|
Post by guybowden on Jul 3, 2013 20:14:12 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! That salary is before deductions and working rest days or the what you will be on after 5 or so years.
|
|
|
Post by M1104 on Jul 3, 2013 20:16:53 GMT
I noticed that the London accent Muslim driver on the 25 said £2.30 as the cash fare. I am guessing either he made a mistake or some of the filming was done quite a while back before the 10p increase.
|
|
|
Post by Swadbus on Jul 3, 2013 21:18:01 GMT
I noticed that the London accent Muslim driver on the 25 said £2.30 as the cash fare. I am guessing either he made a mistake or some of the filming was done quite a while back before the 10p increase. The filming was between around Sept last year to May this year.
|
|
|
Post by rambo on Jul 3, 2013 21:50:35 GMT
Must admit, ive never had any problems with radio room staff, they have a job to do as well.
|
|
|
Post by LX09FBJ on Jul 4, 2013 0:11:37 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 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! In the begining of the program it shows an Abellio Gemini (you can tell from the red handrails on the door) with a person saying 'Are you going to allow them to jump on the back of your bus' Running number is WL222 (either a 343 or 381)
|
|
|
Post by DT 11 on Jul 4, 2013 7:58:53 GMT
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! In the begining of the program it shows an Abellio Gemini (you can tell from the red handrails on the door) with a person saying 'Are you going to allow them to jump on the back of your bus' Running number is WL222 (either a 343 or 381) That is definitely a 343, 381 RN are 21+
|
|
|
Post by M1104 on Jul 4, 2013 9:57:24 GMT
In the begining of the program it shows an Abellio Gemini (you can tell from the red handrails on the door) with a person saying 'Are you going to allow them to jump on the back of your bus' Running number is WL222 (either a 343 or 381) Definitely a 343, the area looked like Telegraph Hill (near Brockley/New Cross) They will probably show more on that scene in one of the future episodes, like they did in the second episode with the Arriva and Stagecoach drivers.
|
|
|
Post by Paul on Jul 4, 2013 15:14:20 GMT
Must admit, ive never had any problems with radio room staff, they have a job to do as well. Can't say that I've ever much of a problem with the iBus controllers; like you say, they have a job to do as well. I find it's very much a case of working together rather than a 'them vs us' situation. That said, in my opinion, the female Arriva iBus controller in the latest episode had a bit of an attitude; I don't think I would be much inclined to put myself out too much to help her out. Speaking of the latest episode, it was strange to see so many people I know on TV from the iBus controllers to my fellow bus driving colleague Christine. There has been some conjecture on here concerning her 'being on her own.' I can 100% categorically confirm that she had a mentor with her for her first week on the road. How can I be so sure? Because I took over a 61 from her and her mentor Graham during her first week! I can't imagine that it's changed much in the four years or so since I was in that situation but once a driver has passed his or her test and done the type training and ticket training and been transferred to their garage they are generally given a week to ten days to learn that garage's routes. In Bromley's case that is learning the 61, 208, 227, 269, 314 and various iterations of the 638. Learning the school bus variations has to spread out over a few days because of some journies only doing one trip a day. You are generally given plenty of time to learn the routes since they don't want drivers getting lost! Once you and the garage staff are satisfied with your knowledge of the routes you are assigned a mentor. In my case my mentor and I shared driving duties for the first couple of days I was on the road before he let me get on with it for the rest of the week. The mentor has a very special job to do because they will help the new driver with particular routines a garage may have for signing on, signing off, for the morning run out and the evening run in. As far as I can gather, every garage has slightly different ways of doing things and the mentor is invaluable for helping you get things right. The mentor is also the one who assesses whether or not a new driver is capable of going out onto the road on their own. I have to say, I'm enjoying this programme; it's always fun seeing people and places you recognise on TV!
|
|
|
Post by rambo on Jul 4, 2013 16:12:20 GMT
What I did find annoying was the retired bus drivers saying how they used to take liberties in 'the old days', one of the reasons londons buses were privatised, imo.
|
|
|
Post by snoggle on Jul 4, 2013 16:54:29 GMT
What I did find annoying was the retired bus drivers saying how they used to take liberties in 'the old days', one of the reasons londons buses were privatised, imo. Hardly. Privatisation and "reducing the state" has been the political mantra for 30 years regardless of political party. It's a broadly right wing agenda that has been absorbed by centre and centre left parties as well. There was always a chance that "state owned London Transport" could be in line for that particular treatment. I do not see that "people taking the pee" at work had anything to do with it. Let's face it - people of all ages, competencies and positions in all sorts of jobs p*ss about at work and don't always pull their weight. The cost and associated inefficiency is just lumped into the total cost of running things but is rarely so bad that it becomes visible. It is all down to management at the end of the day to keep things under control. IME there are some people, usually a very small minority, who are world experts at not doing the job they're paid for and are working the "rules" to their advantage. These people can seriously damage morale if they're allowed to get away with their antics.
|
|
|
Post by snoggle on Jul 4, 2013 17:01:45 GMT
Must admit, ive never had any problems with radio room staff, they have a job to do as well. Can't say that I've ever much of a problem with the iBus controllers; like you say, they have a job to do as well. I find it's very much a case of working together rather than a 'them vs us' situation. That said, in my opinion, the female Arriva iBus controller in the latest episode had a bit of an attitude; I don't think I would be much inclined to put myself out too much to help her out. Speaking of the latest episode, it was strange to see so many people I know on TV from the iBus controllers to my fellow bus driving colleague Christine. There has been some conjecture on here concerning her 'being on her own.' I can 100% categorically confirm that she had a mentor with her for her first week on the road. How can I be so sure? Because I took over a 61 from her and her mentor Graham during her first week! I can't imagine that it's changed much in the four years or so since I was in that situation but once a driver has passed his or her test and done the type training and ticket training and been transferred to their garage they are generally given a week to ten days to learn that garage's routes. In Bromley's case that is learning the 61, 208, 227, 269, 314 and various iterations of the 638. Learning the school bus variations has to spread out over a few days because of some journies only doing one trip a day. You are generally given plenty of time to learn the routes since they don't want drivers getting lost! Once you and the garage staff are satisfied with your knowledge of the routes you are assigned a mentor. In my case my mentor and I shared driving duties for the first couple of days I was on the road before he let me get on with it for the rest of the week. The mentor has a very special job to do because they will help the new driver with particular routines a garage may have for signing on, signing off, for the morning run out and the evening run in. As far as I can gather, every garage has slightly different ways of doing things and the mentor is invaluable for helping you get things right. The mentor is also the one who assesses whether or not a new driver is capable of going out onto the road on their own. I have to say, I'm enjoying this programme; it's always fun seeing people and places you recognise on TV! Thanks for all this detail and filling in the gap in the TV programme about the mentor role. Did anyone recognise that first stop where she got everything wrong? There seemed to be a very healthy queue of people for her bus. On the subject of the Arriva controller I think she was simply playing up to the camera. If she was utterly awful at her job and wound all the drivers up I assume she wouldn't last because route performance would be poor. I may, of course, be taking a simplistic outsider view.
|
|
|
Post by Paul on Jul 4, 2013 17:19:35 GMT
Thanks for all this detail and filling in the gap in the TV programme about the mentor role. Did anyone recognise that first stop where she got everything wrong? There seemed to be a very healthy queue of people for her bus Looked like Bromley North to me; can get very busy with school kids in the mornings. I must say, when I'm running a 61 out of the garage to start at the North I always stop on Mitchell Way to sort out blinds and ticket machines; just makes life difficult for yourself pulling up at the stop
|
|
|
Post by londonbusboy on Jul 5, 2013 2:03:11 GMT
Christine is a nice friendly women i remember chatting to her not long after being filmed for the program and she was hoping they would cut that bit out of her getting lost but this is television we are talking about
|
|
|
Post by greeny253 on Jul 5, 2013 10:02:50 GMT
Christine is a nice friendly women i remember chatting to her not long after being filmed for the program and she was hoping they would cut that bit out of her getting lost but this is television we are talking about In actual fact leaving it in there is probably a good thing - shows exactly the sort of pressure placed on a new driver by people (for which read management/supervisors) assuming that she knew where she was going. She set a good example though of exactly what to do should a driver get lost.
|
|
|
Post by smiler52 on Jul 10, 2013 19:54:56 GMT
hi guys anyone know when its next on please can not be 6 all ready thanks
|
|