Buses Today

[DickyHart]

Someone told me if firstbus drivers are running early, its a disciplinary offence.Which is why they sit at some stops for a few minutes or more. Obvoiusly if they are late, they bomb right past you. filling out the form they have is pointless. You get a bog standard reply, if you get one at all.

[tobester]

Someone told me if firstbus drivers are running early, its a disciplinary offence.Which is why they sit at some stops for a few minutes or more. Obvoiusly if they are late, they bomb right past you. filling out the form they have is pointless. You get a bog standard reply, if you get one at all.

If theyre early or late at a checkpoint they can be sacked, firstbus are the only employer in the uk, that if you get sacked from them you can sign on the same day.

[viceroy]

Someone told me if firstbus drivers are running early, its a disciplinary offence.

Running early has always been a disciplinary offence since this is reckoned to be within the driver’s control, although during quieter periods it may not all that easy to avoid. It was certainly thus in the old Corporation days when you would be booked if caught running more than 3 minutes sharp. As for running late in those pre-radio days, you just had to soldier on and hope that you would come across an inspector prepared to give you a written authorisation to turn the bus short. Woe betide you if you did this off your own back. I did once and nearly got sacked for it. Nowadays I suppose they just get on the radio to the depot and have the bus taken out of service altogether so that it can slot back into its timetable. Not so nice if you’re standing at a stop waiting for said bus and it then flies past you. In the old days at least there was a chance it would take you to where you wanted to go, even if it was turning short.

I’m going back nearly 40 years here. However from personal experience I can confirm that people complained as much about the buses (and their drivers) in those days as they do now. So nothing has changed really.

[tobester]

First and their manky, overpriced buses with ignorant drivers, I certainly would.

I love the way people moan about the dirty buses, but they forget who it is that makes them manky on the inside, yeah its the manky germ filled passengers who cant be arsed to put drink cups, food wrappers or metros/paper in the bins on every street...take a look at glasgow to see the same all over. As for the outsides, in bad weather, winter etc the roads are dirty and crap gets sprayed up from the roads, they go on service maybe 5am and are out all day, if a train/bus is taken off service to get cleaned then thats 1 service lost, as for grumpy drivers, you try your best and take the same crap day in day out, and along with the threat of a sacking at every corner, nor wonder theyre grumpy

[MungoDundas]

The other day, the Citroen was in for wheel alignment (poss. due potholes?) so thought I'd use the bus (rather than cycle - due to snatchy wind)

Tried out the SPT "text your bus stop number for accurate bus information" service.
They should be nominated for the Orange Prize - pure fiction.
The results were nothing like the eventuality.

Seem to remember some years back talk of a Dutch IT company that were working towards trialing a 'live bus info system' hereabouts. There must be a back story as to where it went awry.

[gap74]

Been a while since I took the bus, but have had the "pleasure" twice this week. First was the last night bus of Sat night/Sun morning, an N267. First problem was that the two bus stops I used to use for this service on Renfield St were either out of service for no apparent reason in one case, and completely gone in the case of the other!

Walked down the road and didn't encounter another stop for that service until I got to The Goose at the bottom of Union St!

When the bus arrived, it took about 15 minutes to load the noisiest shower of drunks - thankfully it was a double decker, so they all went upstairs, but then the stomping and the football songs began. Sigh. Whatever the drivers get paid for staffing these night buses, I doubt it's enough...

Last night I caught a regular bus, the last of the evening at around 11.30pm. It hasn't been all that long since I used one, but the fare was around a third more expensive, and slightly dearer than a single on the train, which takes half the time. But, of course, most of the trains stop at around 11pm.

Public transport out of the city after 11pm is appalling, was the conclusion I reached - as a keyholder at work, I'll be crashing there again in future and getting the first train home in the morning, methinks!

Edited to add - as others have said, complaining is pretty useless - emailed once to say that I had to walk home at 4am because of out-of-date info on a bus stop after they messed around with the night buses, making the last one earlier. Got an inadequate reply and they also kindly added me to their mailing list, so that I now get First Bus bumph in my inbox every few weeks...

[Fat Cat]

Someone told me if firstbus drivers are running early, its a disciplinary offence.Which is why they sit at some stops for a few minutes or more. Obvoiusly if they are late, they bomb right past you. filling out the form they have is pointless. You get a bog standard reply, if you get one at all.

Yeah, filled out the form. Here's the reply:

Thank you for your e-mail to our Customer Services Department. I am sorry to hear that you experienced difficulties with Service on 42.

This matter has now been passed to the senior manager at the depot which operates this service for investigation and he will then investigate why this service failed to operate on this occasion and will take appropriate action to our driver which failed to uplift yourself and other passengers.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused and that you have found it necessary to complain on this occasion.

Yours sincerely

Brian Purdie
Customer Services Agent

I await a rise in standards with great anticipation

[RDR]

Someone told me if firstbus drivers are running early, its a disciplinary offence.Which is why they sit at some stops for a few minutes or more. Obvoiusly if they are late, they bomb right past you. filling out the form they have is pointless. You get a bog standard reply, if you get one at all.

Yeah, filled out the form. Here's the reply:

Thank you for your e-mail to our Customer Services Department. I am sorry to hear that you experienced difficulties with Service on 42.

This matter has now been passed to the senior manager at the depot which operates this service for investigation and he will then investigate why this service failed to operate on this occasion and will take appropriate action to our driver which failed to uplift yourself and other passengers.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience caused and that you have found it necessary to complain on this occasion.

Yours sincerely

Brian Purdie
Customer Services Agent

I await a rise in standards with great anticipation

Don't hold your breath
I got hold of the depot number one day, something they like to keep from you and whilst stood outside the Royal Infirmary and watching a a series of buses failing to to stop for me phoned them and told them what was going on and sugested they could radio the bus driver. Far to difficult apparently, but could I fill out a form.........

[Mori]

E'een toimes

Old news But ...

Three bus firms face probe over breaches

Council chiefs claim drivers with the three companies have ignored the regulations by repeatedly:

1.Dropping off passengers in areas which were not designated bus stops
2.Picking up passengers at stops designated for the exclusive use of other service buses
3.Blocking bus stops between 7.30am and 6.30pm by remaining stationary for far longer than was necessary.

wake up cooncil its been happenin since deregulation.

[halfbottle]

Anyone get on the Arriva 17 from Glasgow town via Paisley? Horrible timings for the buses, they turn up whenever they feel like it!

[RDR]

Anyone get on the Arriva 17 from Glasgow town via Paisley? Horrible timings for the buses, they turn up whenever they feel like it!

Arriva, terrible company, used to sell motor cycles, wish they had stuck to that.
One of the companies that took over part of the old Western SMT network......and destroyed it.

[Salka]

Anyone get on the Arriva 17 from Glasgow town via Paisley? Horrible timings for the buses, they turn up whenever they feel like it!

Only been on one once but I watch them go by on Paisley Road West whilst waiting for other buses and I have seen 3 go by in the space of 10 minutes.

The only thing about Arriva that's better than First is the fact that they give change.

[Josef]

Anyone get on the Arriva 17 from Glasgow town via Paisley? Horrible timings for the buses, they turn up whenever they feel like it!

Only been on one once but I watch them go by on Paisley Road West whilst waiting for other buses and I have seen 3 go by in the space of 10 minutes.

The only thing about Arriva that's better than First is the fact that they give change.

That'll be 36 and 38s rather than 17s, probably, unless you're near Paisley.

I think my experience of Arriva buses begins and ends with those two services. They tend to be cleaner and more bam-free than the First Buses (which themselves are a quantum leap above the assorted mini-bus services on PRW), but are less frequent and more expensive. The two may be related.

[viceroy]

The Arriva 17 goes through the Clyde Tunnel and is quite a handy service for getting from north west to south west. I often use it to travel between the West End and Cardonald. It also goes past the Mitchell Library, which is another good thing about it as far as I am concerned.

The timetable is a bit erratic though, I would agree with that. It is supposed to be a 15 minute service during the daytime. However if you do get one it is a lot faster (and more pleasant) than FirstBus 9 which goes via the City Centre.

As for the fares, well I have an over 60's bus pass and don't have to pay

[Salka]

Anyone get on the Arriva 17 from Glasgow town via Paisley? Horrible timings for the buses, they turn up whenever they feel like it!

Only been on one once but I watch them go by on Paisley Road West whilst waiting for other buses and I have seen 3 go by in the space of 10 minutes.

The only thing about Arriva that's better than First is the fact that they give change.

That'll be 36 and 38s rather than 17s, probably, unless you're near Paisley.

I think my experience of Arriva buses begins and ends with those two services. They tend to be cleaner and more bam-free than the First Buses (which themselves are a quantum leap above the assorted mini-bus services on PRW), but are less frequent and more expensive. The two may be related.

Nope definitely 17s, this is near the Crookston Road end of Paisley Road West. Sometimes I go to catch one thinking it's a 36/38 then I see at the last minute that it's a 17 and doesn't go as far along Paisley Road West as I wanted, which gets annoying when it happens several times a week. I must be going blind.