Using phones or laptops behind the driver on Bus Éireann

Lapin

I am currently on a Route 20X service towards Dublin Airport that has just departed Galway 15 minutes late.

I was seated in the front seat directly behind the driver. Just before he pulled out of the parking bay he came up to me and told me I had to move back a few seats as laptops and phones are not allowed to be used in the front of the bus.

This is news to me as I get this bus almost every day and have never heard of this rule before. I obliged without fuss as there was plenty of empty seats but chose not to ask for an explaination as we were already behind schedule.

The driver didn't turn up until 19.45 for a 19.30 scheduled departure in this case but one of the reasons for regular late departures from Galway is the drivers insistance that passangers must have a ticket before boarding, thus forcing passengers back into the station to queue up to use a ticket machine. I can't understand the logic behind this when less than two miles out the road they readily issue tickets for cash at the first stop and all other subsuquent stops.

foggy_lad

Lapin wrote: »

I am currently on a Route 20X service towards Dublin Airport that has just departed Galway 15 minutes late.

I was seated in the front seat directly behind the driver. Just before he pulled out of the parking bay he came up to me and told me I had to move back a few seats as laptops and phones are not allowed to be used in the front of the bus.

This is news to me as I get this bus almost every day and have never heard of this rule before. I obliged without fuss as there was plenty of empty seats but chose not to ask for an explaination as we were already behind schedule.

The driver didn't turn up until 19.45 for a 19.30 scheduled departure in this case but one of the reasons for regular late departures from Galway is the drivers insistance that passangers must have a ticket before boarding, thus forcing passengers back into the station to queue up to use a ticket machine. I can't understand the logic behind this when less than two miles out the road they readily issue tickets for cash at the first stop and all other subsuquent stops.

Firstly this is not limited to Bus Eireann.

Phones can be very distracting for most drivers, no matter how good they are at blocking the one sided conversations out it does affect concentration( and many people are just plain ignorant when using their phones on public transport). I don't see how a laptop could be the same unless people are watching movies etc and don't use headphones.

Some drivers might also not like the idea of having passengers with camera phones so close if they were to answer their own phone during the journey or as happens on longer journeys lose concentration and allow the bus to veer onto the hard shoulder or into lane 2.

Miaireland

I had heard of not using mobile phones or having loud conversations within the first few rows of the bus but hadn't heard about laptops. Maybe the driver could find the glare from the screen distracting when checking mirrors?

Richard Hillman

Maybe if the bus broke quickly there would be a risk that the laptop my fly over and hit him in the head.

cbl593h

Snipped..........

foggy_lad wrote: »

Some drivers might also not like the idea of having passengers with camera phones so close if they were to answer their own phone during the journey or as happens on longer journeys lose concentration and allow the bus to veer onto the hard shoulder or into lane 2.

I remember catching out a BÉ driver on a cross channel trip years ago. He made a speech threatening (and it actually sounded threatening) declaring all kinds of damnation like being thrown off at the side of the motorway(!), abandoned at the services, luggage impounded etc should anyone smoke on the bus.

He smoked the whole way himself. Thankfully I had had good dealings with the DM of the time- who was quite shrewd. He didn't drive the run, which was a lucrative job ever again...........:rolleyes:

Lapin

foggy_lad wrote: »

Firstly this is not limited to Bus Eireann.

Phones can be very distracting for most drivers, no matter how good they are at blocking the one sided conversations out it does affect concentration( and many people are just plain ignorant when using their phones on public transport).

I can see how phones can be distracting and fully agree about some passengers lack of consideration for others when using them.

But im my case I wasn't using a phone. Just the laptop with headphones plugged in to it. I think he just said laptops and phones to re-enforce his request.

Miaireland wrote: »

Maybe the driver could find the glare from the screen distracting when checking mirrors?

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Maybe if the bus broke quickly there would be a risk that the laptop my fly over and hit him in the head.

There is a screen between the driver and the seat behind him that would prevent either from happenning.

ciano1

They're annoyed by passengers talking on their phones but will happily chat away on their own phones when driving the bus...

micraX

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Maybe if the bus broke quickly there would be a risk that the laptop my fly over and hit him in the head.

Braked?

Going Forward

Or he's just afraid he'll end up on Youtube!

Going Forward

Or he's just afraid he'll end up on Youtube!

Going Forward

Or he's just afraid he'll end up on Youtube!

cdebru

At a guess I would say it is glare, particularly when you get out into areas with no street lights the reflection onto the windscreen could be very distracting/annoying.

My guess is it is safe to assume it is not just to annoy you.

Lapin

cdebru wrote: »

At a guess I would say it is glare, particularly when you get out into areas with no street lights the reflection onto the windscreen could be very distracting/annoying.

My guess is it is safe to assume it is not just to annoy you.

It didn't annoy me and I never suggested that was his motive.

I'm just curious and thought I might get an informative response here.

But thanks for all your guesswork.




<< Makes mental note to rule out cdebru as potential 'phone a friend' option>>

gbob

Lapin wrote: »

I am currently on a Route 20X service towards Dublin Airport that has just departed Galway 15 minutes late.

I was seated in the front seat directly behind the driver. Just before he pulled out of the parking bay he came up to me and told me I had to move back a few seats as laptops and phones are not allowed to be used in the front of the bus.

This is news to me as I get this bus almost every day and have never heard of this rule before. I obliged without fuss as there was plenty of empty seats but chose not to ask for an explaination as we were already behind schedule.

The driver didn't turn up until 19.45 for a 19.30 scheduled departure in this case but one of the reasons for regular late departures from Galway is the drivers insistance that passangers must have a ticket before boarding, thus forcing passengers back into the station to queue up to use a ticket machine. I can't understand the logic behind this when less than two miles out the road they readily issue tickets for cash at the first stop and all other subsuquent stops.

Passengers boarding at a station must have tickets purchased before boarding, this is because the driver is only paid and on duty for 10 mins prior to departure time and to be faced with up to 50 people waving 50 euro notes would be a massive inconvenience for all.

The use of personal electronic devices may be used on BE services as long as their use is kept discreet, I would have no problem with a laptop or phone being used right behind me as long as i'm not distracted by it, I have had people sit in the front seat and be on the phone for a full 4 hour journey and not be distracted because they speak so low as to be almost completely inaudible. And i've told people sitting on the very back seat to turn phones off because they are a distraction to me or an annoyance to others.

Having said all that, in this case the driver probably asked you to move down the bus because he assumed you may become a distraction.

Going Forward

cdebru wrote: »

At a guess I would say it is glare, particularly when you get out into areas with no street lights the reflection onto the windscreen could be very distracting/annoying.

My guess is it is safe to assume it is not just to annoy you.

Standing in front of a mirror looking at your phone, you can actually see the reflection of the screen in the mirror?

Wow!

Going Forward

Lapin

gbob wrote: »

Passengers boarding at a station must have tickets purchased before boarding, this is because the driver is only paid and on duty for 10 mins prior to departure time and to be faced with up to 50 people waving 50 euro notes would be a massive inconvenience for all.

Now that makes sense.

Thanks for clearing it up as it was something that has been bugging me for a while.

Having said that, do drivers not have the discretion on whether to issue a ticket on board?

I have seen people been directed to the ticket office just before the departure time even though they have the correct change for the fare, (including myself once). On a few occasions the bus departed without them.

Lapin

For what its worth I've been on a bus for the last hour working (and dossing) away on the laptop - Sitting up front behind the skipper.

gbob

Lapin wrote: »

Now that makes sense.

Thanks for clearing it up as it was something that has been bugging me for a while.

Having said that, do drivers not have the discretion on whether to issue a ticket on board?

I have seen people been directed to the ticket office just before the departure time even though they have the correct change for the fare, (including myself once). On a few occasions the bus departed without them.

Yes, it's discretionary. But to issue the ticket would imply they are required to issue it, and that encourages them and others to not bother pre-purchasing and potentially leading to the previous mentioned scenario.

There are days when it's not busy and i'll issue tickets and then on a busy day i'll announce prior to boarding that tickets must be bought at the ticket office, does that cause confusion to those that have been previously sold a ticket on board? of course it does and that's why it's probably better to stick to the hard and fast rule of pre-purchase.

FourFourRED

Lapin wrote: »

The reasons for regular late departures from Galway is the drivers insistance that passangers must have a ticket before boarding, thus forcing passengers back into the station to queue up to use a ticket machine. I can't understand the logic behind this when less than two miles out the road they readily issue tickets for cash at the first stop and all other subsuquent stops.

This annoys me too. I tried using my iPhone to get my 10 journey ticket on the bus from Killarney to Cork. Handed the driver the phone (to which he needed the MAC number to print out the ticket) and he said to me "I don't know what that is". Sent me back to the station to get the ticket printed and lost my place in the line.

Why introduce something if your staff don't even know what it's about or how to apply it?

Bus Éireann are pleased to announce that from 26 January 2014, customers will be able to use their mobile device to display their e-tickets. No more last minute dashes to printers, no more worries about empty ink cartridges and paper trays, all you need now to board our coaches, is the phone in your pocket.
It’s just a small part of our ongoing process to improve every journey you take with us.

http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=369


The same driver did the same to people who had physical print outs of their tickets. From what I've seen, it's a very simple process. Punch in the MAC number, choose the type of ticket and it prints out same as a person buying one on the bus.

Anyone looking to purchase a ticket on the bus is also told go back into the station but the next stop 10 minutes away, it is no hassle for them to accept payment.

Seems to be a combination of laziness/lack of training on the whole situation.

cdebru

Going Forward wrote: »

Standing in front of a mirror looking at your phone, you can actually see the reflection of the screen in the mirror?

Wow!

do it in the dark and see if the light from your phone/laptop doesn't reflect onto the mirror, If you read the OP you would have noticed this was at night.

Wow

foggy_lad

cdebru wrote: »

At a guess I would say it is glare, particularly when you get out into areas with no street lights the reflection onto the windscreen could be very distracting/annoying.

My guess is it is safe to assume it is not just to annoy you.

I would have thought glare would only be an issue with rear facing seats as the screens and light from screens will be facing towards the rear under normal conditions, also most buses have a partition behind the driver to counteract any glare.

Going Forward

cdebru wrote: »

do it in the dark and see if the light from your phone/laptop doesn't reflect onto the mirror, If you read the OP you would have noticed this was at night.

Wow

It wont be that dark FGS.

The real reason is that the electronic devices can cause interference with the vehicle's internal on board computer systems.

cdebru

Going Forward wrote: »

It wont be that dark FGS.

s.

How long are you driving that route for Bus Eireann ?

Lapin

Going Forward wrote: »

It wont be that dark FGS.

It was 19.45 yesterday evening. Its as dark at that time as it is at midnight at this time of year.




But I still dont accept that the glare from the screen of my laptop could have affected the driver.

As I said, I said earlier, I was seated directly behind him seperated by a screen which was covered by a curtain.

Had I been sitting up front on the left hand side it's possible that the glare might have caught his peripheral vision.
I think this is the reason the overhead lights up front can't be turned on in some buses.

Going Forward wrote: »

The real reason is that the electronic devices can cause interference with the vehicle's internal on board computer systems.

I'm not buying this for a second.

sdanseo

foggy_lad wrote: »

Phones can be very distracting for most drivers, no matter how good they are at blocking the one sided conversations out it does affect concentration( and many people are just plain ignorant when using their phones on public transport). I don't see how a laptop could be the same unless people are watching movies etc and don't use headphones.

Good reason.

foggy_lad wrote: »

Some drivers might also not like the idea of having passengers with camera phones so close if they were to answer their own phone during the journey or as happens on longer journeys lose concentration and allow the bus to veer onto the hard shoulder or into lane 2.

Not a bad reason, but simply not a reason at all. If the bus veers slightly left it's bad driving regardless, but not normally concerning because that's what the vibraline is for. If it veers right, cats eyes.

L1011

Going Forward wrote: »

It wont be that dark FGS.

The real reason is that the electronic devices can cause interference with the vehicle's internal on board computer systems.

No, they can't.

stoneill

Look - if the driver asks you to turn off your phone/tablet/laptop whatever, just do as you are asked.

cdebru

stoneill wrote: »

Look - if the driver asks you to turn off your phone/tablet/laptop whatever, just do as you are asked.

The OP wasn't asked to turn it off just to sit a few seats back.

cdebru

Lapin wrote: »

It didn't annoy me and I never suggested that was his motive.

I'm just curious and thought I might get an informative response here.

But thanks for all your guesswork.




<< Makes mental note to rule out cdebru as potential 'phone a friend' option>>

If you want a definitive answer, then you should have asked the driver in question anything posted here is going to be guesswork unless the driver pops along.

If he only asked you to move back a few seats then it seems to me distraction either from the light or audio is the most likely explanation.

cdebru

Lapin wrote: »

It was 19.45 yesterday evening. Its as dark at that time as it is at midnight at this time of year.




But I still dont accept that the glare from the screen of my laptop could have affected the driver.

As I said, I said earlier, I was seated directly behind him seperated by a screen which was covered by a curtain.

Had I been sitting up front on the left hand side it's possible that the glare might have caught his peripheral vision.
I think this is the reason the overhead lights up front can't be turned on in some buses.

But you were not sitting in the drivers seat so you have no idea where the light is reflected too, could be he can see the light when he looks to his nearside mirror. Like I said you should have just asked him.

Going Forward

BE are keen to promote their 21st century image of their vehicles being mobile offices, with WI FI, electrical outlets etc.

MYOB wrote: »

No, they can't.

I know, but it's as good a reason as any of the other given here.

The driver SHOULD have had the manners/customer care skills to give a brief friendly explanation to someone who he could have inconvenienced.

Good communication skills are what makes a good driver a great driver.

If a driver cant cope with what comes with the territory, ie, passengers, they should stop driving buses and take up driving trucks.

Many drivers would be only too happy to have something so benign as a passenger sitting behind them using a phone quietly.

It's the ones who head down to the very back who usually cause bother.

L1011

Going Forward wrote: »

I know, but it's as good a reason as any of the other given here.

So why did you say it in the first place?

Lapin

cdebru wrote: »

If you want a definitive answer, then you should have asked the driver in question.....

cdebru wrote: »

Like I said you should have just asked him.

Like I said in my original post

Lapin wrote: »

I chose not to ask for an explaination as we were already behind schedule.

The driver didn't turn up until 19.45 for a 19.30 scheduled departure.....

This approach would have made all the difference.

Going Forward wrote: »

The driver SHOULD have had the manners/customer care skills to give a brief friendly explanation to someone who he could have inconvenienced.

Good communication skills are what makes a good driver a great driver.

I don't want to turn this into a driver bashing thread but the driver in question the other evening wasn't the most friendly or mannerly type.

With a brief explaination and the word 'please' when he asked me to move, this thread wouldn't exist.

cdebru

Lapin wrote: »

Like I said in my original post





This approach would have made all the difference.



I don't want to turn this into a driver bashing thread but the driver in question the other evening wasn't the most friendly or mannerly type.

With a brief explaination and the word 'please' when he asked me to move, this thread wouldn't exist.

And maybe the driver chose not to get into a discussion because the bus was already behind schedule.

If it bothered me enough to start a thread about it, I would have politely asked what the issue was.

Going Forward

cdebru wrote: »

And maybe the driver chose not to get into a discussion because the bus was already behind schedule.

If it bothered me enough to start a thread about it, I would have politely asked what the issue was.

Going on the information given in the thread about the driver initially turning up late, not being particularly mannerly or friendly then asking the OP to move seats with no explanation, do think there was any room for improvement in the driver's approach to customer care?

cdebru

Going Forward wrote: »

Going on the information given in the thread about the driver initially turning up late, not being particularly mannerly or friendly then asking the OP to move seats with no explanation, do think there was any room for improvement in the driver's approach to customer care?

I wouldn't presume the 15 minute delay was the drivers fault, but again ask BE for an explanation.
He was asked to move seats as he was using a laptop the driver said that was not allowed in the first seats if the op needs further clarification ask the driver or BE.

I wasn't there so I have no idea what his customer care skills are like maybe he does or maybe the OP is making a mountain out of a molehill who knows. I do know I don't just take everything written here as gospel.

Going Forward

cdebru wrote: »

I wouldn't presume the 15 minute delay was the drivers fault, but again ask BE for an explanation.
He was asked to move seats as he was using a laptop the driver said that was not allowed in the first seats if the op needs further clarification ask the driver or BE.

I wasn't there so I have no idea what his customer care skills are like maybe he does or maybe the OP is making a mountain out of a molehill who knows. I do know I don't just take everything written here as gospel.

Are you suggesting that the OP is being untruthful or somehow mistaken about the episode?

You're saying you didn't personally witness the episode so you can't comment on the driver.

Bit late in the thread for that excuse.

cdebru

Going Forward wrote: »

Are you suggesting that the OP is being untruthful or somehow mistaken about the episode?

You're saying you didn't personally witness the episode so you can't comment on the driver.

Bit late in the thread for that excuse.

Where have I commented on the driver ? I leave that to the likes of you.

As for the rest there are at least two sides to every story all you have here is one perspective, personally I think it is much ado about nothing from what I read here.

Going Forward

cdebru wrote: »

Where have I commented on the driver ? I leave that to the likes of you.

As for the rest there are at least two sides to every story all you have here is one perspective, personally I think it is much ado about nothing from what I read here.

That's a cop out.

You're not only sitting on the fence regarding the driver, you're now also questioning the OP's bonafides.

Transfer this to a role play situation at a driver training exercise.

Regardless of whether it's a real or hypothetical situation, how would you score the driver on this episode?

Faultless? Could do better? Poor?

One answer will suffice.

cdebru

Going Forward wrote: »

That's a cop out.

You're not only sitting on the fence regarding the driver, you're now also questioning the OP's bonafides.

Transfer this to a role play situation at a driver training exercise.

Regardless of whether it's a real or hypothetical situation, how would you score the driver on this episode?

Faultless? Could do better? Poor?

One answer will suffice.

You fire away and believe whatever you want that's your choice. I have no desire to act as judge and jury on it. I wasn't there either were you but you are happy to jump to conclusions like the driver was late even though you have no evidence to support that. You have also determined that the driver is unsuitable to drive buses based on an anonymous online account of a minor incident.

This is not some hypothetical situation this is a real person easily identifiable from the OP to his employer, colleagues friends family and customers. Boards

foggy_lad

Just to add to this that the main reason for late departures on route 20/X20 is because drivers are regularly late arriving into Busáras from Galway and are then legally obliged to take a break, They will then be late starting the return journey! Because of the tight turnaround times and fictional, unrealistic timetable on the 20/X20 very few journeys are completed within the allotted time.

Going Forward

cdebru wrote: »

You fire away and believe whatever you want that's your choice. I have no desire to act as judge and jury on it. I wasn't there either were you but you are happy to jump to conclusions like the driver was late even though you have no evidence to support that. You have also determined that the driver is unsuitable to drive buses based on an anonymous online account of a minor incident.

This is not some hypothetical situation this is a real person easily identifiable from the OP to his employer, colleagues friends family and customers. Boards

You've made a very good point there.

Boards regularly carries threads with details such as "the woman who works at ___" or "the driver on___" etc, and it can be easy to forget that they are real people.

gbob

foggy_lad wrote: »

Just to add to this that the main reason for late departures on route 20/X20 is because drivers are regularly late arriving into Busáras from Galway and are then legally obliged to take a break, They will then be late starting the return journey! Because of the tight turnaround times and fictional, unrealistic timetable on the 20/X20 very few journeys are completed within the allotted time.

For once foggy i'll agree completely with you.