Saturday 16 June 2012

An Other Wet Week

Not totally wet, there were moments when it didn't rain. It's just hard to remember the dry bits.

The problem with cars accidentally parking in the motor cycle bay have been sorted. The sign hasn't been altered or anything like that but there is someone who comes to work on a motor scooter and parks early in the morning in the bay so car drivers don't get the chance to park there. Several bikes do park there during the day.

We did have problems with a coach trying to get on the bus stop to unload. I turned up half way through the incident and never got close enough to get a photo other wise it would be up there at the top. I could see the coach half in and half out of the bus stop with the Cockington bus at the front of the stop. The coach driver opened his door and began unloading despite the fact that the back of his coach was out in the road making it difficult for traffic to get passed. I was 60 metres back with a bus full of passengers so I just edged close to the kerb to prevent cyclists passing on the inside and opened my doors to let the passengers off. After sitting in the road for about 5 minutes the coach moved away as did the Cockington bus. When I got to the bus stop I started to load up for my trip to Broadsands and Galmpton when this rude women pushed passed my passengers and demanded the phone number of our depot. Foolishly I asked if I could help sort out her problem. Sigmund Freud might have managed but it was way out of my league. She just wanted to shout so I let her shout while I just smiled back. I only got slightly raised my eye brows when she lied to me. While the bus had been unloading half out in the roadway a police officer had walked passed the situation and had hurried on with a word to anyone. This women, she was the courier on the coach, told me the police officer has said the coach could park on the bus stop. Well the police officer never spoke to anyone and if she had said the coach could park on the bus stop she was very wrong. Anyway this one way verbal shouting match went on for a while and I tried to tell this mad person coaches and buses were different legally and would she mind going away so I could get on doing my job. She then played her trump card and demanded to know if I had a CPC. ( Bus drivers don't need a CPC until Sept next year) Yes said I, "Bought it at Poundland." She started to storm off and I called her back. She did come back no doubt expecting some admission that she was right. "Have a nice day." I said with all the sincerity and good will I could muster.

Both me and the Cockington driver waited all day for the coach to reappear to pick up the passengers so the fun could continue but we were disappointed.

Weather is going to improve next week.

Torbay Half Marathon takes place next Sunday morning ( 10:00 to 12:00, 24 June ). Over half of our Cockington route is affected but we will, as usual, do our best to continue the service while the race is on.

2 comments:

Cabbie J said...

My trump card is "Are you aware that the council camera van has already passed and a ticket is in the post to you?"

retired driver Peter said...

Hads someone else said something to 'the lady' about how her coach was parked? From what you say, the Cockinton bus and yourself had just done your job and waited patiently. I do not see why this Courier approached you at all, but I can recall from my coaching days that most couriers are nice sweet people whose livelihood (and our tips) depended on their personality, I guess this lady was one of the exceptions and I pity her Chauffeur even though he cannot read road signs but perhaps he or she was intimidated by her into disregarding them.