Ok, here's a dilemma.
Most journeys on route C offer low-floor buses and we have a small number of regular wheelchair users.
Because of scheduling constraints and/or capacity issues, a small number of journeys use double deckers which are step entrance vehicles, not accessible to wheelchairs. Obviously we aspire to a 100% low-floor fleet one day, but we are not there yet.
Two such journeys - the 1715 and 1815 C1 from Eastleigh - always feature double deckers.
One day last week, Karl was about to pull his double decker on to the stand to do the 1815 - his last trip - when he noticed that one of our regular wheelchair users was waiting.
At his own initiative (but with my knowledge and consent), he "borrowed" a low-floor single decker from another running line that happened to be laying over on break in the bus station at the time, operated his C1 with this bus, conveying the wheelchair user safely home in the process. At the end of his trip, he went out of his way and stayed beyond his finish time to return the low-floor to the driver who was supposed to have it, reclaim his double decker and head back to the depot.
Today, Taz was about to operate the 1715 - also with a double decker - when he noticed the same wheelchair user waiting. Unfortunately, we did not have a low-floor available at the time - they were all out in service - otherwise he would have gone out of his way to get hold of one to operate this service with.
On the one hand, this is all very admirable. And if these were journeys that normally had low-floor buses but for one reason or another had had to be replaced with step-entrance buses, I would be leading the charge to make sure we got this guy home.
However, as I said before these journeys never feature low-floor buses.
So the question is this. Are my staff justified in putting this amount of effort into finding low-floor buses when they see this guy waiting to travel on a journey which is not scheduled to be accessible, bearing in mind that there is a reason why they are scheduled this way and therefore our ability to help him will depend more on good fortune in having a spare vehicle available, and very often we won't.
Or should we be managing his expectations by explaining to him that we can't reorganise ourselves in this way every time we see him waiting to travel, and therefore 'stick to our guns' and require him (or any other customer requiring an accessible vehicle) to limit his travel choices to the journeys that we know should be low-floor, but in doing so risk disappointing a regular customer when in fact we know that on some occasions we will be able to help him?
Clearly the drivers want to help him and it is hard to tell them that they shouldn't, but if he becomes accustomed to the idea that this will happen on his behalf, will he start to expect it as routine?
As a side issue, there is an argument for giving better information in our publicity about which journeys are and are not accessible, and I intend to add this to the website in the near future. However, this customer is a regular and our schedules are very repetitive so it is not hard to work out (or indeed obtain via a simple enquiry) which journeys are not wheelchair accessible.
An interesting dilemma, I think.
Thursday 22 October 2009
Sunday 23 August 2009
Your award winning local bus company!!!
We've won an award!
OK, we may not be quite ready for Bus Operator of the Year yet, but you have to start somewhere, and it doesn't get much better than "Best Float" at Eastleigh Carnival!!!!
The real credit goes to Karen and the team at Refresher's Cafe, who decorated the bus and entertained the crowds. Steve J drove the bus and Marie and Becci also represented Velvet (in fancy dress!)
OK, we may not be quite ready for Bus Operator of the Year yet, but you have to start somewhere, and it doesn't get much better than "Best Float" at Eastleigh Carnival!!!!
The real credit goes to Karen and the team at Refresher's Cafe, who decorated the bus and entertained the crowds. Steve J drove the bus and Marie and Becci also represented Velvet (in fancy dress!)
Sunday 16 August 2009
Telling it like it is...
I found myself earlier this evening talking to an illustrious ex-colleague, someone for whom I have the utmost respect but haven't seen or spoken to for some years.
He said, "I've been reading your blog". Cue pregnant pause while I awaited the verdict.... "It's quite amusing.... in parts!"
He said, "I've been reading your blog". Cue pregnant pause while I awaited the verdict.... "It's quite amusing.... in parts!"
Tuesday 11 August 2009
The Curse of the Ham and Mustard Sandwich
While cleaning my car out a few months ago, after it had been used by a number of drivers over a long weekend for bus stop publicity duties, under a pile of unused bus stop flags I found a rotting ham and mustard sandwich.
Several days old, with the odour to prove it, someone had clearly eaten one of the two sandwiches in the pack and simply abandoned the other one in the back of my car, to gradually decompose.
None of our staff admitted responsibility for this act of wanton vandalism and it definitely wasn't me because I hate mustard!
Today, while giving 302 a deep interior clean prior to MOT, Steve J and Simon lifted one of the seats to discover.... a rotting ham and mustard sandwich of even greater vintage!
Indeed, they have not yet been able to positively establish beyond all doubt that it was ham and mustard - DNA tests will be required for final proof - but it seems to be the most likely candidate.
So the question is, who is the ghostly individual that visits our fleet when no-one is watching, can apparently penetrate the locked door of my car and lift the seats of our buses undetected, before declaring biological warfare with aged ham and mustard sandwiches?!?
Is our fleet haunted.......?
And is our mystery assailant limited to ham and mustard, or is this just to lull us into a false sense of security to be followed by a more comprehensive attack with such diverse flavours as cheese and tomato, chicken salad and the weapon to end all weapons...... egg mayonnaise!?!
How will we ever know????
Several days old, with the odour to prove it, someone had clearly eaten one of the two sandwiches in the pack and simply abandoned the other one in the back of my car, to gradually decompose.
None of our staff admitted responsibility for this act of wanton vandalism and it definitely wasn't me because I hate mustard!
Today, while giving 302 a deep interior clean prior to MOT, Steve J and Simon lifted one of the seats to discover.... a rotting ham and mustard sandwich of even greater vintage!
Indeed, they have not yet been able to positively establish beyond all doubt that it was ham and mustard - DNA tests will be required for final proof - but it seems to be the most likely candidate.
So the question is, who is the ghostly individual that visits our fleet when no-one is watching, can apparently penetrate the locked door of my car and lift the seats of our buses undetected, before declaring biological warfare with aged ham and mustard sandwiches?!?
Is our fleet haunted.......?
And is our mystery assailant limited to ham and mustard, or is this just to lull us into a false sense of security to be followed by a more comprehensive attack with such diverse flavours as cheese and tomato, chicken salad and the weapon to end all weapons...... egg mayonnaise!?!
How will we ever know????
Thursday 6 August 2009
A bad day at the office
Contrary to what we may sometimes wish to believe, everything is not always bright and shiny in Velvet World, and yesterday was one of those days that proved this.
The day started well, with twelve out of a possible twelve buses available for service. 511 is due for its four weekly inspection this week, so with the luxury of having the whole fleet available we decided to leave that one off the allocation so the engineers could do their thing.
Everything went smoothly, and indeed just before 9am Ant texted me to let me know he was off for a few hours. He has just bought another Leyland National (that’s an old bus for non-geeks) thus bringing his collection of these venerable old heaps to two, the main difference being that this one has most of its panels in their proper place stuck to the outside of the bus, rather than piled up on the inside waiting to be reattached as was the case with the last one he bought.
Anyway he was off to collect his new toy so that left me in sole charge of the empire. I was planning a quiet productive day, paying wages and suppliers, and then raising invoices to make me feel better about all the money i’d have spent.
The peace and quiet was rudely interrupted by a female resident of Velmore, who decided to drive into the side of 558 just before 10.00.
Luckily everyone was apparently ok, and the bus was able to continue in service albeit with some delay, and by all accounts the car was not in a position to continue anywhere, which frankly serves it right!
So I headed down to the bus station to meet the stricken bus, which arrived about 10 minutes late at 1015. Closer inspection of the damage revealed some dents and scratches to the battery flap under the driver’s window, which will not stop the bus being used, but some damage to the offside front indicator which will need to be sorted before the bus can go back out.
Luckily the scheduled 1005-1015 turnaround is also a driver changeover and I was able to get the outgoing driver installed in the spare bus, 841, in time to allow plenty of time for loading and a punctual departure.
Meanwhile, our accident driver was due back out again after a legal thirty minute break on the 1045 C2. Now bearing in mind our stipulation that drivers must be on the bus a minimum of five minutes before departure, this was clearly not going to work. Besides, although unhurt, our driver was a little shaken and deserving of slightly more civilised treatment than being kicked straight back out on the next bus. So that made me the driver of the 1045 C2!
This bus turned out to be 552 (Ant having swapped the allocation round extensively in the morning from how I’d left it the previous evening – I guess he was bored or needed something to distract him from the excitement that awaited him later on). I can never make up my mind about 552. Darts with that particular engine make a pretty unattractive throbbing, growling noise, usually accompanied by extensive vibrations when idling, and to be honest I find the noise really tiresome. This is as opposed to earlier Darts that just sound like overgrown hairdryers.
Anyway, for some reason 552’s noises didn’t bother me particularly today and on the plus side, the Darts are much nippier than the DAFs which is ideal on a fairly tightly timed urban route like the C1 or C2. So 552 and me got on just fine today, and a three minute late departure from Eastleigh occasioned by the uncharacteristically late arrival of the incoming journey, was effortlessly turned into an on time arrival at 1205, ready to hand back to our now rejuvenated accident victim for his next trip, the 1215 C1.
In the meantime, I learned that the 1115 C1 had been delayed on departure from Eastleigh because of a problem with the kneeling suspension. The DAFs have very complicated interlocks to stop you driving away when the suspension is lowered, and sometimes they get themselves a bit confused and won’t let you drive away even when the suspension is patently in its proper position. This had caused about fifteen minutes of annoyance to Steve and Simon while they tried to sort it out, and accordingly the 1115 from Eastleigh was about 10 to 15 minutes late.
Our normal practice now armed with such information is to go straight for Twitter and inform the general public of any delay. I was pleased to note that in my absence Mikey had done just that so the world was duly aware of this delay. (As an aside, the process of sending a Tweet is now known internally as “devaluing the brand”, for example in the expression “Please would you devalue the brand Mikey”, meaning please would you update the Twitter feed - an obscure in-joke that will be understood only be the more perceptive observers of the local bus scene, and there are absolutely no prizes for getting it!).
This of course now meant that the 1156 C1 would also be running late, and with a driver changeover due on its arrival in Eastleigh at 1240 before the 1245 C2 departure, I was able to commandeer another spare bus, 851, to enable Taz to go out on time on the 1245.
Having thus lost the entire morning, I grabbed a salad for lunch and headed back to the office, where I did at least manage to pay the wages.
Then I got two texts almost simultaneously. One from Ant to say that he would shortly be back in Eastleigh with his new toy, and one from Matt to say that he had an airbag warning light on 512 at Boorley Green, waiting to come back on an A. After an interrogation about any possible problems with the suspension, I judged 512 safe to drive and asked Matt to bring it back in service and said I’d meet him in Eastleigh.
So just over an hour after arriving back in the office, I was heading off back down the bus station. Sure enough, just before 3, a dark green Leyland National came romping into the bus station and glid to an elegant halt on the wall. Ant emerged from the driving seat commenting that it was one of the nicest Nationals he’d ever driven. Whereupon one of the friendly staff of the adjacent Sainsbury’s store wandered over and asked him, “who owns this piece of s**t then?”.
Chastened, Ant decided to make for the safety of the yard, and at that moment 512 trundled in, Matt announcing that in addition to the airbag warning, the speedo had failed just before arrival in Eastleigh!
So off I headed to Brenhaul in the stricken 512. As I passed the entrance to the yard, there was Ant’s toy surrounded by the local bus paparazzi who were out in force to greet it. Sadly, my arrival at Brenhaul met with a rather gloomier reception.
Upon carrying out 511’s inspection, Brenhaul had found a problem with the body at the rear, which will need the attention of the body repair company we use. They would be unable to look at it before the following morning, so it would be off overnight.
By some clever detective work I had established that the suspension on 512 raised and lowered fine, which suggests that the airbags themselves are not the problem – it was only the kneeling switch that didn’t elicit a response and therefore the problem i s much more likely to be the switch. And too much of a coincidence that the speedo failed at nearly the same time. So almost certainly an electrical problem.
But needless to say, our electrician would be too busy and unable to attend before the following morning, so 512 joined 511 and 558 on the casualty list, meaning that our available low-floor single deck resource would be halved from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, with only three out of the six being available Thursday morning.
Back I trooped to the office, having now lost a good chunk of the afternoon as well. I managed to pay a few invoices, the joy of it, and was just thinking about how to prioritise the remaining time when Matt called again. He was on C stand, ready to depart on the 1615 C1 with 507, and it wouldn’t start! Electrics all ok, all the systems came to life exactly as they should, but when you hit the all-important ‘start’ button...... nothing!
So I arranged for him to decant his passengers on to the third spare bus of the day, 843, and off I went to the bus station yet again, having summoned Brenhaul to attend the scene. Sure enough, not long later, Rapid Response International Rescue came roaring into the bus station showing off the nice flashy orange lights on their shiny new van.
In about the only piece of good news, after some fiddling about under the engine flap (a land of mystery in my world), they managed to get it going again. Looks like it was something to do with the contact that tells the bus the engine flap is shut – if the contact is not made, the bus thinks the flap is open and won’t let you start the engine. The bus managed to start successfully for the rest of the day, so hopefully all is now well. My fear that this bus would have some terrible fault putting it off the road and taking the single deck casualty list to two thirds of the total happily proved unfounded.
By now it was approaching 5pm, or 1700 hrs as my brain doesn’t like 12 hour clocks, so I chatted to Taz for a bit and watched him go on the 1715 C1, then finally did manage an uninterrupted hour in the office before heading over to the yard for my daily game of helping the buses back into their parking spaces. I really need a set of table tennis bats for this for the full air traffic control effect... if anyone knows of any going spare!!!!
So that was the story of not the worst day ever by far, but just one of those niggly, frustrating days where nothing seems to go right and the “to do” list remains as long, or longer, than it ever was!
The day started well, with twelve out of a possible twelve buses available for service. 511 is due for its four weekly inspection this week, so with the luxury of having the whole fleet available we decided to leave that one off the allocation so the engineers could do their thing.
Everything went smoothly, and indeed just before 9am Ant texted me to let me know he was off for a few hours. He has just bought another Leyland National (that’s an old bus for non-geeks) thus bringing his collection of these venerable old heaps to two, the main difference being that this one has most of its panels in their proper place stuck to the outside of the bus, rather than piled up on the inside waiting to be reattached as was the case with the last one he bought.
Anyway he was off to collect his new toy so that left me in sole charge of the empire. I was planning a quiet productive day, paying wages and suppliers, and then raising invoices to make me feel better about all the money i’d have spent.
The peace and quiet was rudely interrupted by a female resident of Velmore, who decided to drive into the side of 558 just before 10.00.
Luckily everyone was apparently ok, and the bus was able to continue in service albeit with some delay, and by all accounts the car was not in a position to continue anywhere, which frankly serves it right!
So I headed down to the bus station to meet the stricken bus, which arrived about 10 minutes late at 1015. Closer inspection of the damage revealed some dents and scratches to the battery flap under the driver’s window, which will not stop the bus being used, but some damage to the offside front indicator which will need to be sorted before the bus can go back out.
Luckily the scheduled 1005-1015 turnaround is also a driver changeover and I was able to get the outgoing driver installed in the spare bus, 841, in time to allow plenty of time for loading and a punctual departure.
Meanwhile, our accident driver was due back out again after a legal thirty minute break on the 1045 C2. Now bearing in mind our stipulation that drivers must be on the bus a minimum of five minutes before departure, this was clearly not going to work. Besides, although unhurt, our driver was a little shaken and deserving of slightly more civilised treatment than being kicked straight back out on the next bus. So that made me the driver of the 1045 C2!
This bus turned out to be 552 (Ant having swapped the allocation round extensively in the morning from how I’d left it the previous evening – I guess he was bored or needed something to distract him from the excitement that awaited him later on). I can never make up my mind about 552. Darts with that particular engine make a pretty unattractive throbbing, growling noise, usually accompanied by extensive vibrations when idling, and to be honest I find the noise really tiresome. This is as opposed to earlier Darts that just sound like overgrown hairdryers.
Anyway, for some reason 552’s noises didn’t bother me particularly today and on the plus side, the Darts are much nippier than the DAFs which is ideal on a fairly tightly timed urban route like the C1 or C2. So 552 and me got on just fine today, and a three minute late departure from Eastleigh occasioned by the uncharacteristically late arrival of the incoming journey, was effortlessly turned into an on time arrival at 1205, ready to hand back to our now rejuvenated accident victim for his next trip, the 1215 C1.
In the meantime, I learned that the 1115 C1 had been delayed on departure from Eastleigh because of a problem with the kneeling suspension. The DAFs have very complicated interlocks to stop you driving away when the suspension is lowered, and sometimes they get themselves a bit confused and won’t let you drive away even when the suspension is patently in its proper position. This had caused about fifteen minutes of annoyance to Steve and Simon while they tried to sort it out, and accordingly the 1115 from Eastleigh was about 10 to 15 minutes late.
Our normal practice now armed with such information is to go straight for Twitter and inform the general public of any delay. I was pleased to note that in my absence Mikey had done just that so the world was duly aware of this delay. (As an aside, the process of sending a Tweet is now known internally as “devaluing the brand”, for example in the expression “Please would you devalue the brand Mikey”, meaning please would you update the Twitter feed - an obscure in-joke that will be understood only be the more perceptive observers of the local bus scene, and there are absolutely no prizes for getting it!).
This of course now meant that the 1156 C1 would also be running late, and with a driver changeover due on its arrival in Eastleigh at 1240 before the 1245 C2 departure, I was able to commandeer another spare bus, 851, to enable Taz to go out on time on the 1245.
Having thus lost the entire morning, I grabbed a salad for lunch and headed back to the office, where I did at least manage to pay the wages.
Then I got two texts almost simultaneously. One from Ant to say that he would shortly be back in Eastleigh with his new toy, and one from Matt to say that he had an airbag warning light on 512 at Boorley Green, waiting to come back on an A. After an interrogation about any possible problems with the suspension, I judged 512 safe to drive and asked Matt to bring it back in service and said I’d meet him in Eastleigh.
So just over an hour after arriving back in the office, I was heading off back down the bus station. Sure enough, just before 3, a dark green Leyland National came romping into the bus station and glid to an elegant halt on the wall. Ant emerged from the driving seat commenting that it was one of the nicest Nationals he’d ever driven. Whereupon one of the friendly staff of the adjacent Sainsbury’s store wandered over and asked him, “who owns this piece of s**t then?”.
Chastened, Ant decided to make for the safety of the yard, and at that moment 512 trundled in, Matt announcing that in addition to the airbag warning, the speedo had failed just before arrival in Eastleigh!
So off I headed to Brenhaul in the stricken 512. As I passed the entrance to the yard, there was Ant’s toy surrounded by the local bus paparazzi who were out in force to greet it. Sadly, my arrival at Brenhaul met with a rather gloomier reception.
Upon carrying out 511’s inspection, Brenhaul had found a problem with the body at the rear, which will need the attention of the body repair company we use. They would be unable to look at it before the following morning, so it would be off overnight.
By some clever detective work I had established that the suspension on 512 raised and lowered fine, which suggests that the airbags themselves are not the problem – it was only the kneeling switch that didn’t elicit a response and therefore the problem i s much more likely to be the switch. And too much of a coincidence that the speedo failed at nearly the same time. So almost certainly an electrical problem.
But needless to say, our electrician would be too busy and unable to attend before the following morning, so 512 joined 511 and 558 on the casualty list, meaning that our available low-floor single deck resource would be halved from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, with only three out of the six being available Thursday morning.
Back I trooped to the office, having now lost a good chunk of the afternoon as well. I managed to pay a few invoices, the joy of it, and was just thinking about how to prioritise the remaining time when Matt called again. He was on C stand, ready to depart on the 1615 C1 with 507, and it wouldn’t start! Electrics all ok, all the systems came to life exactly as they should, but when you hit the all-important ‘start’ button...... nothing!
So I arranged for him to decant his passengers on to the third spare bus of the day, 843, and off I went to the bus station yet again, having summoned Brenhaul to attend the scene. Sure enough, not long later, Rapid Response International Rescue came roaring into the bus station showing off the nice flashy orange lights on their shiny new van.
In about the only piece of good news, after some fiddling about under the engine flap (a land of mystery in my world), they managed to get it going again. Looks like it was something to do with the contact that tells the bus the engine flap is shut – if the contact is not made, the bus thinks the flap is open and won’t let you start the engine. The bus managed to start successfully for the rest of the day, so hopefully all is now well. My fear that this bus would have some terrible fault putting it off the road and taking the single deck casualty list to two thirds of the total happily proved unfounded.
By now it was approaching 5pm, or 1700 hrs as my brain doesn’t like 12 hour clocks, so I chatted to Taz for a bit and watched him go on the 1715 C1, then finally did manage an uninterrupted hour in the office before heading over to the yard for my daily game of helping the buses back into their parking spaces. I really need a set of table tennis bats for this for the full air traffic control effect... if anyone knows of any going spare!!!!
So that was the story of not the worst day ever by far, but just one of those niggly, frustrating days where nothing seems to go right and the “to do” list remains as long, or longer, than it ever was!
Sunday 26 July 2009
Vanilla-flavoured bus times
Great excitement this week as our new travel helpdesk has opened in Eastleigh Bus Station. Mikey’s main job is supposed to involve helping the public in the bus station, but since the demise of Fair Oak Flyer, our departures are now concentrated at quarter past and quarter to the hour. This makes for long periods of inactivity between departures, during which time Mikey was unable to do anything useful if he remained in the bus station.
Our new helpdesk solves this, as he can work productively on other jobs during the quiet times, while still being easily accessible to the public. We are hugely indebted to the Cafe at the Crossroads of Civilisation, as our helpdesk is situated in a corner of their newly opened ice cream parlour – could this be the only combined ice cream and bus information shop in the region?
The official opening hours are Monday to Friday 0930 – 1500 – basically Mikey’s working hours (on schooldays he also conducts the morning Thornden School bus first, but that’s another story!). However, I have realised that on a Saturday the helpdesk makes an ideal command post for me!
Usually on Saturdays, I run the operation with no other controller or spare drivers on duty, so any necessary operational support has to come from me. The new helpdesk is the ideal base from which to monitor the operation and be able to respond instantly to any problems. So yesterday I spent a fair bit of time there, much of it assisting a stream of Bluestar passengers who still haven’t worked out that their E service moved from stand B to stand E well over a month ago!
The ice cream travel centre is situated in the unit that used to be Bluestar’s travel shop, and I couldn’t help but reflect on the irony that when I left Bluestar in June 2007, little did I realise that just two years later I’d be back in that same shop dispensing bus information!
However, perhaps the most crushing comment yesterday came from a lady who wandered into the shop around midday, obviously mindful of its previous role.
She peered in from outside, then stepped warily in through the open door. She spent several moments scanning the ranked shelves of drinks, the brimming ice cream freezer, the cash desk with helpful smiling ice cream salesperson, the cheerily painted ice cream murals on the wall, the table stacked with bus timetables and me.
Then when she had finished contemplating all these various items, she looked all around again.
Finally I could bear the tension no longer and broke the silence with a cheery “can I help you madam”. At length, she turned to look at me and said, simply, “I suppose this place has closed down for good then?!”
Our new helpdesk solves this, as he can work productively on other jobs during the quiet times, while still being easily accessible to the public. We are hugely indebted to the Cafe at the Crossroads of Civilisation, as our helpdesk is situated in a corner of their newly opened ice cream parlour – could this be the only combined ice cream and bus information shop in the region?
The official opening hours are Monday to Friday 0930 – 1500 – basically Mikey’s working hours (on schooldays he also conducts the morning Thornden School bus first, but that’s another story!). However, I have realised that on a Saturday the helpdesk makes an ideal command post for me!
Usually on Saturdays, I run the operation with no other controller or spare drivers on duty, so any necessary operational support has to come from me. The new helpdesk is the ideal base from which to monitor the operation and be able to respond instantly to any problems. So yesterday I spent a fair bit of time there, much of it assisting a stream of Bluestar passengers who still haven’t worked out that their E service moved from stand B to stand E well over a month ago!
The ice cream travel centre is situated in the unit that used to be Bluestar’s travel shop, and I couldn’t help but reflect on the irony that when I left Bluestar in June 2007, little did I realise that just two years later I’d be back in that same shop dispensing bus information!
However, perhaps the most crushing comment yesterday came from a lady who wandered into the shop around midday, obviously mindful of its previous role.
She peered in from outside, then stepped warily in through the open door. She spent several moments scanning the ranked shelves of drinks, the brimming ice cream freezer, the cash desk with helpful smiling ice cream salesperson, the cheerily painted ice cream murals on the wall, the table stacked with bus timetables and me.
Then when she had finished contemplating all these various items, she looked all around again.
Finally I could bear the tension no longer and broke the silence with a cheery “can I help you madam”. At length, she turned to look at me and said, simply, “I suppose this place has closed down for good then?!”
Saturday 4 July 2009
The Great Fire of Asda
0855 on Saturday morning and the phone rings. It's the driver of the 0856 C1 from Asda. He breathlessly informs me that he was unable to wait time at the normal stop an Asda as it's on fire! There are three fire trucks lined up in the access road, firemen running around all over the place and climbing up on the roof, from which our driver thinks he can see smoke rising.
I mention this in passing to another colleague, who then texts one of the drivers, and within minutes word has spread to almost our entire workforce that Asda is on fire! Before long, even friends who don't work for the company are receiving the reports of this huge inferno and it can't be long before it reaches the local media!
The driver of the following 0956 journey is duly invited to pass on a live on-the-spot report from the epicentre of the incident, as we all await the news of whether the store is still standing.
The time comes and, oh so nonchalantly, she reports that the store is still very much in evidence, and not in any way on fire.
The reason for the fire brigade presence....?
They were setting up for a charity fun day!!!
I mention this in passing to another colleague, who then texts one of the drivers, and within minutes word has spread to almost our entire workforce that Asda is on fire! Before long, even friends who don't work for the company are receiving the reports of this huge inferno and it can't be long before it reaches the local media!
The driver of the following 0956 journey is duly invited to pass on a live on-the-spot report from the epicentre of the incident, as we all await the news of whether the store is still standing.
The time comes and, oh so nonchalantly, she reports that the store is still very much in evidence, and not in any way on fire.
The reason for the fire brigade presence....?
They were setting up for a charity fun day!!!
Monday 8 June 2009
China Wight
The crossroads of humanity is the cafe in Eastleigh Bus Station. All of society converges there, and the greatest way to pass a few minutes is to sit and eavesdrop the world's conversations.
Today while Ant and I were enjoying a leisurely lunch, we became aware of the two chaps at the table next to us discussing a recent visit one of them had made to the Isle of Wight. In particular they were discussing Blackgang Chine, a family attraction on the south side of the Island, named after the natural landmark of the same name. The discussion mostly centred around what a great attraction it was, and indeed the loveliness of the Island as a whole. Then it took a slightly unexpected twist....
A: I wonder why it's called Blackgang Chine.
B: I don't know, it sounds a bit Chinese to me
A: Yes I agree. But the Isle of Wight is British isn't it?
B: Yes, I think so
A: So why would somewhere like Blackgang have a Chinese name then?
B: I don't know, maybe its just got Chinese owners
And with that settled, they got up and left!
Today while Ant and I were enjoying a leisurely lunch, we became aware of the two chaps at the table next to us discussing a recent visit one of them had made to the Isle of Wight. In particular they were discussing Blackgang Chine, a family attraction on the south side of the Island, named after the natural landmark of the same name. The discussion mostly centred around what a great attraction it was, and indeed the loveliness of the Island as a whole. Then it took a slightly unexpected twist....
A: I wonder why it's called Blackgang Chine.
B: I don't know, it sounds a bit Chinese to me
A: Yes I agree. But the Isle of Wight is British isn't it?
B: Yes, I think so
A: So why would somewhere like Blackgang have a Chinese name then?
B: I don't know, maybe its just got Chinese owners
And with that settled, they got up and left!
Monday 4 May 2009
Frustrating Friday
We were very tight for vehicles anyway, but I thought we were going to make it! That was - of course - until the phone rang!!!
We currently have a fleet of 12 vehicles, of which we need 10 on the road until around 0830 in the morning, 7 in the middle of the day - plenty of slack there to deal with non-urgent maintenance issues - and then an afternoon peak of 9 vehicles between 1430 and 1800.
In other words, at our busiest point - the morning peak - we can afford two vehicles off the road, otherwise we would have to cancel service. To date, we have only ever cancelled service due to traffic problems (usually a motorway closure) or a breakdown en route, and we have never ever (as far as I can recall) cancelled a single journey due to lack of vehicle or lack of staff.
As at late Friday afternoon, we were running it close to the wire for Friday afternoon, never mind Tuesday morning:
V14 GMT is off for MOT preparation and will not be available to us again until after its test on Wednesday afternoon.
W558 JVV - a Dawsonrentals Dart of appalling reliability - has now added to its long list of ailments since it has been with us, a recurring fuel problem which is proving near enough impossible to trace, and basically involves the bus running fine for a while then suddently cutting out and refusing to restart. Brenhaul were following up some leads of various ideas that people had had, so it was off the road for Friday afternoon but we were hoping for a miracle cure in advance of Tuesday.
J841 TSC needed a thermal switch replacing that was not due until Friday, and in the meantime had been drained of all water and other essential fluids, and was therefore VOR for Friday although due back on the road Saturday morning.
So we already had the three casualty slots filled for Friday afternoon, but with the clock passing 5 (or 17 in my world), it was looking good...
Then the phone rang.
V7 GMT is our jinx bus. A perfectly pleasant drive, it is nevertheless accident prone. Of the mercifully small number of accidents that our fleet has experienced, V7 has been the company vehicle on well over 50% of occasions. It has also lost more panes of glass than any other bus. There is also an honourable tradition that something always goes wrong with one of our buses on the Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend.
Evidently on its way into Eastleigh to do the 1715 C1, one of the panes of glass in the door had smashed. We don't know how or why, we just know that it happened.
This immediately meant trouble, because the Bank Holiday weekend meant that the bus would be off for nearly a week. Our glass company are excellent, and will be able to source the glass first thing on Tuesday. But it will hopefully arrive on Wednesday and be fitted that day and - being bonded glazing - will then need several hours to cure putting it off the road effectively for Wednesday.
So, one pane of glass goes on Friday and the bus is off the road until Thursday. Delightful!
More urgently, that meant no bus for the 1715 C1, and no spare buses available because we now had four off the road.
So I pulled the bus that was due to go out on the 1720 Fair Oak Flyer, and stepped that up to the 1715 C1, which accordingly left 5 minutes late, albeit that I managed to warn the passengers that it would be a little late.
We then needed a bus for the 1720 Flyer, for which the most likely bet seemed to be the bus that comes back from the 601 college run to Hamble (due Hamble 1655) and then does the 1815 C1 after refuelling.
Taz (who drives the 1720 Flyer) went and warned his passengers of a likely short delay. Paul C eventually pulled in just after 1725 so we commandeered his bus and after a driver change and loading up, the 1720 left just before 1730.
The 1720 would normally come back to do the 1750 A but the delayed Flyer departure now put the 1750 at risk, so I had a bright idea. Pinch the bus coming back from the 612 college run - which goes straight to the yard and finishes - and use that for the 1750 A, using a driver on overtime (or - if need be - me) to cover it.
So I called Matt who had just arrived back, only to be told that a student had been sick on his bus, so that would not be available! And so it proved, Matt insisted on staying to do the clean-up job himself, but it took him an hour after his sign-off time such was the mess!
Next task was to speak to Brenhaul to see if they had any joy with 558. This was met with a resounding "no!" Not only not available for Friday, but not going to be available for Tuesday either.
Meanwhile I had sent messages to two drivers - normally good bets for overtime - to see if they would drive the trip, and for completely legitimate and unconnected reasons, both came back and said they couldn't.
The fates were determined that the 1750 A was not going to leave on time come what may!
So another trip to another stand to warn the waiting passengers, all of whom seemed grateful for the warning.
As it happened, Taz managed to make up some time on the 1720 Flyer, and in the end was back in the bus station and ready to go by 1755, so only a five minute delay after all that.
The only remaining task was to pinch the bus arriving on the A at 1800 (1710 from Boorley Green) to do the 1815 C1, and all Friday's work was finally covered.
As Friday evening peaks go, easily the most stressful for a long time. Three trips delayed - one by ten minutes, two by five minutes - so three commuter journeys disrupted. Not good!!! Some might argue that Friday afternoon peaks will always be troublesome, but for us this is way below acceptable performance.
And it also meant we were a bus short for Tuesday, but that's another story for another post.
But with apologies for anyone delayed by this sequence of events on Friday afternoon, there is the story of a pretty unpleasant hour in the life!!!
We currently have a fleet of 12 vehicles, of which we need 10 on the road until around 0830 in the morning, 7 in the middle of the day - plenty of slack there to deal with non-urgent maintenance issues - and then an afternoon peak of 9 vehicles between 1430 and 1800.
In other words, at our busiest point - the morning peak - we can afford two vehicles off the road, otherwise we would have to cancel service. To date, we have only ever cancelled service due to traffic problems (usually a motorway closure) or a breakdown en route, and we have never ever (as far as I can recall) cancelled a single journey due to lack of vehicle or lack of staff.
As at late Friday afternoon, we were running it close to the wire for Friday afternoon, never mind Tuesday morning:
V14 GMT is off for MOT preparation and will not be available to us again until after its test on Wednesday afternoon.
W558 JVV - a Dawsonrentals Dart of appalling reliability - has now added to its long list of ailments since it has been with us, a recurring fuel problem which is proving near enough impossible to trace, and basically involves the bus running fine for a while then suddently cutting out and refusing to restart. Brenhaul were following up some leads of various ideas that people had had, so it was off the road for Friday afternoon but we were hoping for a miracle cure in advance of Tuesday.
J841 TSC needed a thermal switch replacing that was not due until Friday, and in the meantime had been drained of all water and other essential fluids, and was therefore VOR for Friday although due back on the road Saturday morning.
So we already had the three casualty slots filled for Friday afternoon, but with the clock passing 5 (or 17 in my world), it was looking good...
Then the phone rang.
V7 GMT is our jinx bus. A perfectly pleasant drive, it is nevertheless accident prone. Of the mercifully small number of accidents that our fleet has experienced, V7 has been the company vehicle on well over 50% of occasions. It has also lost more panes of glass than any other bus. There is also an honourable tradition that something always goes wrong with one of our buses on the Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend.
Evidently on its way into Eastleigh to do the 1715 C1, one of the panes of glass in the door had smashed. We don't know how or why, we just know that it happened.
This immediately meant trouble, because the Bank Holiday weekend meant that the bus would be off for nearly a week. Our glass company are excellent, and will be able to source the glass first thing on Tuesday. But it will hopefully arrive on Wednesday and be fitted that day and - being bonded glazing - will then need several hours to cure putting it off the road effectively for Wednesday.
So, one pane of glass goes on Friday and the bus is off the road until Thursday. Delightful!
More urgently, that meant no bus for the 1715 C1, and no spare buses available because we now had four off the road.
So I pulled the bus that was due to go out on the 1720 Fair Oak Flyer, and stepped that up to the 1715 C1, which accordingly left 5 minutes late, albeit that I managed to warn the passengers that it would be a little late.
We then needed a bus for the 1720 Flyer, for which the most likely bet seemed to be the bus that comes back from the 601 college run to Hamble (due Hamble 1655) and then does the 1815 C1 after refuelling.
Taz (who drives the 1720 Flyer) went and warned his passengers of a likely short delay. Paul C eventually pulled in just after 1725 so we commandeered his bus and after a driver change and loading up, the 1720 left just before 1730.
The 1720 would normally come back to do the 1750 A but the delayed Flyer departure now put the 1750 at risk, so I had a bright idea. Pinch the bus coming back from the 612 college run - which goes straight to the yard and finishes - and use that for the 1750 A, using a driver on overtime (or - if need be - me) to cover it.
So I called Matt who had just arrived back, only to be told that a student had been sick on his bus, so that would not be available! And so it proved, Matt insisted on staying to do the clean-up job himself, but it took him an hour after his sign-off time such was the mess!
Next task was to speak to Brenhaul to see if they had any joy with 558. This was met with a resounding "no!" Not only not available for Friday, but not going to be available for Tuesday either.
Meanwhile I had sent messages to two drivers - normally good bets for overtime - to see if they would drive the trip, and for completely legitimate and unconnected reasons, both came back and said they couldn't.
The fates were determined that the 1750 A was not going to leave on time come what may!
So another trip to another stand to warn the waiting passengers, all of whom seemed grateful for the warning.
As it happened, Taz managed to make up some time on the 1720 Flyer, and in the end was back in the bus station and ready to go by 1755, so only a five minute delay after all that.
The only remaining task was to pinch the bus arriving on the A at 1800 (1710 from Boorley Green) to do the 1815 C1, and all Friday's work was finally covered.
As Friday evening peaks go, easily the most stressful for a long time. Three trips delayed - one by ten minutes, two by five minutes - so three commuter journeys disrupted. Not good!!! Some might argue that Friday afternoon peaks will always be troublesome, but for us this is way below acceptable performance.
And it also meant we were a bus short for Tuesday, but that's another story for another post.
But with apologies for anyone delayed by this sequence of events on Friday afternoon, there is the story of a pretty unpleasant hour in the life!!!
Saturday 4 April 2009
The perils of running on time
It's a balmy, lazy Saturday afternoon in Eastleigh and I'm on control. I decide that the best use of my time is not to tackle the huge pile in the in-tray, but to patrol the bus station for a bit, making sure none of our customers are unduly troubled by the warm sunshine, that kind of thing.
The time is 1528. I'm stood talking to a couple of the guys on stand C. An indignant chap storms up and demands to know what has happened to the 1520 service E to Winchester. He thumps the ground with his stick, proclaiming how ridiculous it is that the bus should be so late.
There are two problems. Firstly, service E is run by Bluestar, so we have no way of knowing if there is a problem. Secondly, we all recall seeing the bus arrive and leave spot on time, so we don't actually think there is a problem in the first place.
I ask rhetorically if there is anyone else waiting - the E is a busy bus and there would be a long queue - but we can all see there is no-one at the stand.
The man declares that it must have left early, but we are sure it didn't. He says he's been there a good few minutes and there has definitely been no bus.
I ask if he realises that it is actually 28 minutes past. He looks at his watch, agrees that it's 28 past, and says "but I've been waiting AT LEAST five minutes".....
The time is 1528. I'm stood talking to a couple of the guys on stand C. An indignant chap storms up and demands to know what has happened to the 1520 service E to Winchester. He thumps the ground with his stick, proclaiming how ridiculous it is that the bus should be so late.
There are two problems. Firstly, service E is run by Bluestar, so we have no way of knowing if there is a problem. Secondly, we all recall seeing the bus arrive and leave spot on time, so we don't actually think there is a problem in the first place.
I ask rhetorically if there is anyone else waiting - the E is a busy bus and there would be a long queue - but we can all see there is no-one at the stand.
The man declares that it must have left early, but we are sure it didn't. He says he's been there a good few minutes and there has definitely been no bus.
I ask if he realises that it is actually 28 minutes past. He looks at his watch, agrees that it's 28 past, and says "but I've been waiting AT LEAST five minutes".....
Friday 3 April 2009
A Frustrating Evening
These days we have settled into a routine.
Ant comes in early in the morning, opens up, makes sure the buses are ready to go and all the drivers turn up ready to drive them, then once they have all gone out heads to the office for paperwork fun. Usually he then does some driving after the morning peak has passed and goes home mid-afternoon.
I roll in around 9ish, spend my day not getting done all the things I need to get done, then head over to the yard around 1730. I meet the buses as they come in, attempt to get them parked in the right order to go out the following morning, ensuring they are defect-free as far as possible, have ticket machine, running card, o-licence and defect cards all in position to minimise any morning hassle. On a good night my day finishes around 1930, on a bad night it can run on much much longer.
Of course that is rarely the true end of my working day - invariably there is more paperwork to be done when I get home - but I'll save the self-pity for another time.
Tonight's run-in could not have gone more smoothly if it had been coated in butter. Yesterday was a totally different story!
I was in the bank when the problems started, just before 1630. Which is a pity since I love going to the bank. The staff are super-helpful and there is something highly satisfying about watching huge piles of notes and coins pouring into one's bank account. However, the smug self-satisfaction was blown away by a phone call from Kev, explaining that he was on Marie's bus, that they had just left Asda on the 1616 C1 back to Eastleigh, and were stuck in traffic caused by an accident in Templars Way (between Asda and Valley Park). According to Kev, a car had even managed to end up on its side. This didn't make sense as Taz would have been nowhere near the area at the time, but I'm sure he was right.
Essentially the phone call was to warn of likely delays later, greatly appreciated but not what I wanted to hear as I was in the mood for a nice relaxed, sun-drenched, chilled out end to the afternoon.
Marie's journey back to Eastleigh was padded with loads of recovery time in the schedule so I figured she'd make it back ok for her next trip - the C1 at 1715 back to Asda. The question mark would be against Karl on the 1615 from Eastleigh - due to arrive at Asda at 1653, out again at 1656, back to Eastleigh at 1740 for the 1745 departure. He was due to pass the accident scene in both directions.
I decided to 'monitor the situation' (aka carry on as if nothing has happened and hope for the best - most commonly used bus control technique in my experience), but my careful monitoring was interrupted by a message from Karl some time after he should have left Asda, to say he was still stuck in traffic heading towards Asda.
This immediately put the 1745 C1 from Eastleigh at risk and while I was more than happy to jump in to do this trip myself, there were two obvious problems:
1) I didn't have a bus to do it with
2) If I'm out driving any time after 1800, there is no-one to supervise the run-in, so the buses end up being abandoned all over the yard and surrounding area and it takes ages to sort out, plus there's no-one to resolve any problems or make sure the drivers sweep their buses properly etc etc
Nevertheless, the customers come first and I resolved to spend the next half hour working out how to create a bus with which to do the trip. I asked Karl to let me know when he was at Hiltingbury on the way back - after the accident site - so that I could gauge roughly his arrival time in Eastleigh.
Except that my plan lasted three minutes before Taz rang to remind me that I was supposed to be covering his last two trips - the 1720 and 1750 Fair Oak Flyers - so that he could attend his son's parents evening at school. I had completely forgotten!
The time was now 1710 so there was nothing to do but to head for stand F and await Taz's arrival. His arrival was prompt, the handover seamless and at 1720 I was heading for Fair Oak in 843.
At around 1730 I received a message that Karl was at Hiltingbury, just over 20 minutes late. This meant that he had no chance of making the 1745 C1, but might not be too far off the 1750 Flyer. I therefore decided that I would do the 1745 C1 - a tight turn given that I was not due back into Eastleigh until 1745 myself but certainly better than making them wait for Karl - and ask Karl to do the best job he could of making the 1750 Flyer.
In the event I got into Eastleigh with a minute or two to spare, got out on time on the 1745 and passed Karl inbound at the Leigh Rd/Passfield Ave lights, which would put him maybe 2-3 minutes late on the Flyer - not a bad outcome really.
And that would have been the end of the story except for the fact that Karl left me a message when I got to Hiltingbury, to let me know he was in the petrol station on the way back to the yard and had just discovered that his rear offside tyre had completely come off the rim!
A quick call to our trusty tyre suppliers, Hampshire Tyres, and they were on their way to the scene. I completed my C1 trip and headed back to the yard, with some trepidation knowing that apart from 552 feeling ill with its bad tyre, most of the rest of the fleet would by now have arrived back with no guidance on where to park.
I called in at the petrol station, decided that 552 could be carefully driven back to the yard and got Karl to follow me up the road in 843. As we arrived at the yard, we were greeted by a scene of some chaos with buses parked in all kinds of random spots around the yard - albeit that the drivers had very helpfully organised themselves so that everything was in and not blocking the road - but the buses that needed to be at the front were parked at the back and vice versa.
To make matters worse 511 had been off since mid-afternoon with a brake defect and Brenhaul had not yet had a chance to look at it, so that would not be ready to park for a while yet.
I left the tyre fitter working on 552 outside the yard and spent the next 30 minutes with Karl's help orchestrating a grand ballet of buses, like giant pieces on a chess board to get the ones that needed to be at the back at the back.
By now it was 1945 and Karl went home, leaving me to wait for 511 and 552 to be ready. They finally were ready to park at around 2030, so I took both round to the yard, parked them up, locked the gates at 2045 and was finally on my way home!
Ant comes in early in the morning, opens up, makes sure the buses are ready to go and all the drivers turn up ready to drive them, then once they have all gone out heads to the office for paperwork fun. Usually he then does some driving after the morning peak has passed and goes home mid-afternoon.
I roll in around 9ish, spend my day not getting done all the things I need to get done, then head over to the yard around 1730. I meet the buses as they come in, attempt to get them parked in the right order to go out the following morning, ensuring they are defect-free as far as possible, have ticket machine, running card, o-licence and defect cards all in position to minimise any morning hassle. On a good night my day finishes around 1930, on a bad night it can run on much much longer.
Of course that is rarely the true end of my working day - invariably there is more paperwork to be done when I get home - but I'll save the self-pity for another time.
Tonight's run-in could not have gone more smoothly if it had been coated in butter. Yesterday was a totally different story!
I was in the bank when the problems started, just before 1630. Which is a pity since I love going to the bank. The staff are super-helpful and there is something highly satisfying about watching huge piles of notes and coins pouring into one's bank account. However, the smug self-satisfaction was blown away by a phone call from Kev, explaining that he was on Marie's bus, that they had just left Asda on the 1616 C1 back to Eastleigh, and were stuck in traffic caused by an accident in Templars Way (between Asda and Valley Park). According to Kev, a car had even managed to end up on its side. This didn't make sense as Taz would have been nowhere near the area at the time, but I'm sure he was right.
Essentially the phone call was to warn of likely delays later, greatly appreciated but not what I wanted to hear as I was in the mood for a nice relaxed, sun-drenched, chilled out end to the afternoon.
Marie's journey back to Eastleigh was padded with loads of recovery time in the schedule so I figured she'd make it back ok for her next trip - the C1 at 1715 back to Asda. The question mark would be against Karl on the 1615 from Eastleigh - due to arrive at Asda at 1653, out again at 1656, back to Eastleigh at 1740 for the 1745 departure. He was due to pass the accident scene in both directions.
I decided to 'monitor the situation' (aka carry on as if nothing has happened and hope for the best - most commonly used bus control technique in my experience), but my careful monitoring was interrupted by a message from Karl some time after he should have left Asda, to say he was still stuck in traffic heading towards Asda.
This immediately put the 1745 C1 from Eastleigh at risk and while I was more than happy to jump in to do this trip myself, there were two obvious problems:
1) I didn't have a bus to do it with
2) If I'm out driving any time after 1800, there is no-one to supervise the run-in, so the buses end up being abandoned all over the yard and surrounding area and it takes ages to sort out, plus there's no-one to resolve any problems or make sure the drivers sweep their buses properly etc etc
Nevertheless, the customers come first and I resolved to spend the next half hour working out how to create a bus with which to do the trip. I asked Karl to let me know when he was at Hiltingbury on the way back - after the accident site - so that I could gauge roughly his arrival time in Eastleigh.
Except that my plan lasted three minutes before Taz rang to remind me that I was supposed to be covering his last two trips - the 1720 and 1750 Fair Oak Flyers - so that he could attend his son's parents evening at school. I had completely forgotten!
The time was now 1710 so there was nothing to do but to head for stand F and await Taz's arrival. His arrival was prompt, the handover seamless and at 1720 I was heading for Fair Oak in 843.
At around 1730 I received a message that Karl was at Hiltingbury, just over 20 minutes late. This meant that he had no chance of making the 1745 C1, but might not be too far off the 1750 Flyer. I therefore decided that I would do the 1745 C1 - a tight turn given that I was not due back into Eastleigh until 1745 myself but certainly better than making them wait for Karl - and ask Karl to do the best job he could of making the 1750 Flyer.
In the event I got into Eastleigh with a minute or two to spare, got out on time on the 1745 and passed Karl inbound at the Leigh Rd/Passfield Ave lights, which would put him maybe 2-3 minutes late on the Flyer - not a bad outcome really.
And that would have been the end of the story except for the fact that Karl left me a message when I got to Hiltingbury, to let me know he was in the petrol station on the way back to the yard and had just discovered that his rear offside tyre had completely come off the rim!
A quick call to our trusty tyre suppliers, Hampshire Tyres, and they were on their way to the scene. I completed my C1 trip and headed back to the yard, with some trepidation knowing that apart from 552 feeling ill with its bad tyre, most of the rest of the fleet would by now have arrived back with no guidance on where to park.
I called in at the petrol station, decided that 552 could be carefully driven back to the yard and got Karl to follow me up the road in 843. As we arrived at the yard, we were greeted by a scene of some chaos with buses parked in all kinds of random spots around the yard - albeit that the drivers had very helpfully organised themselves so that everything was in and not blocking the road - but the buses that needed to be at the front were parked at the back and vice versa.
To make matters worse 511 had been off since mid-afternoon with a brake defect and Brenhaul had not yet had a chance to look at it, so that would not be ready to park for a while yet.
I left the tyre fitter working on 552 outside the yard and spent the next 30 minutes with Karl's help orchestrating a grand ballet of buses, like giant pieces on a chess board to get the ones that needed to be at the back at the back.
By now it was 1945 and Karl went home, leaving me to wait for 511 and 552 to be ready. They finally were ready to park at around 2030, so I took both round to the yard, parked them up, locked the gates at 2045 and was finally on my way home!
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Here's another good blog
Rob Arkell, part-owner of Cotswold Green, a small independent operator in Gloucestershire, has a very enjoyable blog running here.
Rob used to work with me at Stagecoach West many years ago and is a thoroughly nice bloke. He has quietly built quite a sizeable operation in a deeply rural area.
Rob used to work with me at Stagecoach West many years ago and is a thoroughly nice bloke. He has quietly built quite a sizeable operation in a deeply rural area.
For whom the bell tolls...
Having been harangued numerous times over the past 48 hours about the lack of activity on this blog, I have been shamed into writing something.
On the 500 every Saturday, the 1545 short journey from Eastleigh to Chestnut Avenue always carries four very nice old ladies who travel to various points along the route.
Nothing unusual there, except that in true "ah bless" fashion, one of the party - clearly deemed 'the organiser' - has to sit on the seat where there is a bell push at chest level on a horizontal hand pole.
I have no idea whether the other old ladies are unable to use the bell for themselves or have simply been instructed not to, but the job of 'the organiser' is to guard the bell, and ring it whenever the bus is approaching one of the stops at which any member of the party wishes to alight.
Maybe we should teach her to ring the bell twice when the bus is ready to move off again. She could even collect the fares! Oh no, there aren't any........
On the 500 every Saturday, the 1545 short journey from Eastleigh to Chestnut Avenue always carries four very nice old ladies who travel to various points along the route.
Nothing unusual there, except that in true "ah bless" fashion, one of the party - clearly deemed 'the organiser' - has to sit on the seat where there is a bell push at chest level on a horizontal hand pole.
I have no idea whether the other old ladies are unable to use the bell for themselves or have simply been instructed not to, but the job of 'the organiser' is to guard the bell, and ring it whenever the bus is approaching one of the stops at which any member of the party wishes to alight.
Maybe we should teach her to ring the bell twice when the bus is ready to move off again. She could even collect the fares! Oh no, there aren't any........
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