David B...My only experience of the French systems are in Paris on the RATP
and slightly OT in Brussels and Charleroi a Belge.
The RATP does accept Cash-to- Driver transactions,BUT it will almost
certainly be accompanied by a Folies Bergere performance of
eye-rolling,shoulder shrugging and much heaving of the breast (and that`s
les Hommes !) before the Driver opens his little drawer and manually
produces a ticket (?1.30) which you then validate yourself.
Whilst the driver is recovering from the heebie-jeebies you then realise
that the remaining passengers were also regarding you with insouciance and
occasional rasping taunts from the older females who are ALWAYS in a huge
rush to get on and off the vehicle and in posession of razor-edged cases to
help clear a path for themselves.
I was caught out only once and now my first visit when in Paris is to a
Vending Machine to purchase a carnet (10 single tickets for 10 euro,saving 3
euro on the deal and also a lot of face)
Again however the very principle of OPO does tend to discourage any form of
questioning of the Driver,something which the WELL Conducted Routemaster can
cope with and even encourage.
Another difference in ethos concerns the Revenue Protection operation.
On 4 seperate visits to France last year I witnessed Revenue or RATP Agents
Seurete in operation on Bus and Metro and also in Nice where I saw two fare
dodgers caught red-handed and relieved of 66 euro as an alternative to
having the Police involved,an alternative which was grasped with alacrity by
the two miscreants...(The fare ??...........1 euro 60 cent...!!!!)
Contrast that to my experience of 6 seperate visits to London when the only
time my Travelcard was inspected was by Conductors on Routemaster
services.......
In addition I do feel that the entire business of Buggy access has the
capability to rebound on Bus companies as it is becoming increasingly
difficult to enforce any safe limit to the numbers of such
contrivances...(and before anybody cries foul I lay claim to the effective
stewardship of two childer..one 22 and the other 9....).
Eventually the limit will be drawn in sand following some major incident
when the Courts will be forced to impose regulations on companies who simply
regard low-floor space as a marketable wheeze to bring out "Young-Mums" and
convince them all that they will have guaranteed access to every Bus which
happens along.
I took one memorable journey in Notingham on an Optare Solo (?) which at one
stage had FOUR occupied buggies PLUS attached dangling shopping..at one
point a FIFTH buggy pushing gent actually attempted to lift his buggy over
the ones which were already blocking the gangway before being prevented from
so doing by other PASSENGERS rather than by the driver.
At the end of the journey the driver told me that he and his colleagues felt
unable to say Boo to the buggy pushers for fear of being reported and
hounded by young Graduate Management types for being uncivil to the deprived
or socially excluded in the community....
My central point is not to compare the Routemaster with ANY of the newer
modes of bus operation but to recognise how it does have a perfectly
acceptable level of performance especially in Refurbished form and as such
is capable of continued cost effective mainstream service.
But in the end Boltar is probably nearer the point as it seems a central
tenet of Administrators is to continually convince us that we need
protection from every risk such as jumping off a moving bus might
present...but then that sort of advice was once a reserved function of
Parents,Aunties,Uncles,and strict Schoolmasters all of whom tried to instil
a respect for things which might injure or kill us...Including Buses which
as most people know do not posess a conscience....!