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Post by Alex on May 9, 2013 21:35:59 GMT
Hi all, been ages since I posted here but here goes..... ;D Decided to go out and have a decent ride on the buses again, to see what was happening out there. Saw something quite odd on the 320 earlier. It stopped somewhere that appeared very isolated (opposite some cottages in Keston) and Ibus announced that there would be a driver change! I spotted someone from a Metrobus van coming to take over the bus, and the previous driver got in the van. I can see how it works but it seemed so odd as the place was so far out of the way! Does this happen with every changeover on the 320 or is it just when drivers starting/finishing duties? As said the location of it opened my eyes a bit, quite like experiencing the open country run with narrow lanes on the 464 afterwards!  |
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2013 21:54:36 GMT
Hi all, been ages since I posted here but here goes..... ;D Decided to go out and have a decent ride on the buses again, to see what was happening out there. Saw something quite odd on the 320 earlier. It stopped somewhere that appeared very isolated (opposite some cottages in Keston) and Ibus announced that there would be a driver change! I spotted someone from a Metrobus van coming to take over the bus, and the previous driver got in the van. I can see how it works but it seemed so odd as the place was so far out of the way! Does this happen with every changeover on the 320 or is it just when drivers starting/finishing duties? As said the location of it opened my eyes a bit, quite like experiencing the open country run with narrow lanes on the 464 afterwards! More than once I've seen a driver change there on the 320, funnily enough. I imagine it's probably the most efficient place to do a driver changeover, funnily enough - along the less busy part of the route, and probably in the closest place to Green Street Green (only a short hop along the A21). It certainly is a funny location for a driver changeover though and must be one of the more isolated points at which driver changeovers are done! On a side note, the routes around Biggin Hill, particularly the 464 are a fantastic ride! The fast run down to Westerham on the 246, the country lanes on the 464 and R8, and the powerful MANs on the R2 all make for a great ride in that area. |
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Post by Alex on May 9, 2013 22:22:04 GMT
Ah, thanks for that - looking at a map it makes perfect sense but did seem strange as it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere! Thanks again |
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Post by DT 11 on May 9, 2013 22:37:49 GMT
Hi all, been ages since I posted here but here goes..... ;D Decided to go out and have a decent ride on the buses again, to see what was happening out there. Saw something quite odd on the 320 earlier. It stopped somewhere that appeared very isolated (opposite some cottages in Keston) and Ibus announced that there would be a driver change! I spotted someone from a Metrobus van coming to take over the bus, and the previous driver got in the van. I can see how it works but it seemed so odd as the place was so far out of the way! Does this happen with every changeover on the 320 or is it just when drivers starting/finishing duties? As said the location of it opened my eyes a bit, quite like experiencing the open country run with narrow lanes on the 464 afterwards! When Route 320 was extended to Catford the driver changeover point was changed from Bromley North to Keston Church. This point is used because it is the closest point to the Garage along the route. The mini vans are normally parked outside the church, the drivers always do a swap from bus to van. Yes it is a very quiet and dead location, but is the best place along the route to change drivers to save running costs. All changeovers occur at either Keston Church bus stop for the 320 |
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Post by eggmiester on May 11, 2013 21:44:19 GMT
The 320 drivers have their reliefs at MB so they changeover at Keston and use the ferry vans to MB.
What's ironic is that the 261 drivers continue to changeover at Bromley north, even though PRU Hosp is literally 5 mins from MB... But that stems from the days when the 261 only went as far as Bromley common. Back then the 261 and 320 were on a common schedule and rota with reliefs at Bromley North. An old mate of mine used to work on that rota at MB some years back.
The 161 has a weird set-up where change-overs happen at both Chislehurst war memorial and Eltham Stn with all meal reliefs taken at Eltham Stn.
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Post by DT 11 on May 12, 2013 5:10:27 GMT
The 320 drivers have their reliefs at MB so they changeover at Keston and use the ferry vans to MB. What's ironic is that the 261 drivers continue to changeover at Bromley north, even though PRU Hosp is literally 5 mins from MB... But that stems from the days when the 261 only went as far as Bromley common. Back then the 261 and 320 were on a common schedule and rota with reliefs at Bromley North. An old mate of mine used to work on that rota at MB some years back. The 161 has a weird set-up where change-overs happen at both Chislehurst war memorial and Eltham Stn with all meal reliefs taken at Eltham Stn. The same can be said about the 336 which has changeovers at Bromley North. Route 358 could be used as a ferry bus to Locksbottom. I guess they use Bromley North due to the amount of routes they operate terminating at that point that have their changeovers there e.g. 138, 352, 367, passing 126, 336 etc |
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Post by eggmiester on May 16, 2013 9:41:33 GMT
And the fact that there's a staff restaurant and facilities at Bromley North which is another factor.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2013 9:50:27 GMT
And the fact that there's a staff restaurant and facilities at Bromley North which is another factor. Are the facilities at Bromley North and Eltham open to all operators? |
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Post by beaver14uk on May 16, 2013 11:47:31 GMT
yes ote author=antman board=routes thread=7564 post=202969 time=1368697827] And the fact that there's a staff restaurant and facilities at Bromley North which is another factor. Are the facilities at Bromley North and Eltham open to all operators?[/quote] |
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Post by 6HP502C on May 16, 2013 16:23:31 GMT
I used to go there in the dead of night when I did the N3. No food available although at least I had somewhere to sit to watch films on my laptop!
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Post by Steve80 on May 17, 2013 3:46:17 GMT
I used to go there in the dead of night when I did the N3. No food available although at least I had somewhere to sit to watch films on my laptop! Unless you come in at 4am and see the tray of bread rolls on the table! Unfortunately, there's cameras everywhere  |
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Post by 6HP502C on May 30, 2013 9:30:23 GMT
Indeed, loads of fresh
I did the 320 a few nights ago. I was surprised to see a crew change occur at around 23:30. The bus, N94 465 was a heap. The rear of the bus sounded like it was ready to fall apart - the squeaking was giving me a headache and the floor panels were loose. The bus was slow as well - it could only manage 7 mph going up Stock Hill (the climb out of Biggin Hill Valley) with the 464 following looking quite desperate to overtake!
Also am I right in thinking this batch are 4 speeders?
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Post by vjaska on May 30, 2013 10:39:51 GMT
Indeed, loads of fresh I did the 320 a few nights ago. I was surprised to see a crew change occur at around 23:30. The bus, N94 465 was a heap. The rear of the bus sounded like it was ready to fall apart - the squeaking was giving me a headache and the floor panels were loose. The bus was slow as well - it could only manage 7 mph going up Stock Hill (the climb out of Biggin Hill Valley) with the 464 following looking quite desperate to overtake! Also am I right in thinking this batch are 4 speeders? All the 52-54 reg Omnidekkas should be 5 spd ZF with the 55-07 reg 6 spd ZF. |
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Post by eggmiester on May 31, 2013 10:52:00 GMT
its not unusual for routes to have late night changeovers. Indeed there many night routes that have live changeovers throughout the night.
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Post by Madstuntman on Jun 1, 2013 9:26:53 GMT
I think (I may be wrong as my knowledge of MB operations is still quite slim at the moment, only worked there 2 months so far...) that a late 320 becomes a 119 night bus (well the 24 hour bit, you know what I mean as its not a proper N route) So 23:30 would be a time for a night bus driver to take over. I know that the 119 night duties (that MB operate) are tacked on the end of the 320 duties on the wall with the duty lists. as I almost put my name down for overtime... Nice late on the 320... Oh no its not, its a 119 till 5am!!! No thank you!!!!
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