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rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
 Posted: 16-10-2012 22:07 Post subject: On the buses |
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People like me who rely on local bus services often have stories about buses running late, or not showing up at all. Last week was a typical example on my local route - every bus I waited for was well late, and one bus was a no-show.
(This week, by contrast, the four local buses I used were all on time, apart from one, which was 2 minutes early!)
But it seems the staff are not happy either:
Strike vote by First bus workers in Devon and Cornwall
Hundreds of bus workers in Devon and Cornwall have voted for industrial action in a dispute over pay.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said members were angry at First Group's failure to come up with a "serious pay offer".
First employs about 500 people in Devon and Cornwall. Of the 300 who took part in the RMT ballot, 85% voted for strike action.
The company said it would not comment on the ballot.
The RMT said 92% of members had voted for for action short of a strike and general secretary Bob Crow described it as a "massive mandate for action".
Mr Crow said First's pay offer was "self-funding" - meaning it would have no cost impact on the company and ring-fences their profits.
He said the company had already removed the final salary section of the pension scheme and was now trying to "bind up what's on the table with a whole load of strings".
"Today's massive mandate for action by RMT members on First Devon and Cornwall buses reflects their anger at the failure to come up with a serious pay offer," Mr Crow said.
"Bus services and bus workers in the South West are under a series of attacks as the companies attempt to ramp up and protect profits at the expense of their staff and the travelling public.
"Our ballot of groups of staff on First Devon and Cornwall buses draws a line in the sand as we fight to protect standards of living.
He said the union would not be rushing in to strike action, but would seek a negotiated settlement.
"We don't want to take action for the sake of it; we actually want the company to get a negotiated agreement without strike action."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19967369
The poor old drivers get stick from the passengers when the service is rubbish, but this is mainly down to management's bad time-tabling and the poor state of repair of the buses, many of which around here are hand-me-downs from as far away as Tyneside!
I hope this week's improvement in service is because of some re-organisation, but I'm not opening the champagne just yet! |
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| jimv1 Great Old One Joined: 10 Aug 2005 Total posts: 2734 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-10-2012 22:26 Post subject: |
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| Can I be the first to nominate this as 'Most Exciting Post of the Year'? |
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| Cavynaut Skoumed!
Usually tired. Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Total posts: 1976 Location: Crouch Wailing. UK. Age: 56 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-10-2012 23:05 Post subject: Re: On the buses |
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| rynner2 wrote: | [i]People like me who rely on local bus services often have stories about buses running late, or not showing up at all. Last week was a typical example on my local route - every bus I waited for was well late, and one bus was a no-show.
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"Well late"? Gettin' down wiv da yoof Ryn? You'll be posting in textspeak next! 
I do agree about the buses though. Stagecoach took over our perfectly adequate Corporation Transport back in the mid 1980's. It's been crap ever since. So far is what you'd expect from a left winger like myself. However, the odd thing is that East Yorkshire Motor Services (the company I use mostly) has always been private, but has managed to stay out of the hands of the bigger national companies such as Stagecoach and First. They have very comfortable vehicles and very friendly staff. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-10-2012 23:39 Post subject: Re: On the buses |
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| Cavynaut wrote: | | "Well late"? Gettin' down wiv da yoof Ryn? You'll be posting in textspeak next! |
Actually, that is a manner of speech I picked up from a Yorkshireman, older than me, probably before da yoof was invented! He had many idiosyncratic phrases - whether they originated in Yorkshire, or were his personal creations I know not!  |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 17-10-2012 00:06 Post subject: Re: On the buses |
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| Cavynaut wrote: | | However, the odd thing is that East Yorkshire Motor Services (the company I use mostly) has always been private, but has managed to stay out of the hands of the bigger national companies such as Stagecoach and First. They have very comfortable vehicles and very friendly staff. |
Down here we used to have three bus companies, First, Truronian, and Western Greyhound. But First gobbled up Truronian; Western Greyhound, although still running in the north and west of the county, has almost disappeared from from my area.
But WG is a friendly company - whenever I ride one of their buses, I get the impression that most of the passengers know the drivers, and vice-versa. Also WG were better timekeepers on routes that First have since taken over (as letters in the local press reveal). |
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| Cavynaut Skoumed!
Usually tired. Joined: 10 Apr 2003 Total posts: 1976 Location: Crouch Wailing. UK. Age: 56 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 17-10-2012 01:26 Post subject: Re: On the buses |
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| rynner2 wrote: |
But WG is a friendly company - whenever I ride one of their buses, I get the impression that most of the passengers know the drivers, and vice-versa. |
You would have loved Connor & Graham...probably one of the last of the small operators of the 20's and 30's. Given the sparse population of south Holderness, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most of the passengers were related to the drivers, never mind just knowing them!
http://www.skeals.co.uk/Publications/The%20Journey%20Starts%20Here%20-%20a.html |
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| stuneville Administrator
Joined: 09 Mar 2002 Total posts: 10230 Location: FTMB HQ Age: 46 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 17-10-2012 06:32 Post subject: |
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Yeah, First have a virtual monopoly here, too. Again, the city council ran a perfectly serviceable, fairly reliable (in that they always turned up eventually) and above all cheap bus service til the 80s, but that went out of the window pretty quickly. Now Worst regularly piss about with timetables with no notice, change services, gerrymander unprofitable routes to become effectively unusable and then discontinue them due to lack of use, bulldoze small-scale, usually cheaper local competitors by running identical services at half the opposition's fare til the local can't compete any more (and then restoring their own fare to full price again)..whilst themselves being extortionately expensive and unreliable.
But that's what you get with any titularly "public" service being run by a profit-motivated body. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-10-2012 08:35 Post subject: |
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Uh oh...
Strike days set by First bus workers in Devon and Cornwall
Bus workers in Devon and Cornwall will take part in two days of strike action and a two-day overtime ban in a pay dispute, a union has said.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said strike action would be held on 26 October and 9 November.
Members would also not work any unscheduled overtime or on rest days on 11 and 17 November, it added.
The company has yet to comment on the planned strike.
The union said members were angry at First Group's failure to come up with a "serious pay offer".
First employs about 500 people in Devon and Cornwall. Of the 300 who took part in the RMT ballot, 85% voted for strike action.
RMT General secretary Bob Crow described the vote as a "massive mandate for action".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20006335
For bus passengers, the O/T ban is almost worse than a strike, because they risk going somewhere and then find they can't get a bus back. Taxi drivers will be laughing all the way to the bank. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 25-10-2012 17:44 Post subject: |
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First bus strikes to go ahead in Devon and Cornwall
Bus workers in Devon and Cornwall are to take part in two days of strike action and a two-day overtime ban in a dispute over pay, a union says.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union confirmed on Thursday that strike action would be held on 26 October [tomorrow, Friday] and 9 November.
First Group members would also not work any unscheduled overtime or on rest days on 11 and 17 November, it added.
First Devon and Cornwall said it was "incredibly disappointed" by the move.
The union said members were angry at what it described as First Group's failure to come up with a "serious pay offer".
Unions rejected a 7.1% pay deal.
First employs about 500 people in Devon and Cornwall. Of the 300 who took part in the RMT ballot, 85% voted for strike action.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow described the vote as a "massive mandate for action".
First Devon and Cornwall said it believed the action was "very selfish".
It said: "With many people out of work and other facing pay freezes and tougher times, we are very disappointed that the union representing our drivers and engineers has turned down a two-year pay deal."
The company said it would prioritise contracted school, college and council services, but added that all other services were "expected to be disrupted".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20079771 |
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| BlackRiverFalls I wear a fez now.
Joined: 03 Aug 2003 Total posts: 8716 Location: The Attic of Blinky Lights Age: 44 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 25-10-2012 19:19 Post subject: |
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I wouldn;t worry about any poor 'old' bus drivers.
If WorstBus down there are anything like they are here, they seem to have sacked everyone that had experience or was further up their pay and grading structure, and brought in younger drivers who regularly don;t know the route even.
Am glad I use a bicycle now mostly and aren;t dependent on busses anymore. |
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| 47Forteans Live Fortean And Prosper!
Great Old One Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Total posts: 1727 Location: In A World Gone Mad... Age: 35 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-10-2012 00:28 Post subject: |
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So, this isn't a thread about terrible 70's English programme's. then?!  |
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| Zilch5 Vogon Poet
Great Old One Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Total posts: 1528 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-10-2012 00:59 Post subject: |
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| 47Forteans wrote: | | So, this isn't a thread about terrible 70's English programme's. then?! |
Gawd - that was awful, wasn't it? And they are still showing it here on one of those Free Digital channels...  |
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| Heckler20 The Sockpuppet of
Cthulhu's Prodigal Son Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Total posts: 4702 Location: In the Nostril of The Crawling Chaos Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 26-10-2012 09:17 Post subject: |
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| 'I 'ate you Butler!' |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13561 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 26-10-2012 18:32 Post subject: |
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| That's made my day, that 'as! |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21365 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 06-11-2012 08:55 Post subject: |
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| gncxx wrote: | | That's made my day, that 'as! |
...and this is good news for westcountry passengers:
First bus strike action postponed
Strike action which had been planned by bus drivers in Cornwall and Devon has been postponed.
The stoppage which was due to take place on 8 November has been put on hold to allow discussions about a new offer that has been tabled by the bus company.
Hundreds of bus services were cancelled when workers went on strike over pay in October.
First Devon and Cornwall said it was pleased the strike had been called off.
In a statement the bus company said: "It follows talks on Friday 2 November during which a new offer was tabled by the company."
The RMT union is consulting its members on the offer which guarantees staff a 2% pay increase from 2 December and a further 2.3% increase from April next year.
The bus company said: "We continue to work with the union to resolve the ongoing dispute."
The First Group employs 675 people in Devon and Cornwall.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-20206436 |
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