up into two lanes but here http://g.co/maps/aafwx would be a better place for a stop but at peak times it may cause unneccessary congestion?

Niles

Staggered bus stops are not unknown, in Arklow the main north and southbound stops are in different locations (their original location opposite each other was not great from a traffic perspective, the street being too narrow to accommodate buses pulling in without holding up traffic). People there seem to get along ok, I suspect there are similar reasons for the staggered stops in the OP's location, judging by the photo there isn't a lot of room for the bus to pull in on the far side. Don't know about the Docklands issue, is the bus scheduled to set down there?

prettygurrly

You might want to contact the original bus station. The one the bus departs from. They seem to call the shots with routes etc. My early morning bus comes down a route its not supposed to to collect me. There is a bus stop but it's only serviced at particular times of the day (n not early morning). Heard from another bus driver that if a bus driver deviates from his route he'll get the sack if found out. I'm not happy about the bus driver who does me a favour being in this position but he was already doing this altered route before I moved to my address. So if anything were to happen to you alighting at a spot that does not have a stop such as docklands he is the one who'll get the chop.

AlekSmart

Buzzfish,In relation to the Bus Stop isue I'd recommend that you contact the local Garda Sergeant with responsibility for Traffic.

The Gardai have the final say in where Bus Stops are located and in the case of the streetview you post I can see immediate issues with the allocation of carriageway space as well as junction proximity on the approach rather than on the departure as the outbound one is.

The Driver in this case is correct and I would suggest that the other drivers you mention are doing themselves and their customers a disservice by continuing with the practice.

The Docklands issue is much clearer,if the journey is shown on the timetable as serving docklands then it goes there,full-stop...If it's the 0620 126 ex Newbridge,then it's definitely shown as terminating in Docklands.

Get your facts in order first then proceed from there !

Cookie_Monster

AlekSmart wrote: »

The Docklands issue is much clearer,if the journey is shown on the timetable as serving docklands then it goes there,full-stop...If it's the 0620 126 ex Newbridge,then it's definitely shown as terminating in Docklands.

not necessarily though Alek. For instance while the 7b timetable had all buses terminating in Shankill the depot one apparently had some of them going to Cherrywood so there was always a departure of two (I forget which) that went to Cherrywood despite the public timetable and several complaints so the internal timetable may say something different.

I'm getting a lot of grief from one particular Bus Eireann driver on route 126 over a stop I use in Naas to get the bus to town every morning. Basically he says the point on the road is not a stop. 1km up and 1km back the road there is a stop pole on each side of the road but at this place where I stand, there is only a pole on the opposite side.

for the sake of 1km or less than 10 mins walk why not simply go to one of them rather than insist drivers stop illegally for you?

I have always believed that in places like this you could take it that the bus would still stop.

why would you believe that buses stop where there's no stop

Yahew

I don't get that either- A stop on the other side of the road is for a bus going the other direction. You wouldn't wait on the wrong side of Dame or O'Connell street for a bus going South when you are going North. Same here, even if it is a narrower street.

No bus stop sign, no stop.

(in fact only in Ireland would any bus driver stop in this situation).

flazio

I know this will probably get a roll of eyes to heaven but I would take this up with a County Councillor, you presume that the OP is fit and healthy and able for the 15-20 in walk to another bus stop in the mornings, but what if they weren't? It does seem a bit silly to me that a bus can drop you near home but can't pick you up from near that area as well.
Looking at the street view I agree that the direct opposite of the bus stop is too dangerous but a few hundred metres down the road is a vacant field which could easily give up a few yards to put in a bus stop.

Cookie_Monster

flazio wrote: »

I know this will probably get a roll of eyes to heaven but I would take this up with a County Councillor, you presume that the OP is fit and healthy and able for the 15-20 in walk to another bus stop in the mornings, but what if they weren't? It does seem a bit silly to me that a bus can drop you near home but can't pick you up from near that area as well.
Looking at the street view I agree that the direct opposite of the bus stop is too dangerous but a few hundred metres down the road is a vacant field which could easily give up a few yards to put in a bus stop.

:rolleyes:

A few hundred metres down the road is another bus stop FFS

lucernarian

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

:rolleyes:

A few hundred metres down the road is another bus stop FFS

Be reasonable, there's a big difference for passengers in a 15 to 20 minute walk (i.e. 1.5 to 2km) and half that time or less. Whether it is a new bus stop on the system or not is irrelevant provided there's no significant fare difference.

For the record, on the Route 100 services which nearly always have a stop sign on one side only in the rural sections (or none at all for one stop registered on the machines just outside Drogheda) there are no problems with buses stopping across the road from that sign. This has always been the case with my local bus stop. For the main "Monasterboice" stop beside the Monasterboice Inn, only the southbound stop has a specific layby and sign yet the northbound side is used regularly also, almost directly across from the bus stop and the car park entrance.

Another stop, (Maiden's X on the bus eireann ticketing machines) has no bus stop sign in either direction. The reason they're not put up is primarily out of laziness or a need to go through planning permission etc. The only time buses wouldn't stop is when a new driver's on the route.

I suggest to the OP that s/he contact the local depot and ask what the exact situation is (and perhaps go to the local politicians to look for a bus stop provided in a safer and closer place).

I also want to remind some of the posters here that no bus stop sign =/= there being no bus stop! And until Bus Eireann clarify the situation, I don't see what grounds there are to say "Bus driver is entirely in the right" (@MYOB). His own colleagues seem to operate differently and there is no clear precedent on the situation with more outlying stops. Also, that road junction and the widening for the stop look recent. I wonder what was the previous situation there. Possibly there was a regular two-lane 7 metre road with a bus stop sign on one side or none at all? The same thing happened on the 100 route, a bus stop on one side of the road got a sign and a lay-by as part of safety improvement works around 2002 and the other side got nothing. Such as the "Monasterboice" stop.

corktina

well, we have one bus stop in our town and the next nearest one is 5 miles away . But of course the Bus stops wherever anyone sticks up there hand and as far as I know thats the official procedure

paulosham

Maybe you have a problem with a conscientious driver and the other drivers who do stop for you are just being reckless. There is one driver on the Cork/Dublin route who always tells people to wear their seat belts, which is proper, most drivers wouldn't think of it.

foggy_lad

paulosham wrote: »

Maybe you have a problem with a conscientious driver and the other drivers who do stop for you are just being reckless. There is one driver on the Cork/Dublin route who always tells people to wear their seat belts, which is proper, most drivers wouldn't think of it.

Is this a female driver by any chance? If it is the driver I am thinking of she is very safety conscious but appears to be an excellent driver. Any time I have been on a bus she was driving the journey was very comfortable as she seemed to have good control without the feeling that the bus was being thrown around the road:)

mikemac

Staggered bus stops are common and you can see there is space at the bus stop and no space on your side of the road.

The driver is taking a risk and faces suspension or the dole if you OP get injured and they have to explain to the top brass why they stopped where there is no stop

Post above about who you contact to get an additional busstop so look into that.
But with no space to pull in it's possible you won't be approved.

Victor

That location is also missing the required road markings.

lucernarian

mikemac wrote: »

Staggered bus stops are common and you can see there is space at the bus stop and no space on your side of the road.

The driver is taking a risk and faces suspension or the dole if you OP get injured and they have to explain to the top brass why they stopped where there is no stop

Post above about who you contact to get an additional busstop so look into that.
But with no space to pull in it's possible you won't be approved.

Didn't you read? There are various official Bus Eireann stops in existence where there are no bus stop signs on EITHER side of the road. It has not been confirmed officially by Bus Eireann if that is a staggered stop or if there is an equally valid (in the eyes of BE) stop on the other side of the road that happens to be unmarked.

The facts of what's going on here at this stop need to be established first.

mikemac

I did read

And if the facts aren't established yet it's not realy for you to point out if others are wrong

MyKeyG

paulosham wrote: »

Maybe you have a problem with a conscientious driver and the other drivers who do stop for you are just being reckless. There is one driver on the Cork/Dublin route who always tells people to wear their seat belts, which is proper, most drivers wouldn't think of it.

Agreed. This location http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=Ennis+co+clare&hl=en&ll=52.836281,-8.982294&spn=0.00088,0.002642&sll=-33.988934,18.432997&sspn=0.077856,0.169086&vpsrc=0&hnear=Ennis,+County+Clare&t=h&layer=c&cbll=52.836351,-8.982167&panoid=zK2Y3bq0fT4tUzUgZXPUrw&cbp=12,240.94,,0,9.32&z=19 is a couple of doors down from my house and buses always stop there even though it's:

1. A residential area
2. There's insufficient space for stopping
3. It's near a set of traffic lights
4. Ennis Bus Station is a 5 minute walk away.
and
5. It's not a bus stop!

The bus stops roughly in the space in front of the purple pick-up. It's handy for me but there are one or two Bus drivers who blatantly refuse to stop there because of any one or all five of the reasons stated. It sucks to have to walk 1km OP but I don't think you have any case here. Some drivers will stop, some won't. Ultimately they shouldn't.

The LIT bus used to pick my sister up every morning on her way to the Bus station where she was supposed to get it just out of pure kindness so she didn't have to walk. Others didn't it's just the way it is. Complaints like yours will only cause BE to tighten their regulations and ruin convenience for the rest of us.

lucernarian

mikemac wrote: »

I did read

And if the facts aren't established yet it's not realy for you to point out if others are wrong

What did I point out as wrong? All I really said was that there are official stops which do not necessarily have a bus stop sign placed there and that we need to see what Bus Eireann's official stance on that location is, first.

BuzzFish

Folks,

To to clarify a little more on this. The attached map lays out the stops along this road. My original post from streetview is perhaps not the best because you'll fail to thee the long stretch of road in the other direction where a bus could stop with no danger. Also the fact that there are dual stops at the next locations in each direction, would suggest that there should be another stop near where I get the bus.

Again, my issue is that just 1 driver (male) takes exception to stopping here. I get the bus every day to Dublin and back and never once has it been questioned. In fact last week when I asked another driver about his thoughts, he asked me to fill out a complaints form because he was upset regular passengers would be getting hassle over something like this at 6:30am.

I just want to see consistency from BE. I'll walk to the next stop no problem, but what about the other people who use this stop regularly (my older neighbours for example) missing the bus because one driver decides to stray from the norm.

And then the guy won't even finish his route. I know that the drivers on the 6:30am route from Newbridge get a break once they finish in Dublin before they do the 9am run to Belfast so this guy is just trying to sneak an extra 10 mins by screwing me over.

I have logged a complaint with BE.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossjmccarthy/6308451217/

Jehuty42

Why does his gender matter? If you had said he was black there would be a justified locking and banning as we've seen many times before. Equality for all, please.

corktina

"what does its gender matter?" surely:)

MyKeyG

Jehuty42 wrote: »

Why does his gender matter? If you had said he was black there would be a justified locking and banning as we've seen many times before. Equality for all, please.

A previous poster asked if the driver was female by means of identification not discrimination. As the only female driver on the route she's identifiable as such and known to the other poster as as sticking to rules and regulations. I presume the OP was merely confirming that this was not the case by identifying the driver as male. It might help to read all the posts first.

foggy_lad wrote: »

Is this a female driver by any chance? If it is the driver I am thinking of she is very safety conscious...

BuzzFish wrote: »

Again, my issue is that just 1 driver (male) takes exception to stopping here.

There's enough sexism, inequality and racism in the world. I wouldn't go looking for it in every nook and cranny.

Jehuty42

MyKeyG wrote: »

It might help to read all the posts first.

Yes, I should have.

foggy_lad

MyKeyG wrote: »

A previous poster asked if the driver was female by means of identification not discrimination.

My question about the driver was in answer to pauloshams post here where he says

There is one driver on the Cork/Dublin route who always tells people to wear their seat belts, which is proper, most drivers wouldn't think of it.