Why are bus drivers so mean?

shltter

GreeBo wrote:

Privatisation. Competition. More than one company operating along the same routes.
Thats what we need.

yes because that was a huge success where it has been tried :rolleyes:

GreeBo

shltter wrote:

yes because that was a huge success where it has been tried :rolleyes:

All of the Circleline buses that pass me are full of happy smiling passengers.
What are you basing your response on?

shltter

RuggieBear wrote:

well as i can figure it.....he didn't open it as his union has not allowed him too....as a consequence, the rear doors are no longer maintained properly causing the chance that the bus might stall or something, if it were to be opened......

****ing madness

the Union has not stopped him doing anything

the failure to provide adequate bus stops and to police bus stops to prevent people parking or placing skips in bus stops has meant the use of the centre doors could not be properly introduced for passenger safety reasons

shltter

GreeBo wrote:

All of the Circleline buses that pass me are full of happy smiling passengers.
What are you basing your response on?

the UK

BuffyBot

More than one company operating along the same routes.
Thats what we need.

Yes, that's a fantastic idea...why would you have two operators running one route?

All of the Circleline buses that pass me are full of happy smiling passengers.

Does any operator run busses along the Circleline routes?

John R

GreeBo wrote:

All of the Circleline buses that pass me are full of happy smiling passengers.
What are you basing your response on?

Ever tried to get a circle line bus in the opposite direction to peak travel? Or early mornings/afternoons/evenings. Or any time on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays? If so you wouldn't be so happy.

It is terribly easy to provide a great service for a small group of peak time commuters, running a complete network is a different thing altogether and crucially is not nearly as profitable.

shltter

GreeBo wrote:

All of the Circleline buses that pass me are full of happy smiling passengers.
What are you basing your response on?

a monday to friday service

last bus is 18:30 that is what you think we need

I believe it is called cherry picking and if services like that are allowed to continue it will spell disaster for public transport

Propellerhead

shltter wrote:

the Union has not stopped him doing anything

the failure to provide adequate bus stops and to police bus stops to prevent people parking or placing skips in bus stops has meant the use of the centre doors could not be properly introduced for passenger safety reasons

I never fail to be mystified about this. Here we are, muppets reinventing the wheel as usual. I've lived in London on and off for years, watched how arguably harder men than in Dublin don't make a habit of skiving on the back doors and how the new artics work on the intensive routes by a combination of prepaid tickets, ticket machines and using all the doors on the buses for both entry and exit, and now that I'm back in Dublin DB/BAC solves the ancient standoff of the Centre Doors by getting buses that are harder to get in and out of than the ones they replaced, if they had been properly used in the first place.

Could someone with responsibility for transport policy in Dublin simply fly to London for a weekend and get an Oyster Card, to see how integrated transport works with both private and public enterprise? Dublin's transport has to be run first and foremost for the benefit of the people using it. Efficient Public transport is popular, well used and not abused. It's a win-win for everyone, workers included.

Most bus stops that I've seen between Celbridge and Dublin have slipform kerbing and many have proper shelters. I can say hand on heart that I have not seen either skips or illegal parking since I returned in March. I'm sure it exists however.

To put a later question slightly differently, if DB/BAC is so wonderful, howcome Mortons get customers?

RuggieBear

privatisation would need to be very carefully implemented if it were to work. In Liverpool, all that's happened is the prices have gone up, the number of buses per route reduced and the number of routes curtailed. Though i believe this is a UK wide experience too.

In fact, the local councils have to heavily subsidise the privatised bus companies on some of the routes just to ensure some of the outlying areas are served. So in effect, the local tax payer is paying twice to have an even worse service at a higher price.

Dublin Bus fares are a fraction of what i've paid for equivalent distances/time in Liverpool. Liverpool buses are at least 50% more than in Dublin.

On the otherhand...they do handle cash and are always very friendly in my experience

luckat

Interesting how there seems to be an assumption that people would "fiddle" their fares if they got a chance. Irish people seem to have a particularly distrustful attitude towards each other.

There *was* a competitive system long ago, by the way. It was stopped because there were some accidents when buses *raced* each other to stops to grab passengers!

Trojan

shltter wrote:

it is also illegal

I'm a cycle commuter.

I need to pick and choose which laws I'm going to obey in order to survive on a day to day basis.

RuggieBear

Trojan wrote:

I'm a cycle commuter.

I need to pick and choose which laws I'm going to obey in order to survive on a day to day basis.

ever have any problems with a bus(driver)?

Trojan

Actually, when I turned right into SuperValu, heading north on the Howth Rd, just at Killester, the bus driver behind me blasted me out of it with his horn. I spent 5 seconds trying to find the middle finger on my left hand to raise it at him, waving excitedly at the back of the bus, and he pulled up in the middle of the road.

I pulled alongside the window of the bus, shouting at him that I had every right to use the road just like he did. He politely asked me to make my turn signals more clearly, and I sheepishly apologised. I was in the wrong, I had swung out with minimal signal, thinking the road was clear behind, having missed the bus in my quick glance around (how? I don't know!).

So my experience with buses has been fine - my major problems are with private drivers who overtake me on the right when I'm beside the centre line turning right (and they even have room on the left to undertake!).

Victor

Propellerhead wrote:

To put a later question slightly differently, if DB/BAC is so wonderful, howcome Mortons get customers?

The Department of Transport are giving private operators preferential treatment.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

shltter

Propellerhead wrote:

I never fail to be mystified about this. Here we are, muppets reinventing the wheel as usual. I've lived in London on and off for years, watched how arguably harder men than in Dublin don't make a habit of skiving on the back doors and how the new artics work on the intensive routes by a combination of prepaid tickets, ticket machines and using all the doors on the buses for both entry and exit, and now that I'm back in Dublin DB/BAC solves the ancient standoff of the Centre Doors by getting buses that are harder to get in and out of than the ones they replaced, if they had been properly used in the first place.

Could someone with responsibility for transport policy in Dublin simply fly to London for a weekend and get an Oyster Card, to see how integrated transport works with both private and public enterprise? Dublin's transport has to be run first and foremost for the benefit of the people using it. Efficient Public transport is popular, well used and not abused. It's a win-win for everyone, workers included.
?

where is the win win for Bus drivers in london

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2327743.stm

Propellerhead wrote:

Most bus stops that I've seen between Celbridge and Dublin have slipform kerbing and many have proper shelters. I can say hand on heart that I have not seen either skips or illegal parking since I returned in March. I'm sure it exists however.?

most is not good enough all bus stops have to be up to standard besides which the installation of these bus stops started how many years after they tried to introduce the use of the centre doors common sense would have ben to upgrade the bus stops first

BTW those stops are being upgraded to accommodate the new low floor buses

as for the illegal parking it goes on everyday all over the city whilst the city centre is policed a bit better now out in the suburbs the same stops are blocked everyday and complaints to the gardai are like talking to a wall

Propellerhead wrote:

To put a later question slightly differently, if DB/BAC is so wonderful, howcome Mortons get customers?

I hardly expect people to stand waiting for a bus service that DB is not allowed to provide
people have to use whatever public transport is available

shltter

Trojan wrote:

I'm a cycle commuter.

I need to pick and choose which laws I'm going to obey in order to survive on a day to day basis.

well if you are a cycle commuter you would hardly need to open the centre doors would you??

GreeBo

shltter wrote:

well if you are a cycle commuter you would hardly need to open the centre doors would you??

Nah, as a cyclist I wait behind buses, ready to pounce on passengers attempting to alight from the bus.
Muah ha ha ha

Question, why do bus drivers overtake bikes to immediately pull in at the bus stop in front of the bike?
Is there a logical reason to this that I just dont get or are they all just fuctards?

Kingsize

In the past 15 years there have been at least 2 failed campaigns (with radio /tv/newspaper ads etc) by Dublin bus to try & get passengers to use the centre doors to alight.

blorg

GreeBo wrote:

Question, why do bus drivers overtake bikes to immediately pull in at the bus stop in front of the bike? Is there a logical reason to this that I just dont get or are they all just fuctards?

I believe they just don't think about it, I don't reckon they are actively trying to be 'fuctards.' Similarly with people who overtake and immediately turn left, people parking in the cycle lanes, etc; I don't belive most are actively trying to piss off/injure, for many road users cyclists just don't enter into their heads as legitimate road users at all.

daymobrew

GreeBo wrote:

Question, why do bus drivers overtake bikes to immediately pull in at the bus stop in front of the bike?
Is there a logical reason to this that I just dont get or are they all just fuctards?

As a cyclist I've had positive some experiences on Navan Road wrt this behaviour - I've had bus drivers slow down to let me go beyond the stop before they pulled in.
I wrote to Dublin Bus to thank the drivers for this behaviour. My cycling speed probably helps - I am always going as fast as I can (22-27 mph, depending on wind) and I will accelerate when I see a bus in my side mirror.

gobdaw

Kingsize wrote:

In the past 15 years there have been at least 2 failed campaigns (with radio /tv/newspaper ads etc) by Dublin bus to try & get passengers to use the centre doors to alight.

Now you tell me!! As far as I am concerned, they were totally useless as I was blissfully unaware of the existance of these campaigns.
Were drivers aware of them?
How were passangers refusing to use the centre doors (any time I have been on a bus with the option to exit via the centre doors passangers used the option)
How does health&safety work (as discussed earlier in the thread)
How does this affect the busses stalling due to the doors not closing?

But I see that the public are at fault and not DB. Funny enough, if it were a private company and a policy failed, it would not be blaming the customers for that failure! Maybe public companies, owned by the customers, could take a lead here from private industry.

blorg

daymobrew wrote:

As a cyclist I've had positive some experiences on Navan Road wrt this behaviour - I've had bus drivers slow down to let me go beyond the stop before they pulled in.

Ditto with me, I don't think _most_ bus drivers overtake and then stop immediately, just as _most_ motorists don't overtake and immediately turn left. It's just that the minority that _do_ are much more noticable to us!

shltter

GreeBo wrote:

Nah, as a cyclist I wait behind buses, ready to pounce on passengers attempting to alight from the bus.
Muah ha ha ha

Question, why do bus drivers overtake bikes to immediately pull in at the bus stop in front of the bike?
Is there a logical reason to this that I just dont get or are they all just fuctards?

you obviously have some kind of bias against bus drivers or more particularly DB bus drivers

you have jumped from one topic to the next never able to argue anything you raise as soon as people explain anything to you its on to the next bitch and moan

My experience would be in general Bus drivers having undergone more training than most motorists are more aware of cyclists
Of course there are arseholes who do stupid things but they exist in all walks of live as you will realise as you grow up

RuggieBear

You wanna edit out that sentence....personal abuse will possibly get you a ban....

shltter

RuggieBear wrote:

You wanna edit out that sentence....personal abuse will possibly get you a ban....

point taken ruggie probably too late to remove it at this stage

just sick of this constant bitching and moaning

besides which given that bus drivers are posting here statements about them all being ****tards is personal abuse imo

RuggieBear

perhaps but nobody has explicitly stated that they are a Bus driver....tbh tis not my call what counts a personal abuse...Victor is the boss.

shltter

RuggieBear wrote:

perhaps but nobody has explicitly stated that they are a Bus driver....tbh tis not my call what counts a personal abuse...Victor is the boss.

yeah but i did not explicitly say who the fuctard was either

RuggieBear

shltter wrote:

yeah but i did not explicitly say who the fuctard was either

ah.... but a quote is a big giveaway....

Victor

I've noticed the "overtake and pull in tactic" from time to time and I suspect its generally out of frustration at a cyclist who is unaware of their surroundings and don't clear a route to the bus stop for the bus driver.