Most bus drivers get asked, "Can I get out here." Sometimes the passenger will even say please. My reaction was almost always to say, "Sorry but it is not company policy to open the doors unless the bus is at a bus stop." But the driver of this bus was stuck in a bit of a bottleneck in Fleet St, it was a Sunday and he was almost certainly running late. There were in fact 4 number twelves in Fleet Street all heading for Newton and it's a 20 minute service on a Sunday so if one was on time, one was 20 mins late, one was 40 mins late and one was an hour late. Could have been this bus so when a passenger asked if they could get of here 30 feet short of the bus stop the driver was tempted. What happened over the next few seconds will mean he won't be tempted again. As you can see a lady with a pink bag is getting off. She was followed by an elderly couple
The lady you can see alighting with her husband in the white jacket just behind. The next thing that happened was an other elderly couple who were sitting at the back also decided to make a break for freedom. Husband, a sprightly guy made it to the door in double quick time and was away. You can just see him standing under the glass veranda watching his wife, who was a much slower mover than him, being carried away by the bus. She didn't make to the door, in fact she was still half way down the bus, when the driver noticed the bottle no longer had a neck and shut the doors and headed for Newton double quick time. Old gent in street very distressed not knowing if he will ever see his true love again. Old lady on bus very distressed, she probably had no idea where the next stop was. Two blokes in tee shirts, watching bus go very pissed off at bus driver.
Why were they not the happiest bunnies in town? Well they had seen the bus disgorging passengers and had come running up hoping to board. Then the bus had driven away leaving them standing there looking like complete dickheads.
OK. So now you know why bus drivers get told in training school not to open the doors unless the bus is at a bus stop.
5 comments:
Not entirely the driver's fault, of course, but he/she could have been more aware.
You've blanked out the bus' details I assume that the driver can't be idenetified. However, in the first picture you can just about make out the fleetnumber, and you've not blanked out the bus' name. I doubt there's more than one called "**** ***"!!!
Yes Anon, that was careless of me, thank you for pointing it out.
The next to last bus company I worked for always said that passengers (sorry customers) werer always right and we should stop short of bus stops , just past bus stops or almost anywhere to avoid upsetting them. At training sessions I always made the point that some years previously in 1987 (with a different company)I was on a route which passed a newly built OAP complex which hjad no bus stop nearby. It became our practise to stop at the end of the Drive for the old folk.
One day I had a lady fall and break her ankle whilst alighting and the bother afterwards with the Police, my management, the Local authority and the Insurance company made me never again to open doors except at Recognised bus stops.
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