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Post by londonbusboy on Jul 3, 2013 3:16:22 GMT
A great episode i still remember scrubbing 17409s exterior at TB the night before being filmed at WH and it was nice seeing it gleaming in the sun. We get different trainers each week at Bromley and they always arrive filthy!
I have heard lots of bad things about being a bus driver but some say its what you make of it and i definitely still want to give it a go.
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Post by mondraker275 on Jul 3, 2013 6:43:51 GMT
Things I learnt from another interesting episode: The Controller v Driver tensions  (May suddenly increase after that episode, that lady's comments especially) A drama qualification can be used in the bus industry.  (How on earth has that guy got so many folders and papers in his office?) Drivers crave for a 'Thank you'  (And I will probably try to give them it!) |
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Post by Connor on Jul 3, 2013 8:28:32 GMT
Hey diddle diddle and all that............... I have now watched it on iPlayer www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b036pgym/The_Route_Masters_Running_Londons_Roads_On_the_Buses/Very awesome programme, the Heritage RM's got featured. Also shown that the bell on the Heritage RM's which are not working.  Well done to the mechanic at the Westbourne Park garage, he really done an awesome job keeping the precious Routemasters on the road. I am glad that the NBFL have blinds which features places worldwide. But I thought the International Regulations does not fit the bus because of the Open Platform. But they are wrong.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNtg7fwsPiAThey are in America and Europe, probably Asia soon. Nice to see the NBFL's manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland, I think Ulster Bus deserve to order some for their area. I am very glad that the NBFL got featured. Well done to the lot. Happy days!!!   Would rather watch Big Brother! |
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Post by John tuthill on Jul 3, 2013 9:16:22 GMT
I have now watched it on iPlayer www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b036pgym/The_Route_Masters_Running_Londons_Roads_On_the_Buses/Very awesome programme, the Heritage RM's got featured. Also shown that the bell on the Heritage RM's which are not working. Well done to the mechanic at the Westbourne Park garage, he really done an awesome job keeping the precious Routemasters on the road. I am glad that the NBFL have blinds which features places worldwide. But I thought the International Regulations does not fit the bus because of the Open Platform. But they are wrong. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNtg7fwsPiAThey are in America and Europe, probably Asia soon. Nice to see the NBFL's manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland, I think Ulster Bus deserve to order some for their area. I am very glad that the NBFL got featured. Well done to the lot. Happy days!!! Would rather watch Big Brother! With all the CCTV, GPS, black box monitoring etc, I THOUGHT it was Big Brother(1984 not the ITV tripe) |
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Post by M1104 on Jul 3, 2013 9:27:32 GMT
I was shocked that "new lady bus driver" was put on the road on her own - seemingly on her first day but that was not entirely clear. I've certainly seen new Arriva drivers be chaparoned by another driver. Interestingly TfL tweeted after the programme that new drivers are accompanied so who is correct? Anyone care to say? I was also shocked as I am sure big firms like Stagecoach give new drivers what's called an action drive (like you said, chaperoned by another driver for half or full shift). Perhaps the driver she was chaperoned with didn't want to be seen on tv.... or that it was her first day on her own and the commentary was inaccurate. It was rather emotional seeing her fulfil her dream of driving an RM, like her dad before her. I somewhat related with her as my dad (still alive and may have seen this episode) used to work on the RTs, SMSs and DMSs...the later I had as a trainer bus. The conversations my dad and I had over that bus that day. Really felt for that woman that she couldn't share that conversation face to face with her dad. That Westbourne Park mechanic was truly inspirational with his passion for his work and pure admiration for 'that British built beauty'. There was no way one could perfect further on what he said. My dad would certainly relate to him as he loved road testing the similar RT after a repair. Regarding that Trident that broke down in South East London with the plug in doors, surely the route controller/engineer could have advised the driver (or TfL official) on the location of the door's breaker switch.... which I believe would either be in the compartment above the doors or the compartment behind the drivers seat (the latter was where it was with the Metrobuses). That ibus lady who said something about her job being harder than a driver's, has she actually driven a bus in service and for how long....I wonder??? |
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Post by driveumad on Jul 3, 2013 13:35:52 GMT
Just touching on Stagecoach letting new drivers out on the road on their own, usually a mentor will go with them & just sit in the background, there if the new driver needs them & also there to see how they are.
I say usually as when I first passed my test I was out on my own in rush hour & in winter when it was dark early & it was pouring with rain.
I'm not sure if they needed cover desperately or someone made a mistake as a couple of days later I had a mentor with me which I thought was pointless since I had driven on my own already.
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Post by M1104 on Jul 3, 2013 14:17:07 GMT
Just touching on Stagecoach letting new drivers out on the road on their own, usually a mentor will go with them & just sit in the background, there if the new driver needs them & also there to see how they are. I say usually as when I first passed my test I was out on my own in rush hour & in winter when it was dark early & it was pouring with rain. I'm not sure if they needed cover desperately or someone made a mistake as a couple of days later I had a mentor with me which I thought was pointless since I had driven on my own already. If it's the case of staff shortages on that day, due to sudden surge of blowouts, the new driver may indeed have to venture out on their own. My original action drive was supposed to have been on a Monday, but I was offered overtime on the Saturday prior, which I took. I guess with it being Saturday less drivers were needed and hence I was guaranteed a driver with me. Had it been on the Monday as intended, there may have been a shortage where I may have gone out by myself. My action drive ended up being on the C2 with my first duty by myself being on the Monday with a spreadover duty on the 295. |
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Post by snoggle on Jul 3, 2013 14:50:05 GMT
My original action drive was supposed to have been on a Monday, but I was offered overtime on the Saturday prior, which I took. I guess with it being Saturday less drivers were needed and hence I was guaranteed a driver with me. Had it been on the Monday as intended, there may have been a shortage where I may have gone out by myself. My action drive ended up being on the C2 with my first duty by myself being on the Monday with a spreadover duty on the 295. How did you learn such disparate routes as the C2 and then 295? Do new drivers spend time riding round on their potential routes to learn the roads and stops or are they just given documents and left to get on with it? |
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Post by driveumad on Jul 3, 2013 16:06:45 GMT
My original action drive was supposed to have been on a Monday, but I was offered overtime on the Saturday prior, which I took. I guess with it being Saturday less drivers were needed and hence I was guaranteed a driver with me. Had it been on the Monday as intended, there may have been a shortage where I may have gone out by myself. My action drive ended up being on the C2 with my first duty by myself being on the Monday with a spreadover duty on the 295. How did you learn such disparate routes as the C2 and then 295? Do new drivers spend time riding round on their potential routes to learn the roads and stops or are they just given documents and left to get on with it? Your given time to learn the route by riding on them, some routes can be a doddle and you can learn 2 in a day some not so easy and might take you the whole day just for 1 route, it's not just the route itself your learning but the turning points as well in case of a curtailment. |
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Post by M1104 on Jul 3, 2013 16:51:30 GMT
How did you learn such disparate routes as the C2 and then 295? Do new drivers spend time riding round on their potential routes to learn the roads and stops or are they just given documents and left to get on with it? Your given time to learn the route by riding on them, some routes can be a doddle and you can learn 2 in a day some not so easy and might take you the whole day just for 1 route, it's not just the route itself your learning but the turning points as well in case of a curtailment. Indeed! The garages I've worked at give you the best part of a week to route learn all their routes, especially if they plan to put you on standby rota for a while. When i joined Merton garage for example they would put drivers on standby for six months before rota upgrade in stages to the 155/355....then 152/163/164 (170 Sundays only)....then 219/270 (22 Sundays only)....then 44/77....then the 280, that rota then having an average waiting time of twelve years to get on. |
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Post by LX09FBJ on Jul 3, 2013 17:32:37 GMT
There was a distinct lack of anything Abellio-y or London United-y (apart from a few shots of SPs on the 10 and ADHs on the 94 on Oxford Street |
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Post by snoggle on Jul 3, 2013 19:26:05 GMT
Indeed! The garages I've worked at give you the best part of a week to route learn all their routes, especially if they plan to put you on standby rota for a while. When i joined Merton garage for example they would put drivers on standby for six months before rota upgrade in stages to the 155/355....then 152/163/164 (170 Sundays only)....then 219/270 (22 Sundays only)....then 44/77....then the 280, that rota then having an average waiting time of twelve years to get on. Sorry to keep asking questions but why the stepped approach to different route rotas and why is the 280 the "Gold Medal" rota? Surely the bus companies just stick drivers where they want them or do union agreements and "keeping the troops happy" mean that having some rigidity in who drives what makes things easier to manage (e.g route managers have a stable group of drivers under their command)? |
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Post by M1104 on Jul 3, 2013 19:51:04 GMT
Indeed! The garages I've worked at give you the best part of a week to route learn all their routes, especially if they plan to put you on standby rota for a while. When i joined Merton garage for example they would put drivers on standby for six months before rota upgrade in stages to the 155/355....then 152/163/164 (170 Sundays only)....then 219/270 (22 Sundays only)....then 44/77....then the 280, that rota then having an average waiting time of twelve years to get on. Sorry to keep asking questions but why the stepped approach to different route rotas and why is the 280 the "Gold Medal" rota? Surely the bus companies just stick drivers where they want them or do union agreements and "keeping the troops happy" mean that having some rigidity in who drives what makes things easier to manage (e.g route managers have a stable group of drivers under their command)? That was the way it was when I joined, I think it's a seniority thing where the least popular rotas would go to the new drivers with the most popular rotas for the most seniors....baring rest days, mutual exchanges, standby or last minute reallocations where drivers may be driving on a different route. It was a similar setup at Stockwell (133 for newcomers, 88 for seniors) until a new manager came and the system changed to 'any driver to any rota'. At the time of me working there it was each garage to their own on how they handle allocations. |
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Post by Steve80 on Jul 3, 2013 19:55:28 GMT
There was a distinct lack of anything Abellio-y or London United-y (apart from a few shots of SPs on the 10 and ADHs on the 94 on Oxford Street That's what im thinking. What happened to filming any of the abellio garages? It was a good episode though. I was a bit unhappy to hear about that ibus controller saying bus drivers should just driver according to the timecard. What if you have a slow moving bus? What if a passenger has a problem on the bus? And that driver saying he does what ever the ibus controllers tell him to. Sometimes, the ibus controllers make decisions that I would query if it didn't make sense. Recall a controller giving me a turn to gipsy hill on the route 3 at around 11pm. Considering that I was finishing on my next trip and my current trip was only 4 stops away, it made no sense to terminate the bus especially as there was no other bus behind me. And whats this about starting salary of £26,000? Maybe im working for the wrong company! |
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Post by Steve80 on Jul 3, 2013 20:00:56 GMT
Your given time to learn the route by riding on them, some routes can be a doddle and you can learn 2 in a day some not so easy and might take you the whole day just for 1 route, it's not just the route itself your learning but the turning points as well in case of a curtailment. Indeed! The garages I've worked at give you the best part of a week to route learn all their routes, especially if they plan to put you on standby rota for a while. When i joined Merton garage for example they would put drivers on standby for six months before rota upgrade in stages to the 155/355....then 152/163/164 (170 Sundays only)....then 219/270 (22 Sundays only)....then 44/77....then the 280, that rota then having an average waiting time of twelve years to get on. Yes, when I was at AL they put me on the 155/355 rota. I could see why especially as both routes were single decks. When I had my mentor with me he kept saying to look out for the punters that would walk through the back doors, which was happening a lot. Thankfully, the 155 was double decked a few weeks later. Some of the new drivers were put straight onto the 219/270 rota or even the 44/77. Don't recall any new drivers going on the 280 rota although I think that was because the rota line was full. When I was on standby rota, I did that 280 many times |
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(May suddenly increase after that episode, that lady's comments especially)
(How on earth has that guy got so many folders and papers in his office?)
(And I will probably try to give them it!)
Well done to the mechanic at the Westbourne Park garage, he really done an awesome job keeping the precious Routemasters on the road. 
