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Post by greeny253 on Sept 15, 2015 7:15:14 GMT
I would agree driving one route would get a bit much - I was quite surprised in the Stagecoach thread about the independent rotas at WH - a lifetime of the 330 must be very monotonous. Are there drivers that just stay on the spare board or when the time comes, do you have to go onto a rota? Also do some routes have longer waiting lists than others? The normal way the spare board works is that new drivers - be they new to the company or new to the garage - go on the spare list. In order of your length of service, once a rota position comes up you get put on it. When I worked out of Rainham I asked to stay on spare and to give them credit where it's due that's where I was left. Once I transferred to Bow on the other hand, once a position came up I went on the 205 rota. Which while it annoyed me to begin with I came to like it. One route all the time does make life easier for the drivers as there is less to remember really but it's always possible to swap a duty with someone else. |
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Post by snoggle on Sept 15, 2015 7:28:24 GMT
The normal way the spare board works is that new drivers - be they new to the company or new to the garage - go on the spare list. In order of your length of service, once a rota position comes up you get put on it. I am really surprised that seniority applies at bus companies. It's very much in place at LU for operational staff and I always found it odd given I, as a nasty manager, could only change or progress on the basis of merit not length of service. I recognise you can argue that "bus driving is bus driving" and everyone's base competence is the same but as in all jobs there are good performers and not so good performers on routes and I'd expect the good performers to be those who could progress if they so wished. I'm probably missing something in how it all works but seems very strange that some garages become "no go" areas for new drivers or some rotas are "off limits" because they're hogged by the old timers. |
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Post by snoggle on Sept 15, 2015 7:34:54 GMT
Yes there are many long serving people, this is the case in any garage really, I can stay on spare or apply for a rota which I doubt I would do, if they would combine the 179/275 rota I would go on that I am really looking forward to my next 2 days on the route, I'm R/N 5 today from 8-12 and R/N 4 from 2-5 {to the tune of "catch the pigeon, catch the pigeon"} The cartoon was "catch the pigeon" in the UK not "stop the pigeon" "Hunt the Dave, Hunt the Dave, Hunt the Dave".   I haven't done the bit to the Camp Site so that gives me the perfect excuse to do some "Mystery Shopping" on the 215.  |
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Post by greeny253 on Sept 15, 2015 12:25:34 GMT
The normal way the spare board works is that new drivers - be they new to the company or new to the garage - go on the spare list. In order of your length of service, once a rota position comes up you get put on it. I am really surprised that seniority applies at bus companies. It's very much in place at LU for operational staff and I always found it odd given I, as a nasty manager, could only change or progress on the basis of merit not length of service. I recognise you can argue that "bus driving is bus driving" and everyone's base competence is the same but as in all jobs there are good performers and not so good performers on routes and I'd expect the good performers to be those who could progress if they so wished. I'm probably missing something in how it all works but seems very strange that some garages become "no go" areas for new drivers or some rotas are "off limits" because they're hogged by the old timers. I probably could have worded that better. It's not based on seniority per se in rota terms but if I was there for 6 months and you were there for 2 years you'd go on rota first. The only thing I've ever really done based on seniority at Stagecoach was when they requested volunteers to work out of WH on the 15's during the Olympics. The notice then said if "we get too many applicants drivers will be chosen based on seniority." Oddly, when they needed drivers for the Olympic contingency fleet, they sent the ones that were able to drive in unfamiliar areas and do it well. No such seniority rule there but it was one easy way to earn 2 weeks money  |
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 16, 2015 10:55:10 GMT
Currently driving 15173 (I'm on stand while typing this), one of the horrible 10 reg batch, now I've got one on a route that is anything but flat you can tell instantly that there is some sort of performance restriction on these buses, going down a 7%gradient the bus feels extremely restricted and it's almost as if it doesn't want to accelerate, Going up hill isn't too bad but the 59 plates are much better in almost every other way other than the retardation, it's a lot smoother in the 10 reg, it's almost frustrating at times when you put you foot down for a hill and it shifts up instead of down  Really enjoying this route, there is nothing stressful about it at all, I know I said in my previous post but the passengers are nice and it's just nice not being stuck in traffic and dealing with other idiots on the road, Leyton seem to have seen some comments I made about this route on Facebook as I'm on the 215 for the rest of the week  |
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Post by londonbusboy on Sept 16, 2015 12:37:58 GMT
Dave they will offer you a rota in time by putting a letter in your locker saying you are going on rota from a certain date but you can decline if you wish to stay spare.
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 16, 2015 18:56:05 GMT
Dave they will offer you a rota in time by putting a letter in your locker saying you are going on rota from a certain date but you can decline if you wish to stay spare. If that did happen I would be declining, I would eventually get bored of doing the same route however nice, it's always nice doing something different |
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Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 16, 2015 23:01:00 GMT
Additionally my dad, who works at Plumstead, told me a while ago that he knew of a driver who knew every route in the company and would do overtime at any garage either side of the river Wow - superdriver  , that's a lot of knowledge, indeed there are some routes (like the 330) where the turning points have more to remember than the main route  About O/T, I asked about it from day 1, basically as long as we say we know the route they will give us the duty but if we mess up we don't have anything to cover us, we can do O/T at any Stagecoach Garage, if you aren't type trained mention this before agreeing to a duty and it should be done before you go out, This will need to go on your record as if you have an accident and you aren't official type trained on the bus, no one is going to stand by you. I will at some point most likely after my probation work a few RD's at NS hopefully on the 498 Wouldn't mind doing an 86 or just driving a TA for that matter, after my probation is up I can then put in a transfer to a different garage (Most likely NS). There are quite a few WH drivers that know T routes and vice versa and when the worst comes to the worst they end up working at each others garage when there is a shortage of drivers. I would rather be on a spare list driving the same route all the time would bore me, I really don't know how some drivers manage it. I do have a plan that within 2 years to have worked a route out of every STL garage, The 96 at PD is very tempting especially with the scania's (If you don't know I really like driving them ) BK doesn't have a waiting list any more, most people have migrated into NS or the Graveyard as it's known by some. Ok, see how that works. I mentioned it as I was travelling home from East London back to Woolwich one day and spotted a bloke in a Stagecoach uniform getting on the train at West Ham, with his bag and everything, and was thinking that I was sure I'd seen him driving my 122 earlier that week. It was a Sunday too which I thought would be unlikely for training etc at WH. Yes, I think a day on the 86 would be a good plan for a TA , you may even bag a short wheelbase one as I see those going up and down the Romford Road joining their longer counterparts. WH routes would be good for TA driving too, 69 and 330 being candidates that I can think of. I think the 97 could be interesting too with it's TAs and also the Scanias out on there too now. I would agree driving one route would get a bit much - I was quite surprised in the Stagecoach thread about the independent rotas at WH - a lifetime of the 330 must be very monotonous. Are there drivers that just stay on the spare board or when the time comes, do you have to go onto a rota? Also do some routes have longer waiting lists than others? Also are there many long serving people at T (or across STL for that matter)? I recall when I lived in South West London I'd see the odd bloke on the 163s with the 1980s striped 'London General' tie and the metal box. Also the odd London Buses LG blazer and one night bloke who wore the white shirt from that time (and also blinded the night 93 as 'N93' though they took away the 'N' ages ago ).....you could tell these chaps had done a long time. At PD the oldest uniform I've seen is from the 'Stagecoach Stripes' era of the 1990s, there's one bloke who wears the full kit (old tie, old blazer, white shirt)...... Glad to hear the 215 was good fun, and you're looking forward to a couple more days on there I remember Stagecoach stripe uniform, it wasn't that old. The coats were a crap fit and the light summer jacket was a joke; I never wore it once, especially as my mum said it looked like a cleaners coat! |
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Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 16, 2015 23:04:30 GMT
Yes there are many long serving people, this is the case in any garage really, I can stay on spare or apply for a rota which I doubt I would do, if they would combine the 179/275 rota I would go on that I am really looking forward to my next 2 days on the route, I'm R/N 5 today from 8-12 and R/N 4 from 2-5 I doubt we would see 2 route rotas back again. They got rid of most of these in preparation for single route rotas for TUPE. I predict give a few years drivers shortages would be like it was in the 90's and early 2000's and companies would be forced to abolish many of the nasty tactics like singe rotas etc. It is very boring doing the same thing all the time, day in, day out. You do find people on single rotas swap with drivers on other routes to get a balance or go on spare list.
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Post by Alex on Sept 17, 2015 10:33:49 GMT
I remember Stagecoach stripe uniform, it wasn't that old. The coats were a crap fit and the light summer jacket was a joke; I never wore it once, especially as my mum said it looked like a cleaners coat! I doubt we would see 2 route rotas back again. They got rid of most of these in preparation for single route rotas for TUPE. I predict give a few years drivers shortages would be like it was in the 90's and early 2000's and companies would be forced to abolish many of the nasty tactics like singe rotas etc. Ahhhh....the summer jacket. If I remember correctly this was a light blue/grey coloured thing which was quite long. Cleaners coat isn't a bad description. I have various old Stagecoach bits in my collection, the blazers are made of very heavy material. Formerly they had the UK symbol (made up of the red, orange and blue segments) on the pocket but the later version has 'Stagecoach' written on it underlined by the stripes. The latter version was bought in because they issued the same uniform for a time on South West Trains.......when was the stripe uniform got rid of.....about 2001? I thought two route rotas were quite a usual thing, I thought PD had the 177/472 on the same rota, and 53/122 & 291/386 on the same schedule. Mind you I'm thinking of 2013 schedules. Saying that I'm thinking Merton still have 163/164 together......I know they split 44/77 up a while back. Going back to the driving (sorry Mr. 10301!) I'm glad again it's all falling into place, and this thread is an amazing insight into the role. Just hearing about how the buses handle and drive differently is fascinating. Shame the variety is going with the hybrids but in time as they get more worn in (or worn out) do you think these will develop their own characteristics and get more interesting? Have you driven a single decker yet? Thinking that T doesn't have any, on your plan to drive at all the depots would it be odd to drive a single deck route, or is it all pretty similar? I remember chatting to people at Merton who were very bored of doing the 163/164 routes but hated doing DD work, which made me think there may be a big difference. Just checking the Stagecoach fleet list about T, the latest one seems to be 27th June.....guessing there's been movement since then. |
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Post by londonbusboy on Sept 17, 2015 16:32:07 GMT
I prefer to drive double deckers as they feel more stable. The voith e200s can be jerky at times, rattle and cambers of the road can affect them
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 17, 2015 20:04:59 GMT
I remember Stagecoach stripe uniform, it wasn't that old. The coats were a crap fit and the light summer jacket was a joke; I never wore it once, especially as my mum said it looked like a cleaners coat! I doubt we would see 2 route rotas back again. They got rid of most of these in preparation for single route rotas for TUPE. I predict give a few years drivers shortages would be like it was in the 90's and early 2000's and companies would be forced to abolish many of the nasty tactics like singe rotas etc. Ahhhh....the summer jacket. If I remember correctly this was a light blue/grey coloured thing which was quite long. Cleaners coat isn't a bad description. I have various old Stagecoach bits in my collection, the blazers are made of very heavy material. Formerly they had the UK symbol (made up of the red, orange and blue segments) on the pocket but the later version has 'Stagecoach' written on it underlined by the stripes. The latter version was bought in because they issued the same uniform for a time on South West Trains.......when was the stripe uniform got rid of.....about 2001? I thought two route rotas were quite a usual thing, I thought PD had the 177/472 on the same rota, and 53/122 & 291/386 on the same schedule. Mind you I'm thinking of 2013 schedules. Saying that I'm thinking Merton still have 163/164 together......I know they split 44/77 up a while back. Going back to the driving (sorry Mr. 10301!) I'm glad again it's all falling into place, and this thread is an amazing insight into the role. Just hearing about how the buses handle and drive differently is fascinating. Shame the variety is going with the hybrids but in time as they get more worn in (or worn out) do you think these will develop their own characteristics and get more interesting? Have you driven a single decker yet? Thinking that T doesn't have any, on your plan to drive at all the depots would it be odd to drive a single deck route, or is it all pretty similar? I remember chatting to people at Merton who were very bored of doing the 163/164 routes but hated doing DD work, which made me think there may be a big difference. Just checking the Stagecoach fleet list about T, the latest one seems to be 27th June.....guessing there's been movement since then. I've moved a dart in West Ham and that's it really, unless you count driving a bendy bus in a loop on an airfield, I'm quite happy I don't drive singles as I could see my GR score dropping quite a lot as you feel more confident about throwing the bus about it's a psychological thing. There isn't much different I suppose, a bus is a bus to me, I'll happily drive anything given the chance. There hasn't been much movement at T since the hybrid enviro's starting coming in, apparently the TA's are due to go (surprise surprise) will be a real shame as I don't know one driver that doesn't enjoy them |
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 26, 2015 13:05:46 GMT
So after doing my lovely week of 215's I've done mostly 48's and one 56, I also avoided driving a hybrid for almost 3 weeks now I'm happy if it stays that way but I'm currently down to do a 56 on Monday so I might have to drive one I got to drive certainly the best 03 plate trident at T 17840, this bus has to be the smoothest TA and by far the most powerful, it was a dream to drive and I only wish they were all this good, because it was so quick I could take it nice and easy round the route and didn't need to put my foot down at any point along the route, something I've noticed about doing late 48's is that on Monday it's very quiet out and I was constantly having to hold back as I was running early but there was no one about but as the week goes on you pick up more and more people each day, Yesterday Friday it was almost impossible to keep to time as it seemed there was a massive gap in front of me and everyone seemed to want my bus despite the fact I had a perfect headway most of the route. I feel this is one route that could do with a Friday schedule with extra time. Anyway not much else has changed, for LT fans keep a look out LT539 which has gained a lovely wrap, I'm the last 215 tonight from Walthamstow Central As the company seem to be short of drivers there have been numerous loans from other garages, quite nice seeing other people you know from other garages working on our routes |
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Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 26, 2015 17:28:37 GMT
So after doing my lovely week of 215's I've done mostly 48's and one 56, I also avoided driving a hybrid for almost 3 weeks now I'm happy if it stays that way but I'm currently down to do a 56 on Monday so I might have to drive one I got to drive certainly the best 03 plate trident at T 17840, this bus has to be the smoothest TA and by far the most powerful, it was a dream to drive and I only wish they were all this good, because it was so quick I could take it nice and easy round the route and didn't need to put my foot down at any point along the route, something I've noticed about doing late 48's is that on Monday it's very quiet out and I was constantly having to hold back as I was running early but there was no one about but as the week goes on you pick up more and more people each day, Yesterday Friday it was almost impossible to keep to time as it seemed there was a massive gap in front of me and everyone seemed to want my bus despite the fact I had a perfect headway most of the route. I feel this is one route that could do with a Friday schedule with extra time. Anyway not much else has changed, for LT fans keep a look out LT539 which has gained a lovely wrap, I'm the last 215 tonight from Walthamstow Central As the company seem to be short of drivers there have been numerous loans from other garages, quite nice seeing other people you know from other garages working on our routes Many routes need different Friday night schedules; only a few routes have these. The time lost on Friday and Saturday night is astonishing - worst end of month when many people get paid. |
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Post by VPL630 on Oct 21, 2015 19:41:26 GMT
Long time no post ? well there isn't much to post about really, it's the same stuff daily, but some notable things that have happened since last: There was a lovely diversion on the 215 and well any route that went down Chingford Rd yesterday via Billet Rd Blackhorse Ln/Blackhorse Rd, St James St, South Grove and Selborne Rd, ended up getting so late I lost my last rounder I had a scania with the old blind set which includes 8 26 N26 48 55 N55 56 69 97 158 215 230 257, it also still has the purple "Private" blind 17750 has an old East London Coaches Purple blind which I will try and get a pic of next time. I was really starting to like doing late 48's which I had for 3 weeks straight other than 2 56 jobs, it just nice at that time other than Friday/Saturday night, Shoreditch just doesn't move, takes in excess of 20 mins just to clear the high street. It's the same story in the morning peak but I still like the route and the buses on it. I had 17811 die on me after it overheated in Hackney, refused to start after I turned it off, the slowest scania in emissions derate was brought out to my joy but it did mean I got to venture in to Ash Grove garage where to my surprise there was an MA parked right at the back. See not much happens, same stuff, different day I'm finally on the 275 this Friday which will be good, I can't believe I'm saying this but I really like driving the diesel E400's, they may be slow on take off but they are in much better shape than the hybrids, you can also make them accelerate very quickly in second gear if you time it right but overall they are smooth and relaxing to drive. Will let you know how Friday goes |
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, that's a lot of knowledge, indeed there are some routes (like the 330) where the turning points have more to remember than the main route 
