This is a bus in Paignton Bus Station. It is due out in a few minutes and the driver has just got on. He has been on his meal break and the passengers were there waiting when he got on the bus. What he was doing when I took the photo is setting up his ticket machine. What this entails is pressing a few buttons on the machine's keypad. But, for some reason unknown to me, and probably the waiting passengers, he has shut his doors. Does he think they are going to watch what he is doing and sell the information to FirstBus?
The second photo is of an advert on the side of some of our buses. The text in the yellow box is explaining how Kevin, the Harbour Master really likes working on Torquay Harbour because of all the improvements that are to be found there. Will all the summer visitors be given a pair of binoculars just like the ones Kevin has so they can find all the new attractions too?
4 comments:
All the bus drivers do that round here in Kent too (shut the doors while setting up). I think it's because the passengers in our area are collectively an unruly mob, and therefore if he leaves the doors open on the bus while he gets comfortable / sets up the gadget / makes sure he knows his next route, then the passengers will start flooding on before he can give them tickets (he's still setting up the machine!) so of course they will get on for nothing. It's just a security thing or something - I'm sure he's not trying to hide!
I've seen a couple of times an incident when a passenger gets bored of waiting, presses the Emergency Open button next to the doors (which all the drivers do to get into their bus so it must be ok!) and gets on without paying.
Great blog btw... read it all the time! ;)
It defers, by perhaps 30 seconds, the time they can foul-mouth him...
Personally I always "please" and "thank you" bus drivers... every trip... regardless... if nothing else it acknowledges I've safely arrived...
Alas this simple courtesy evades the vast majority of bus passengers, who resent the practicality of a changeover interrupting their god-given journey...(why is it these are often the same people who are constantly and loudly estimating their ETA on a mobile phone throughout their journey).
I should just ignore it (like you've been doing for umpteen years anyway)...
Suppose he has to be careful that no-one sneaks past him without paying while his back is turned :-)
Unlike my driver on a recent trip to Newcastle who stopped the bus outside a local supermarket while he popped in for a snack. At least he remembered to take the cash machine with him before leaving the bus. Most of the passengers, me included, were wondering if he planned to come back or not.
I must live in a really nice part of the world. I never close the doors while I am setting up the machine and no one has ever jumped on the bus at this time. One or two have tried it at other times usually without success.
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