This And That From An Average Day

Here's a few of the old little things that have happened in the last couple of days. Nothing big or important but all go to make my job such fun. First I took over a 12A heading for White Rock. It was only 10 minutes late which given the problems we are having isn't too bad. Down the road a little and there was a lady in a wheel chair waiting. Now company policy is to get wheelchair users on the bus if there is space but there were two baby buggies already on the bus, one just slightly smaller than the Moon Buggy and occupying the space where the wheel chair goes. The lady with the buggy told me she was getting off in two stops, Union St, so we got the wheel chair side on instead of facing backwards and I drove down into town fairly slowly. In Union St there was a large crowd of people at the bus stop. Someone must have spread the news that a bus was coming and they had all turned up to get on it. The first person in the queue was a little old lady and she completely ignored me when I asked her to wait a moment while we got the buggy of the bus. "I just stand here out of the way." she said. It was only when she realised there was a serious danger she could get run over while standing on the bus platform did she try and move but by now 5 or 6 other people had tried to get on the bus and the rest were pushing forward. Getting 20 people who have been waiting 15 minutes for a bus to move away from the bus is about as easy as getting Tony Blair to admit Iraq wasn’t his best idea ever. Oh and by the way, the wheel chair and the buggy had some how or other got their wheels entwined and a Securicor van had parked by the right hand kerb leaving about 7 feet of clear road between us. OK for cars to get through but not the number 32 that had meanwhile come up behind me.
By the time the buggy was gone and the wheelchair correctly positioned and the 30 passengers on the bus the road behind had come to a stand still about as far back as Exeter. (21 miles/38km)

Down to the Harbour. We have a gentleman down there when it is busy who takes fares and he had told those wanting Brixham to get a 12, remember, if you can remember that far back I am driving a number 12A going to White Rock. Which isn’t as far as Brixham. So loaded up with 75 passengers we head for Paignton. Via the road works. In a convoy. By now there are four 12/12As all in a line. When I get to Paignton the wheelchair user gets off as do most of the passengers. Now there is a bay for the 12 going to Brixham and a bay for the 12A but by the time I get there they are full so I go on the X46 bay. What a mistake. The X46, which also has to go through the road works is late and despite the fact that there is a foot high sign on the front of my bus with 12A WHITE ROCK written on it in English, the local language round here I spend a couple of minutes fending of people so desperate to go to Exeter they will get on any bus that looks like it will move.

Eventually I make it to White Rock via South Devon College, which is closed this week. At the end of this post there is a photo of special interest to all those good people who will be going to College next week. Taken in Long Rd. I get to the terminus and change the blinds, reprogram the ticket machine and am about to set off when I notice two people are still sitting on the bus. Curiosity took over, “Where are you going?” I ask with a small amount of dread making my voice to waver slightly. “Brixham.” Sorry, don’t go to Brixham. But the gentleman who sold us the tickets said the 12 goes to Brixham. Remember, I am a 12A. I did manage to get them on a bus to Brixham with about a minute to spare. Had they missed that one it would have been a half hour wait.


Back in Torquay I picked up a member of management. So now I have to drive really carefully. (Don't I always). Going up Union St a car pulls over on the right and stops. The passenger throws open the door with total disregard for 11.5 tonnes of bus driven by someone who a moment before had believed the space now occupied by a few kilograms of flimsy metal, ie a car door was a safe place to drive into. Passenger sees me coming and also sees sense and removes the door from this place of extreme danger with about 2 feet to spare. At least I would have had a reliable witness.

Photo taken in Long Road by South Devon College showing, guess what? Got it in One. An optical illusion which just happens to look like Road works.

There's more, much more....... . . . . . . .

To be continued.