Bus not stopping - should I report it

[infobleep]

This evening the bus didn't stop at a bus stop in Kingston. Perhaps the bus driver thought I and may be others didn't wish to board as I was only standing next to the bus stopping area and not the bus stop pole itseld.

The question is, should I leave it as one of those things or as suggested online, report it via the phone number given. I don't want lots of hassle for a bus driver who made a rare honest mistake, equally I missed my train and if it's a bus driver doing it often, they would never know if it wasn't reported.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Qwerty133]

Did you put your arm out to signal to the driver that you wanted to board?

 

[AndyHudds]

Did you put your arm out to signal to the driver that you wanted to board?

To be fair 99% of the people stood at bus stops are there to catch a bus, so irrespective of that he should have still stopped if he thought he wanted to catch the bus, new one on me a bus that doesn't pick up passengers!! Something similar happened to me tonight but it was probably my own fault as I was perusing an ad for new smartcards and the bus shot straight past me!!

I wouldn't report it, not worth the hassle to be fair and the driver doesn't need a reprimand for something so trivial no matter how annoying it was that it caused you to miss your train.Let it go.

 

[Darandio]

To be fair 99% of the people stood at bus stops are there to catch a bus

And sometimes a large majority of those people don't want that particular bus.

For many operators it is a requirement to put out an arm to signal the driver and inform them you wish to board.

 

[richw]

Did you put your arm out, normally a requirement for a bus to stop. The driver isn't psychic to know whether you want his bus or not unless you signal to him.
Was he full? If he's running full he cant pick up anyway.

 

[anthony263]

Truth be told you ideally should have given a hand signal to the driver. I do have my own policy which is no signal, no stopping this is something I have told a couple of passengers.

If they are elderly or disabled then I will apporach the bus stop as slowly as I can safley do so and perhaps even give a toot of the horn if required. (I have already had to do this once when one elderly gentleman appeared to have fallen asleep).

Some stops are compulsory so we are required to stop there whether or not there are any passengers waiting or not.

 

[Tom B]

Was it a compulsory stop?

Either way, I understand that TfL instructions to drivers are that they must only pass a stop with passengers waiting if they are sure none wish to alight. Indeed, a couple of drivers have had a go at me for putting my arm out - a practice I picked up from living outwith London.

If the driver did make an honest, rare mistake then surely reporting it would result in a 5-minute chat with the supervisor and nothing would come of it. If he is a regular at disregarding stops, then presumably a more severe rollocking would be imposed.

 

[hassaanhc]

Was it a compulsory stop?

Either way, I understand that TfL instructions to drivers are that they must only pass a stop with passengers waiting if they are sure none wish to alight. Indeed, a couple of drivers have had a go at me for putting my arm out - a practice I picked up from living outwith London.

If the driver did make an honest, rare mistake then surely reporting it would result in a 5-minute chat with the supervisor and nothing would come of it. If he is a regular at disregarding stops, then presumably a more severe rollocking would be imposed.

Bit weird they weren't happy with the arm out :roll: I've always done it, and keep it out until I see the nearside indicator come on (conversely I don't put it out if the driver indicates from far enough). The couple of times I've been Nottingham I noticed people put their arm out when the bus was still a bit of a distance away, something which I do too. I also walk towards where the bus is approaching from with my arm out if I'm taking the second bus of two coming together.

I'd be more likely to report it if it was missing stops where the bell had been pressed and it was safe to alight. There was a lightly used stop I used for a couple of years and I had 4 instances of it being missed - at least 3 of those seemed blatant taking the P which I didn't report, the middle two were just 10 days apart as well!

 

[Hardcastle]

We had a situation locally where a bus driver did not like passengers & often missed stops needless to say after many reports he was sacked.

 

[34D]

I would report it. If it's a TfL operator there will be CCTV to give impartial verification.

In the same vein, I would mention the missed train: you may well get a gesture

 

[Tom B]

Bit weird they weren't happy with the arm out :roll: I've always done it, and keep it out until I see the nearside indicator come on (conversely I don't put it out if the driver indicates from far enough). The couple of times I've been Nottingham I noticed people put their arm out when the bus was still a bit of a distance away, something which I do too. I also walk towards where the bus is approaching from with my arm out if I'm taking the second bus of two coming together.

I'd be more likely to report it if it was missing stops where the bell had been pressed and it was safe to alight. There was a lightly used stop I used for a couple of years and I had 4 instances of it being missed - at least 3 of those seemed blatant taking the P which I didn't report, the middle two were just 10 days apart as well!

Yes, along the lines of "What you sticking your arm out like that for? I seen you!" (sic).

Much depends on the area with which the passenger is familiar. In South Yorkshire it was customary to put your arm out and, if you didn't, the driver would usually not stop. In Edinburgh, it was usual for the driver to stop if you stood at the stop, unless you gave a signal for him to drive past.

The big problem I've had in London is where drivers of a second bus approaching (be that on the same route as one stopped at the stop, but which is running part-route, or a different route) overtake rather than stop behind.

 

[ValleyLines142]

I would report it too. It's not hard to check the bus stops to see if there's people on it.

I caught a bus in Cardiff just before Christmas and despite me almost having to step out into the road to flag down the bus, he still didn't stop and needless to say I was fuming and reported it the next day. After a very poor response from Cardiff Bus I took it further and I received two free day tickets in the post a week later!

The service in question only ran hourly too.

As it's London, I was going to say just leave it as buses run so frequently, but as you missed your connecting train, then I would complain.

 

[90019]

To be fair 99% of the people stood at bus stops are there to catch a bus

But many of them may not be wanting that particular bus.

If drivers were to stop at every stop which had people standing near it, it would be impossible to keep a bus on time, and then people would complain because it's taking too long to get anywhere.
If you want the bus, you have to let the driver know - we're not mind readers.


As the old adage goes: No sticky handy out, no catchy bus.

 

[Hyphen]

On the flip side, it seems customary in Swansea to signal to a driver that you don't want them to stop at stops served by multiple routes. It's a practice which seems alien to me (and feels very odd trying to make 'no' movements) having grown up in Nottingham, where if you don't want a bus you simply don't stick your hand out.

Admittedly most drivers here won't stop if you don't put your hand out, but there are some that do, and seem very annoyed when you don't move (and slight guilt sets in)! Still, most give a thumbs up or wave to you for confirming that they can sail past.

 

[34D]

If people _dont_ want a bus then I find it useful (as a driver) if they either step back or wave me on.

I will usually stop without requiring a hand. Depends on the route though

 

[infobleep]

And sometimes a large majority of those people don't want that particular bus.

For many operators it is a requirement to put out an arm to signal the driver and inform them you wish to board.

I thought that was only at request stops. This is a London suburb and not a request stop by name.

I won't be reporting it but it wound me up at the time.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[andythebrave]

Around 4 years ago all London bus stops became compulsory. Drivers are only permitted to pass if they are certain that no one wants to get on or off. The bus must also stop if the driver's view of the stop is obscured. The abolition of request stops was not publicised as it was felt that it would not affect passengers' actions in any way.

 

[infobleep]

I ended up walking because if I missed that train it was then no quicker to get the bus than walk. So the driver did save me £1.45.

I often walk in the evenings because you can never be sure when a bus will turn up. If I allow extra time it then gets not much quicker than walking so why spend £1.45 to save a few minutes. In theory the journey from work to the station should be about half the time of walking all the way, if the bus is taken as part of the journey. It's 23 minutes to walk and about 10-12 minutes with part of the journey by the bus but only if it's on time. There is quite a few buses for variety of routes so in theory the gaps should be small between services.

I think the problem with buses turning up at random times each day must be down to the traffic in London. However it would be nice to know of problems or bus cancellations. Tonight the K2, which should run every 10 minutes, was shown as having a 30+ minute gap between services. Two 281 services were running a minute a part. They should be 5-8 minutes apart. The traffic along the route I take was not that heavy but other areas before my stop might have been. However unlike the trains I never hear about problems.

I've seen by disruption alerts for services I might catch but never for the part of the route I catch and never when I've been caught in disruption have I seen issues causing it being reported.

With GPS and live timings, it must be possible to monitor how services are doing and alert of possible delays.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[infobleep]

Around 4 years ago all London bus stops became compulsory. Drivers are only permitted to pass if they are certain that no one wants to get on or off. The bus must also stop if the driver's view of the stop is obscured. The abolition of request stops was not publicised as it was felt that it would not affect passengers' actions in any way.

At the time I had been on my mobile checking via an app how the trains were doing, having previously checked the buses because their is no departure board at this stop, where I think such a thing would be useful. However they can't afford boards for every stop.

Perhaps that we enough to make the driver decide no need to stop.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[hassaanhc]

I caught a bus in Cardiff just before Christmas and despite me almost having to step out into the road to flag down the bus, he still didn't stop and needless to say I was fuming and reported it the next day. After a very poor response from Cardiff Bus I took it further and I received two free day tickets in the post a week later!

Once I had to do that here in London. It was around the corner from Monument Station for Route 25 on diversion, and the stop clearly said something along the lines of "Buses on diversion stop here". Four of them didn't stop and it was only the 5th one where I stepped into the road did the driver stop. He even asked me if I knew where I was going, so I mentioned the first place on the route that came to mind (as it was random bashing buses thing so I didn't know when I'd get off :P). On that occasion I made a complaint.

The other time I've made a complaint when the last of 3 buses together and only one going full route was displaying a different route number and overtook without picking up passengers. It was the only one that wasn't wedged (in fact it was almost empty). The good side effect was it put an end of 3 weeks of buses being asked to run empty elsewhere on route but drivers still keeping the iBus system logged in (which caused it to appear on the Countdown displays online and at stops :roll.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I think the problem with buses turning up at random times each day must be down to the traffic in London. However it would be nice to know of problems or bus cancellations. Tonight the K2, which should run every 10 minutes, was shown as having a 30+ minute gap between services. Two 281 services were running a minute a part. They should be 5-8 minutes apart. The traffic along the route I take was not that heavy but other areas before my stop might have been. However unlike the trains I never hear about problems.

I've seen by disruption alerts for services I might catch but never for the part of the route I catch and never when I've been caught in disruption have I seen issues causing it being reported.

With GPS and live timings, it must be possible to monitor how services are doing and alert of possible delays.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The system seems to have been a bit dodgy recently, well for my route in Hounslow the 120 anyway (which for a while had roadworks affecting it) - buses disappearing randomly (no diversions) or not showing at all.

Mind you, TfL reporting of bus service issues is dodgy, for a couple of weeks two bus routes in Southall were cut short because of roadworks and only after a week did I see info mentioned about it on the TfL Alerts website. The Twitter feed only posted about delays the first day but not about the curtailment, and even said there were no issues when I asked them (and didn't reply when I asked about them all terminating short )

 

[infobleep]

The bus countdown displays do have some weird things. Does anyone know how they work.

That evening had 3 buses shown as due but actually I think it was either 2 or just 1.

Another time there was a wait for a bus so I decided to walk. Then suddenly a bus came passed which hadn't been listed on the countdown. Perhaps it's GPS or some other device wasn't working. Another time or the same time further along, the online departure boards were listing a 71 due at a further bus stop when clearly the 71 that did eventuality pass me could got have overtaken all these other buses and got to the further stop so quickly. The 71 that passed me wasn't shown. Soon the mythical 71 vanished and as the actual 71 approached this bus stop, suddenly the online system was showing it. It appears it was only being picked up as it got towards the bus stop, perhaps each bus stop.

You will also find situations where a K3 is in front of a 71 but a bus stop thinks the 71 will arrive first. I wonder if that's based o the average times or the fact the GPS isn't so accurate as it doesn't need to be. I mean very high accuracy.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Panda]

I've found that the countdown system is fairly accurate 99% of the time. What I can suggest is to verify each line item is actually a bus (which is how countdown reports it) by "tapping" on each line and looking at the registration number. If anything is duplicated, then either the app or countdown went wrong (most likely countdown, so I would report it to TfL).

I've reported countdown issues to them before and it got fixed pretty quickly.

Also, the discrepancies you are seeing isn't due to GPS accuracy, but remember it's still a prediction system, it can't predict things like passengers boarding or alighting slowly, more traffic than expected or any other unexpected events. I always allow for a 60 second discrepancy...

 

[infobleep]

One day the bus was due in 3 minutes and I decided to walk to work instead as the exercise is good. The traffic along the route I took, which matches the bus route, wasn't that heavy. As I got near the bus stop where I usually alight, the bus overtook me. I worked out that the based on the bus being just 3 minutes away when I left it, there was another 5 minutes unaccounted for. Traffic or passengers would be the most likely reason for the delay in my opinion.

The day they were doing a how do you travel survey on the bus, there was traffic problems. I asked the lady and she said the bus should have been at Kingston hospital by that point, which normally would be another 20 minutes away from where we were.

When the traffic was exceptionally bad one evening, I passed 7 bus on my way to the station. I did some shopping in Waitrose and I came out to find the first bus I'd walked passed, only just arriving at the bus stop. That is very unusual thankfully.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[hassaanhc]

When the traffic was exceptionally bad one evening, I passed 7 bus on my way to the station. I did some shopping in Waitrose and I came out to find the first bus I'd walked passed, only just arriving at the bus stop. That is very unusual thankfully.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

On one occasion a couple of years ago, there were roadworks at Southall Broadway which left 4-way temporary traffic lights at a very busy junction, plus approaching from the south (my direction) other roadworks had closed a main road so all traffic was diverted via the other main road, the same route as the bus. I walked the 1.5 miles from my house to Southall Broadway via the bus route, it took me about 35-40 minutes to walk. There was a bus I just missed when I left and had just entered the huge queue, and I'd already been at Southall Broadway for a good 20 minutes or so before it got there . So it took about an hour for a bus to go 1.5 miles that day.

 

[fowler9]

To be fair whilst some people have said that bus drivers aren't mind readers so you should stick your arm out, passengers aren't mind readers either and there is nothing on any bus stops where I live saying you have to stick your arm out. I stick my arm out myself but only in a half hearted way because that seems to be the deal where I live. Ha ha.

 

[infobleep]

I sometimes put my arm out but not all the time and I least expect to do so in London.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Martin1988]

I've had a few instances in the past of drivers not stopping when attempting to board the 680(Filton College-Yate) route from a stop along the route. The first time this happened I phoned up the company to complain and the person on the phone tried to get the driver to come back for me but the driver stated he had already reached Yate and was on his way back to the depot. This was impossible as only 5 minutes had lapsed.

The second time, the driver had to turn round and come back to pick me and another passenger up.

 

[AndyHudds]

I've had a few instances in the past of drivers not stopping when attempting to board the 680(Filton College-Yate) route from a stop along the route. The first time this happened I phoned up the company to complain and the person on the phone tried to get the driver to come back for me but the driver stated he had already reached Yate and was on his way back to the depot. This was impossible as only 5 minutes had lapsed.

The second time, the driver had to turn round and come back to pick me and another passenger up.

I bet this wasn't First was it?

That's quite good of em to send the bus back for you.

 

[Tom B]

The Countdown system, like any, is only as good as the information it is given. I sometimes catch a bus from Crouch End, a couple of stops from the start of the service 91 route. If I do this at shift change time, there will be an awful lot of 91s showing as due in the next few minutes - which you see approach and put your hand out before seeing that they are screened "OUT OF SERVICE" and sail past. Presumably they *are* out of service, but the driver neglected to update the terminal. Although, apps such as BusCountDown will show the next journey of a particular bus so surely the system knows when it will be finishing and returning to the depot?

 

[Deerfold]

The Countdown system, like any, is only as good as the information it is given. I sometimes catch a bus from Crouch End, a couple of stops from the start of the service 91 route. If I do this at shift change time, there will be an awful lot of 91s showing as due in the next few minutes - which you see approach and put your hand out before seeing that they are screened "OUT OF SERVICE" and sail past. Presumably they *are* out of service, but the driver neglected to update the terminal. Although, apps such as BusCountDown will show the next journey of a particular bus so surely the system knows when it will be finishing and returning to the depot?

The system knows which the next journey is when things are going to plan - however if there is disruption buses don't always run the next scheduled journey.

It also depends on the information it's given about driver changes. Sometime the schedule says the change will occur at the end of the route but in practice the drivers go to the garage and back which if the bus starts off down the route makes the system think the next scheduled journey has started early.