On Sun, 1 Oct 2006 21:50:29 +0200, Jarle H Knudsen
wrote:

On Sun, 1 Oct 2006 19:02:23 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:

Jarle H Knudsen typed


On Sun, 01 Oct 2006 01:08:21 +0100, Barry Salter wrote:

"Traffic conditions mean that buses sometimes run early."

I'm a bus driver here in Kristiansand, Norway. When I'm running ealy I
either drive slower or wait at a bus stop to get on time. Is this not
possible in London?

It certainly is possible.

But the reply from Transport for London seems to indicate that they are of
the opinion it's not.

The bus driver is often in an impossible situation. If he is early this
may well be the result of several issues. The bus in front may be late
and thus picking up passengers that the early bus would normally take.
Many London routes have substantial extra time for the busiest times of
day but at certain times of year (e.g. school holidays) the extra
traffic is not there. Therefore buses run early. If I am a passenger on
a bus that is dawdling along and standing at stops for minutes at a time
I get impatient. Now I can perhaps understand what is happening but a
fair proportion of people will shout at the driver "to get a move on".
They just want to get somewhere and it isn't their issue that the
timetable is wrong or the bus in front is late thus making *their* bus
early. Therefore the driver is at risk of verbal abuse if he simply
stops his bus or drives very slowly. I think perhaps Norwegians are a
little more patient!

There are the unacceptable occasions where drivers just simply drive too
fast in order to get to the other terminal or to reach a relief point so
another driver takes over. This is not on and should be dealt with.
Unfortunately this behaviour can happen at times when the performance
monitoring people are not working (as Barry said). However I would still
complain as the level of complaints is a factor in assessing operator
performance. I would also insist that the issues raised in a complaint
are carried forward for discussion / consideration when the route in
question is next reviewed (typically every 5 years as part of the
retendering process). I complained about route 73 and the issue I raised
will be part of the next review - and I shall make sure to check that it
is considered.

--
Paul C


Admits to working for London Underground!

Paul Corfield wrote:

There are the unacceptable occasions where drivers just simply drive too
fast in order to get to the other terminal or to reach a relief point so
another driver takes over. This is not on and should be dealt with.
Unfortunately this behaviour can happen at times when the performance
monitoring people are not working (as Barry said). However I would still
complain as the level of complaints is a factor in assessing operator
performance. I would also insist that the issues raised in a complaint
are carried forward for discussion / consideration when the route in
question is next reviewed (typically every 5 years as part of the
retendering process). I complained about route 73 and the issue I raised
will be part of the next review - and I shall make sure to check that it
is considered.

One "classic" example, again involving route W6, happened a few months back.

I boarded a 299 at Muswell Hill Broadway (which, incidentally, is also
operated by First London East, and was awarded as part of a joint bid
incorporating routes 299, 616, 699, W6 and W10) at 22:40 on this
particular day.

Based on past experience, I knew that said 299 *should* get me to
Southgate Station at around 22:54, giving me a six minute connection
into the 23:00 W6 (penultimate one of the night).

Due to disruption on route 102 (nothing unusual there, with the
theoretical 12 minute frequency often becoming more like 20 then 10,
then 20, etc), however, the 299 ended up stopping pretty much
everywhere, so by 22:54 we were just coming up to Ye Olde Cherry Tree at
Southgate Green, where I duly jumped off as I realised we wouldn't reach
the Station in time for the "connection".

Shortly after I crossed the road and was walking down to the bus stop
(on the other side of a mini roundabout), what should go past me but the
W6, running around 7 or 8 minutes early, having departed Southgate
Station well before his booked departure time.

Net Result: Having to wait nigh on 40 minutes for the last bus of the
night, which was running slightly late.

Cheers,

Barry