On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:12:43 +0000
Graeme Wall wrote:
On 23/11/2012 09:50, d wrote:
I will admit that some bus drivers are jobsworths and will absolutely refuse
to
open the doors even if stuck in traffic 10 metres from a stop which is just
being bloody minded for the sake of it, but if you're going to use a bus
you have to accept its not your personal transport.

It is not being bloody minded for the sake of it, if they let you off
away from a stop and you trip and fall, the company is not insured and
the driver can lose his job.

I think its fair to say that if the bus is stopped and isn't going anywhere
anytime soon and its next to the kerb its highly unlikely anyone getting
off is going to have an accident. Its not like bus stops have raised platforms.

B2003

"Graeme Wall" wrote in message
...
On 23/11/2012 09:50, d wrote:
I will admit that some bus drivers are jobsworths and will absolutely
refuse to
open the doors even if stuck in traffic 10 metres from a stop which is
just
being bloody minded for the sake of it, but if you're going to use a bus
you have to accept its not your personal transport.

It is not being bloody minded for the sake of it, if they let you off away
from a stop and you trip and fall, the company is not insured and the
driver can lose his job.

And the local cabbies will be on to the rail company, and the bus company,
because they see it as the bus driver providing an illegal taxi service, and
lost trade for themselves.

In message , at 12:45:19 on Fri, 23 Nov
2012, d remarked:
And those passengers who don't want to get off in the high street are
delayed because of you. How is that fair?

Everyone's already been delayed by the bustitution. Another fifteen
seconds isn't going to make any difference.

Sure, if its just you. But then Mable wants to get off at Bingo. Tracy wants
to get off at Mothercare down the road and Kev wants to get off at the Dole
office. Eventually half the passengers have got off before the next station
and the bus is 10 minutes late.

The trip I had in mind was between a few small villages and their
stations. No Bingo, Mothercare or dole office in any of them.

One stop per village was all I was asking for (in the High Street, not
at the station which was on the outskirts).

I will admit that some bus drivers are jobsworths and will absolutely refuse
to
open the doors even if stuck in traffic 10 metres from a stop which is just
being bloody minded for the sake of it, but if you're going to use a bus
you have to accept its not your personal transport.

I was attempting to use a train!

Yeah well, you were on a bus. You must have known there was a bus replacement
service so you could always have taken the car instead.

When I went to work in the morning everything was fine. By the evening,
trains were cancelled and buses put in place.

--
Roland Perry

In message , at 12:22:06 on Fri, 23 Nov
2012, Graeme Wall remarked:
I believe bus replacement services have designated "bus stops",

No, they just stop on a country road somewhere near the station.

which wouldn't include "middle of the high street".

Unless the station's there, in which case my requirement would not
arise.

Therefore the insurance angle might still apply.

But there are official bus stops in the High Street.
--
Roland Perry

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 11:12:43 +0000
Graeme Wall wrote:
On 23/11/2012 09:50, d wrote:
I will admit that some bus drivers are jobsworths and will absolutely
refuse
to
open the doors even if stuck in traffic 10 metres from a stop which is
just
being bloody minded for the sake of it, but if you're going to use a bus
you have to accept its not your personal transport.

It is not being bloody minded for the sake of it, if they let you off
away from a stop and you trip and fall, the company is not insured and
the driver can lose his job.

I think its fair to say that if the bus is stopped and isn't going
anywhere
anytime soon and its next to the kerb its highly unlikely anyone getting
off is going to have an accident. Its not like bus stops have raised
platforms.

B2003

Many do have raised platforms, but that is not the issue.

Passenger being permitted to leave at unauthorised stop trips (even may be
own fault.)
Leads to:
Passenger sees "COMPO!!!" and claims from bus co
Leads to:
Bus co want to know from driver what was he doing allowing unscheduled
dropping points
Leads to:
Driver out of job

Leads to:
Passenger who demanded to be let of, and who tripped, voluntarily paying the
drivers mortgage for him until the driver finds a new job.

(OK, that last one is as likely as Cameron getting us out of Europe.....)

"Arthur Figgis" wrote in message
o.uk...

I've been on replacement buses where the driver has asked if anyone does
actually wants to go to a particular station itself, or can the bus drop
off on the main road/village centre/etc to save a slow trip along a narrow
dead-end lane to the station and back.

Hopefully on a set down only service, or the driver knew by other means
no-one was waiting at the station?

Paul

On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:26:55 -0000
"Portsmouth Rider" wrote:
Passenger being permitted to leave at unauthorised stop trips (even may be
own fault.)
Leads to:
Passenger sees "COMPO!!!" and claims from bus co
Leads to:
Bus co want to know from driver what was he doing allowing unscheduled
dropping points
Leads to:
Driver out of job

In theory, in practice there has to be some leaway. If for example the road
is blocked ahead and the bus can't move then the driver will have to let
the passengers off else they could sue the bus company for false imprisonment!
And while we hear of stupid payouts in courts like that one in the last few
days for the idiot who hurt her finger, I'm pretty sure most judges and juries
are fairly sensible and would see the drivers point of view.

B2003

"Roland Perry" wrote in message
...
In message , at 12:45:19 on Fri, 23 Nov
2012, d remarked:
And those passengers who don't want to get off in the high street are
delayed because of you. How is that fair?

Everyone's already been delayed by the bustitution. Another fifteen
seconds isn't going to make any difference.

Sure, if its just you. But then Mable wants to get off at Bingo. Tracy
wants
to get off at Mothercare down the road and Kev wants to get off at the
Dole
office. Eventually half the passengers have got off before the next
station
and the bus is 10 minutes late.

The trip I had in mind was between a few small villages and their
stations. No Bingo, Mothercare or dole office in any of them.

One stop per village was all I was asking for (in the High Street, not at
the station which was on the outskirts).

I will admit that some bus drivers are jobsworths and will absolutely
refuse
to
open the doors even if stuck in traffic 10 metres from a stop which is
just
being bloody minded for the sake of it, but if you're going to use a bus
you have to accept its not your personal transport.

I was attempting to use a train!

Yeah well, you were on a bus. You must have known there was a bus
replacement
service so you could always have taken the car instead.

When I went to work in the morning everything was fine. By the evening,
trains were cancelled and buses put in place.

These things happen.

Sometimes it's because of a car driver trying - and failing - to beat the
level crossing gates, he gets to Heaven a few years early, hundreds of other
people get home several hours late, and a dozen or so bus drivers get their
day off buggered up because they get called in for a rail replacement.

Mind you - there are NEVER any delays on motorways, are there? And our
ferries ALWAYS run exactly to schedule. And I can't remember the last time
an airliner crashed......

I can, however, think of one case of a train service running to replace a
failed bus service )

In message , at 12:46:22 on Fri, 23 Nov
2012, d remarked:

Its not like bus stops have raised platforms.

Guided-bus stops do
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 13:30:27 on
Fri, 23 Nov 2012, Paul Scott remarked:
I've been on replacement buses where the driver has asked if anyone
does actually wants to go to a particular station itself, or can the
bus drop off on the main road/village centre/etc to save a slow trip
along a narrow dead-end lane to the station and back.

Hopefully on a set down only service, or the driver knew by other means
no-one was waiting at the station?

I'm less sanguine about it. Bus replacement services rarely appear to
expect to pick passengers up at rural stations, merely deliver
passengers who embarked at a nearby big town. One way you can tell is
that the pick-up point is often some way from the rural station (eg at
the other end of the road to the station), and no-one bothers to say
exactly where it is.
--
Roland Perry