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Post by Madstuntman on Apr 15, 2007 8:20:42 GMT
May i be the first to say... Welcome to DT?? ;D ;D ;D At least I would know some of the drivers there, not being horrible, but I hope it dosen't come to that as I have some good friends at BX (besides DT has no night routes ) S'ok dude was joking anyway! Night route?!?!? last 160 finishes at 0145 that's late enough for me thank you very much?!?!?! Other than that we have mostly s**t routes that no one else wants anyway. I did debate a move to BX a while ago but I like the convenence and atmophere of DT.
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Post by lc1 on Apr 15, 2007 16:30:14 GMT
;D ;D ;D At least I would know some of the drivers there, not being horrible, but I hope it dosen't come to that as I have some good friends at BX (besides DT has no night routes ) S'ok dude was joking anyway! Night route?!?!? last 160 finishes at 0145 that's late enough for me thank you very much?!?!?! Other than that we have mostly s**t routes that no one else wants anyway. I did debate a move to BX a while ago but I like the convenence and atmophere of DT. As they say it's better the devil you know etc...... When I was saying Dt has no night routes, I'm a spare driver on the night buses at BX and am on the waiting list to go on the roa (although I think I'll have a long wait )
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Post by Madstuntman on Apr 15, 2007 21:30:44 GMT
I've never done night buses, What do you like/dislike about them?
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Post by eggmiester on Apr 15, 2007 22:41:08 GMT
I love them, think thyere great, the only busy times are friday and saturday nights, NO SCHOOLKIDS ansd 1 QSI (Trafalgar Square). I personally prefer the N21's because the route is simple, virtaully a straight line and at weekends theres extra buses on doing Eltham shorts, so its not too busy, the N89 however is ok but tends to get busy a fair bit on firday and saturday nights, i think they need to introduce extra N89's at wekends, maybe 2 extra buses doing Welling Shorts or somehing to ease the congestion. The only dislike i have about night buses is the silly questions you get asked, 'Do you go to Trafalgar Square' whats it say on the front 'er' ?? (does help if you turn the blind lights on ;D ;D)
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Post by Steve80 on Apr 16, 2007 0:46:41 GMT
Imo the late night revellers are just as bad as the schoolkids. Some cases they are worse. Things I experienced on the N159 from drunken fights and people smoking and vomiting. No traffic on the roads but it stops at every bus stop and people take so long to get off the bus.
Traffic is pretty bad though in central london. When doing the route 3 last friday night, taking me about 20 minutes to get out of piccadilly and trafalgar square, and I know the traffic gets worse around 2-3 am.
On new years day, people were going in and out of the exit doors and blocking it and police had to sort it out. I can tell the night drivers, on the N159 anyway, are not having a good time because they are driving so erratic.
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Post by lc1 on Apr 16, 2007 18:16:58 GMT
Pretty much the same as egg.
No traffic, most of the lights change in your favour as you approach, no schoolkids.
The drunks I can handle, I just ignore a lot of them, although I do try to stop them pilling on the exit doors, especially at the Venue in New Cross, the solution I just don't open the back doors ;D
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Post by Steve80 on Apr 16, 2007 23:41:04 GMT
Just realising that the N21 or N89 doesn't run towards piccadilly or leicester square. When you guys go on diversion sometime you will see how bad it is around those areas.
How long you guys been driving night buses?
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Post by lc1 on Apr 17, 2007 19:11:10 GMT
Just realising that the N21 or N89 doesn't run towards piccadilly or leicester square. When you guys go on diversion sometime you will see how bad it is around those areas. How long you guys been driving night buses? Since about February, egg and I started on the spares list for night buses around the same time (I think egg had a duty a week before me ) although I think I'm correct in saying I have done more duties on nights than egg, thanks to them giving me almost two straight weeks on them. The worse thing about doing spares on the nights is you could (and I have done this) have a duty that ends at 5 in the morning and then have to go home get some kip and come back to do a duty that starts at 15:00 I know what the traffic is like in the West End from my time as a non bus driver a regular West End reveller, done many a pub crawl around Leicester Square (crawl being the appropriate word)
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Post by eggmiester on Apr 17, 2007 20:34:32 GMT
Thats the other thing i don't mind finishing at 5am and starting at 3pm but i doesnt do my sleep patterns any good!!! had that on easter sunday, finished on the N21's at 05:35, then had a few games of pool with lc1 then left BX about 06:30, then had to be back in for a 16:04 start on the 89's.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 18, 2007 0:56:11 GMT
Personally I love the nights (well the N1's anyway, the 108's have way too much running time at night, you have to drive the whole evening at 20mph. No good for a speed freak like me ;D I admit though that they can upset your pattern if your not on them all the time, especially with a couple of our duties that start just after 7pm!!! When do nights start exactly??!!!! Thats the other thing i don't mind finishing at 5am and starting at 3pm but i doesnt do my sleep patterns any good!!! had that on easter sunday, finished on the N21's at 05:35, then had a few games of pool with lc1 then left BX about 06:30, then had to be back in for a 16:04 start on the 89's.
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Post by lc1 on Apr 18, 2007 19:00:45 GMT
Personally I love the nights (well the N1's anyway, the 108's have way too much running time at night, you have to drive the whole evening at 20mph. No good for a speed freak like me ;D I admit though that they can upset your pattern if your not on them all the time, especially with a couple of our duties that start just after 7pm!!! When do nights start exactly??!!!! Thats the other thing i don't mind finishing at 5am and starting at 3pm but i doesnt do my sleep patterns any good!!! had that on easter sunday, finished on the N21's at 05:35, then had a few games of pool with lc1 then left BX about 06:30, then had to be back in for a 16:04 start on the 89's. During the week (Monday to Thursday) we only have 9 night duties (That's why there's such a long waiting list to go on them ), the first one starts at 19:16 and finishes at 03:23, the last one starts at 22:53 and finishes at 05:50, the rest start in between and finish between 05:00 and 06:37, the 06:37 one is a killer as it's the last bus from Erith on the N89 consequently you are very busy with cleaners and postman etc... I would hate to have to do the 108 and drive at 20mph all night, although the N89 is like that during the week until you get to Shooters Hill and then for some reason they give you hardly anytime to get to Erith (28 minutes I think from recollection, although you do normally get 25 minutes stand in Erith, just enough time for a couple of cigarettes and a pee
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Post by Steve80 on Apr 18, 2007 23:50:46 GMT
So you only do 7 hours for each night bus duty? How many rounders do you normally do?
Night buses is something I like to do. I got this impression its more involving than the daytime buses and theres always something happening. I perfer lates anyway as I can't wake up in the mornings.
I hate driving slow. I always like to leave late as I do like to put my foot down. Not many controllers at night are they?
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Post by lc1 on Apr 19, 2007 18:20:48 GMT
So you only do 7 hours for each night bus duty? How many rounders do you normally do? Night buses is something I like to do. I got this impression its more involving than the daytime buses and theres always something happening. I perfer lates anyway as I can't wake up in the mornings. I hate driving slow. I always like to leave late as I do like to put my foot down. Not many controllers at night are they? Apart from the last duty we do a little bit of a day bus, then have a bit of a rest and then do the night bus. For example the duty I have this weekend is, light from garage to Orpington, 1 round on the 51 and light back to the garage, an hour and a bit off then take over a 229 outside the garage, work it to Queen Marys Hospital and then run light to Footscray Tesco's turn it into a N21 and leave 20 minutes later, do 2 rounds on the N21 and then light back to the garage from Footscray sign off pay in go home ;D I think the most you do on the N89 is two rounders, most are 1 and a half. The first duty on the N89 is two and a half on the 401, and then 1 and a bit on the N89.
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Post by Steve80 on Apr 30, 2007 2:33:41 GMT
On saturday I have learned never to stop close to an accident that had just taken place. This is exactly what I did on saturday when I turned into effra road in brixton into the bus stop, right next to this big accident. Because it involved a police car, they shut the road for 8 hours. While the officials got the buses behind me to reverse, after spending about an hour there, I was made to wait for 3 hours while they took their pictures and other bits and bobs, and they wanted the cctv of my bus. The good thing was I missed 2 rounders. The bad thing was I was over an hour late for my break Good thing it wasn't my last trip. I would have been very annoyed otherwise.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2007 10:27:13 GMT
The driver with the Sidcup stn blind problem passenger has my entire sympathies. Why are people so bloody rude esp when it's their mistake? If the bus is correctly showing a short working blind then no transfer is called for. Well done mate.
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