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foxy 1 wrote:
I have seen this take just over 2 minutes, although no doubt can be
done
much quicker.

Some drivers take longer because they like to have a chit chat as
they
probably havent seen each other for days.


There was no chit-chat - the new driver was casualy walking up the
street, cigarette in mouth after the old driver had left. It didn't
take too long to 'log on' and fill in his paperwork once he got on the
bus (about 5 minutes) but then he started adjusting the steering wheel
console, etc.

Not supprisingly most people at the bus stop were moaning about
travelling by bus being "so inefficient" but still said thanks to the
driver when leaving !?

Most bus passengers are a miserable bunch. They whine and moan about
everything and anything, particularly if there is a delay of any sort. Coach
passengers on the other hand tend to be different and don't seem to mind
late running. As a for instance, I used to drive route 24 which had a 5
minute headway in the daytime. One particular morning the bus in front was
'missing' (either broken down in the garage or no driver available for it)
so the gap was increased to 10 minutes. It was around 8am, the morning peak
and I filled rapidly and the bus behind caught me up. The whining and
bitching and complaining at each stop as I picked up was unreal. "we've been
waiting 15 minutes for a bus and then 2 come at once etc" - I knew it had
been 10 mins since the last one went, I watched it leave. I also knew a bus
was missing and wasnt allowed to leave early. And I also knew I'd lose time
because of it.

Nowadays I work a National Express coach into London and I'm frequently late
due to traffic and sometimes due to people having lots of luggage and a
tight timetable. But unlike with buses, first use check of the vehicle can
take up to 15 minutes. Once I started a journey almost 15 minutes down
because of a toilet problem which needed fixing. I didn't get a murmour of
complaint from my passengers, some of whom had been waiting at the stop for
30 mins. They were just glad I had come at all!