Forums

Posted: 15-11-2012 08:40 Post subject:

Here we go again:

First bus staff start strike in Devon and Cornwall

A strike expected to cause "significant disruption" to bus services in Devon and Cornwall has started.
First bus drivers, engineers and back office staff walked out at 00:01 GMT for 24 hours following a pay dispute.

First said it hoped it would be able to provide a "better level of service" than on 26 October when a strike disrupted 90% of services.
It said information was available on its website, Twitter and Facebook. BBC Travel is also tweeting updates.

Workers walked out after failing to reach an agreement with the company over a proposed pay deal.

Managers from the bus company and the RMT union held meetings over a pay offer which guaranteed staff a 2% pay increase from 2 December, followed by a 2.3% increase from April 2013, but this was rejected.

Phil Bialyk, from the RMT, said: "Members believe the company has been stalling to delay any rise. This rise has not been backdated, which has been the last straw for them.
"They're not prepared to accept the offer because the company, in their view, has not been straight with them."

First said that despite the strike, some services including to Truro College, a shuttle bus between Falmouth and Tremough Campus and the Eden Rider would run as closely to schedule as possible.

In Devon there will be a reduced park-and-ride service in Plymouth, and a service will run from the city to Tavistock College.

Chris Bainbridge, from First, said: "We are incredibly disappointed and frustrated that the union has called for this action for a second time, despite an improved offer being put to our staff.
"This action is deeply regrettable and extremely disappointing."
The company employs 675 people in Devon and Cornwall.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20334246

At least I can still go and vote in the PCC election - my polling station is only a hundred yards away, closer than the bus stop!

Posted: 16-11-2012 22:01 Post subject:

More hijinks.

Posted: 17-11-2012 12:03 Post subject:

What year is it again?

Did the driver think that everyone would think he was gay or summat?

Posted: 17-11-2012 12:59 Post subject:

At a student party many years ago, I recall a lad who loudly refused to drink the cider because it had Gaymer's on the label!

Such fragility does make you wonder . . . laughing

Posted: 11-12-2012 00:43 Post subject:

Western Greyhound and Cornwall Council bus subsidy deal

A private transport company is to be paid more by Cornwall Council for carrying concessionary passengers.
Rather than 50% of the normal fare it currently receives, a "complex" calculation approved by the Department for Transport will be used.
The deal will cost Cornwall's taxpayers £500,000 a year, but without it, the council said services may have stopped.

Western Greyhound said government cuts to public transport funding were affecting operators and passengers.
People who qualify for a concessionary bus pass include senior citizens, people with learning disabilities, those with sight and hearing impairments and people with certain medical conditions or physical disabilities.

Bert Biscoe, the council's transport spokesman, said there had been a "very significant risk" that without an increase in the subsidy, the coach company would have had to reduce or stop its services.
Mr Biscoe would not say how much more the company would be paid per passenger, but he said it would total about £500,000 for the year.
He said: "I think it will have improved Western Greyhound's cash flow significantly at quite an important time."
Describing public transport providers as "the oil of Cornwall's social engine", Mr Biscoe said he was very pleased the matter had been resolved satisfactorily.

A joint statement said if Western Greyhound had ceased operations in Cornwall, it would have seriously impacted on people's lives and the deal showed the council's commitment to public transport.
"Without this agreement, public transport services on the Roseland and in many other areas would have been decimated," the statement said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-20666912

This is good. First (Boo!) have taken over far too many routes in Cornwall, although Western Greyhound services were more efficient and popular with passengers.

Posted: 23-01-2013 09:32 Post subject:

I'm not the only OAP to grumble about students on the buses:

Peeved Penryn pensioner calls for overhaul of 'lamentable' bus service
7:10am Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in Falmouth/Penryn

A Penryn pensioner fed up with the “lamentably poor” bus service to Truro on a weekday morning is calling for a change.
Bill Cooper, aged 65, wants something to do be done about the overcrowded service number 88, which runs from Falmouth to Truro via the university campus at Tremough.

He is concerned that his partner Pat Sage, also aged 65, is “forced to wait in near freezing conditions” because of the number of students on the bus in the morning.
“It is unacceptable for the students to have access to six buses between 9am and 10am and yet the public only have two and regularly cannot get one of them as it is full of students,” Bill said.
“The situation is exacerbated by the ludicrous decision to regularly put on a single deck bus on this service.”

Anyone needing to travel to Truro on the bus, including school pupils and college students, are at a distinct disadvantage Bill reckons.
“I feel the balance has moved too far in the direction of students and left us OAP's often stranded and having to wait for 30 minutes for a Truro service rather than the 15 minutes we had to endure previously,” he said.

Bill suggested that bus operator First provide a half hourly service direct to Truro, bypassing the university campus altogether. [Hear hear!]
“The students will still get four services an hour from Falmouth to the campus - which other than early morning, lunchtime and late afternoon will result in half empty buses - but the other users will be able to get on the buses and get a reasonable service.”

Robbie Lamerton, general manager for First in Devon and Cornwall, said he “appreciated the concerns” raised by some residents “who feel that the 88 can experience capacity issues due to the large number of students who use the service.”

He said: “As a transport provider in the area we continue to work with local residents and university staff to make the best use of our resources and to match them with the routes on which there is the greatest demand.
"At present there are no plans to provide a dedicated Falmouth to Truro service that bypasses Tremough Campus but we will continue to look at the situation as part of our on-going revisions of the network.”

Truro and Falmouth MP Sarah Newton said several constituents had raised their concerns with her, which she had passed on to First.
“What I explain to constituents is that the university actually commissions particular bus services for the students, which are different to the scheduled public bus services and not everyone appreciates that,” she said.
“They are not paid for in the same way as public bus services, which are paid for through a combination of public subsidy and fares.”

Bill said he understood that “the campus subsidise some services,” but still thinks “the public are being mistreated here.”
He added that Mary May, a Cornwall councillor for Penryn, had been in contact with him and arranged a meeting with the current cabinet member for transport, Bert Biscoe, in a bid to resolve the issue.

Although approached for comment, a spokesperson for the universities at Tremough said they had nothing further to add to Mr Lamerton's remarks.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/fpfalmouth/10177622.Peeved_Penryn_pensioner_calls_for_overhaul_of__lamentable__bus_service/

By contrast however, I'm happy to report that my local bus service, which was notorious for buses running very late or not turning up at all, has recently become very punctual! Very Happy

When I get a chance, I'll ask one of the drivers what's made the difference.

Posted: 23-01-2013 17:17 Post subject:

Someone's been giving the b*ggers bran flakes.

Posted: 28-01-2013 13:33 Post subject:

Wonder what they gave this driver - LSD?

Bus has roof torn off in Hampshire railway bridge crash

The roof of a double-decker bus was ripped off when the bus got stuck under a railway bridge in Hampshire.
The out-of-service bus hit the railway bridge in Station Road in Portchester at about 09:40 GMT. Fire crews said the bus and its roof were left on opposite sides of the bridge.
The bus driver, a 45-year-old man, was treated at the scene for shock.

Another bus run by operator First Group was involved in a similar crash at the same spot almost five months ago. Shocked

Police and about 15 firefighters were called to the scene.
A crane was to be used to remove the top of the bus from the bridge, where it had become stuck.

Paul Coates, Fareham station manager, said: "A double-decker bus coming from the north down through Portchester has hit the bridge.
"The top of the double-decker bus stayed there and the rest of it went through.
"The bus was on the south side - the roof is on the north side.
"We closed the road and made the scene safe, and gave first aid to the driver until the ambulance arrived.
"We gave him oxygen because he was quite in shock when we arrived."

A spokeswoman for Hampshire Constabulary said: "Nobody was on the bus but the driver - it was out of service at the time.
"The driver was in severe shock and was treated by ambulance crews at the scene."

Experts from Network Rail were called to assess the scene.
Operator First Group said it was investigating the incident.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-21229913

A bus hit a railway bridge in Falmouth a few years back, but that's the only such incident I know of down here in over twenty years. Two bridge collisions within a year seems excessive!

Posted: 01-02-2013 18:05 Post subject:

Cornwall buses are getting into the 21st century: recently I've noticed that some bus stops now have electronic display boards saying when the next bus is due, etc. And when new bus shelters are put up, they also contain these displays.

I don't know whether the information is just taken from the timetable, or whether the buses have telemetry devices, possibly linked to GPS, to transmit their actual positions - I suspect the former!

I've only seen these displays on the busiest routes so far, between Truro and Camborne, but I wonder if they're really needed there when there are buses every ten to fifteen minutes anyway. And they don't give complete information: today I was in Redruth, waiting for a 41 bus, but the display board only gave the timings for the 14 and 18 routes! And there are other routes that also pass through Redruth.

Perhaps the system is still experimental at the moment. The displays would probably give more valuable information on routes where buses only run every hour or more, or only on certain days of the week.

Finally, I want to know what the displays say if the last bus has gone
- "Call a taxi", perhaps! Wink

Posted: 01-02-2013 21:25 Post subject:

We''ve had those over in east Sussex for a couple of years, they are amazingly accurate so I think they do use GPS

Posted: 05-02-2013 11:09 Post subject:

Searching for something else, I came across this short-lived thread about bus drivers, so I'll give it a bump:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=802946#802946

Posted: 05-02-2013 15:32 Post subject:

Posted in error Embarassed

Posted: 05-02-2013 15:43 Post subject:

Is he a busdriver?

Posted: 06-03-2013 10:26 Post subject: