Buses not stopping when requested

[AY1975]

Not sure if this has already been discussed on here, but has anyone ever been carried on past their stop because the bus failed to stop when requested?

I live in Sheffield, where most buses are run by either First or Stagecoach. On a number of occasions they have tried to go right past the stop nearest my office even though I rang the bell in good time (Stagecoach drivers seem to do this more often than First), but usually when I shout "Excuse me, I rang the bell for that stop," they apologise, say they didn't hear the bell, and pull up just past the stop.

On one occasion last month, I myself and at least two other people wanted to get off a bus, and one of them rang the bell in good time, and the "Bus stopping" light came on and then immediately went out again. I shouted "Excuse me, we rang the bell for that stop," but the driver insisted that no-one had done so. After much arguing he let us off about half-way between that stop and the next one.

I then emailed Stagecoach to complain (making sure I made a note of the bus fleet number), and they got back to me and said the driver would be spoken to and they would check the bus involved to see if the bell was working properly. A friend of mine who drives for Stagecoach told me that if you ring the bell immediately after the bus has left the previous stop, before the door sensor has detected that the doors are fully closed, the bell may not work properly, causing the stopping light to go out immediately after the bell is rung. Obviously, most ordinary lay passengers can't be expected to know that, though.

 

[Flying Snail]

"Next stop please" works wonders.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Best one I heard was when Sweyne were running the 357 / 360 / 361 / 362 between Scunny and Goole. Someone wanted off, so yelled "Ding, bell dunt work" as bell button had jammed. Luckily the driver had managed to pull into their requested stop.

When LOT was running the 951, the bell on Primo ????DXH had a loose connection as the driver thought someone had pressed the bell. Myself and the driver came to the conclusion that there was a fault with the bell as every button was checked to see if any had jammed - of which none was, so it was put down as a fault.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There is a particular stop in MK I used to frequent which is just after a notoriously busy (and difficult in a slow vehicle) roundabout, and the drivers would often forget. The solution appeared to be (never failed once I started doing that) to ring the bell well in advance but again just as the bus left the roundabout as a reminder. (Any more times would probably be annoying).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Best one I heard was when Sweyne were running the 357 / 360 / 361 / 362 between Scunny and Goole. Someone wanted off, so yelled "Ding, bell dunt work" as bell button had jammed. Luckily the driver had managed to pull into their requested stop.

OT for the thread...but it reminded me...a long time ago in a North not so far away I was on a Pacer which the guard dispatched by opening the cab door, shouting "buzz buzz" (returned on the actual buzzer by the driver) and closing it again

 

[Harbouring]

There is a particular stop in MK I used to frequent which is just after a notoriously busy (and difficult in a slow vehicle) roundabout, and the drivers would often forget. The solution appeared to be (never failed once I started doing that) to ring the bell well in advance but again just as the bus left the roundabout as a reminder. (Any more times would probably be annoying).

On streetlites round here you can only press the bell once, anymore times until the doors open they won’t work.

Had it happen many times, last time the driver let me off on a T Junction which wasn’t ideal. Worst is when it doesn’t stop when you put your hand out. Especially if the next one isn’t for an hour.

 

[Dentonian]

Not sure if this has already been discussed on here, but has anyone ever been carried on past their stop because the bus failed to stop when requested?

I live in Sheffield, where most buses are run by either First or Stagecoach. On a number of occasions they have tried to go right past the stop nearest my office even though I rang the bell in good time (Stagecoach drivers seem to do this more often than First), but usually when I shout "Excuse me, I rang the bell for that stop," they apologise, say they didn't hear the bell, and pull up just past the stop.

On one occasion last month, I myself and at least two other people wanted to get off a bus, and one of them rang the bell in good time, and the "Bus stopping" light came on and then immediately went out again. I shouted "Excuse me, we rang the bell for that stop," but the driver insisted that no-one had done so. After much arguing he let us off about half-way between that stop and the next one.

I then emailed Stagecoach to complain (making sure I made a note of the bus fleet number), and they got back to me and said the driver would be spoken to and they would check the bus involved to see if the bell was working properly. A friend of mine who drives for Stagecoach told me that if you ring the bell immediately after the bus has left the previous stop, before the door sensor has detected that the doors are fully closed, the bell may not work properly, causing the stopping light to go out immediately after the bell is rung. Obviously, most ordinary lay passengers can't be expected to know that, though.

I'm pretty confident your friend will be correct with this, although in my experience (including complaint handling and viewing stats), bus drivers "failing to stop" to pick passengers up is a far greater problem, certainly in Gtr. Manchester.

However, for reasons I can only guess at, its a MUCH bigger problem with First Manchester than with Stagecoach Manchester, or certainly has been historically. And that's taking into account that per passenger carried, First have always been a bigger cause of complaint generally.

The other thing - unless there has been another move round - Stagecoach Yorkshire gained from mass changes in Stagecoach Manchester management around 2014, so I would think your complaint will be taken seriously. Perhaps a notice to remind drivers that its a flaw in the system, and so they should be aware that alighting passengers have genuinely tried to alert them.

 

[Lrd]

Blame the companies for cost cutting, not employing enough drivers and forcing overtime and not maintaining the buses

 

[Robertj21a]

Blame the companies for cost cutting, not employing enough drivers and forcing overtime and not maintaining the buses

??? - evidence ?

 

[Lrd]

??? - evidence ?

Used to work for one of them...

 

[Dentonian]

Used to work for one of them...

So there you have it; a Londoner who acts as though they have in depth knowledge and can offer and objective viewpoint to something happening 150 miles away. T'was ever thus! "Jobs & Careers Assistant" eh? Well I can certainly point you in the right direction to succeed with such generalist attitudes; Either Whitehall or BBC Television Centre - and I don't mean the tokenist dump at Salford Quays, either.

 

[Lrd]

So there you have it; a Londoner who acts as though they have in depth knowledge and can offer and objective viewpoint to something happening 150 miles away. T'was ever thus! "Jobs & Careers Assistant" eh? Well I can certainly point you in the right direction to succeed with such generalist attitudes; Either Whitehall or BBC Television Centre - and I don't mean the tokenist dump at Salford Quays, either.

I'm not a Londoner...

 

[Lrd]

And have never driven a bus in London

 

[Typhoon]

"Next stop please" works wonders.

Absolutely! The 'please' helps a lot.

I would suggest advising the driver on boarding but that is really a solution for country rather than city routes.

Part of the problem may be the number of times people ring the bell and no-one gets off. If that has happened a lot at the start of a journey, it might be difficult to keep track later on.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I live in a Stagecoach only bus area and I’ve noticed this too. Always the same routes though strangely enough... some routes do it all the time, some it’s never happened with.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I used to get served by Fleet Buzz too, they were very hit and miss. Forget about drivers forgetting to stop though, these drivers often forgot to run the actual flipping bus service!

 

[Bletchleyite]

On streetlites round here you can only press the bell once, anymore times until the doors open they won’t work.

Now there's a piece of stupid design, up there with things like "bus stopping at next bus stop, please stand clear of doors" when "ding" does the job just fine.

 

[jon0844]

Wouldn't announcing the bus is going to stop be a good thing to stop others trying to press and to make sure the driver definitely knows, just as if you said 'next stop please'? A ding could be missed and even a dash light may not stand out amongst the other lights on (warning lights on the dash seem common on many buses I travel on!).

Talking about standing clear of the doors is rather unnecessary though.

 

[philthetube]

Now there's a piece of stupid design, up there with things like "bus stopping at next bus stop, please stand clear of doors" when "ding" does the job just fine.

A piece of great design, imagine how frustrating it is for drivers having constant ringing in their ears.

In my opinion the sound should come from the back of the bus and be quite loud.

 

[Lrd]

A piece of great design, imagine how frustrating it is for drivers having constant ringing in their ears.

In my opinion the sound should come from the back of the bus and be quite loud.

Some Volvo buses rang in the drivers cab and at the back of the bus the first time the bell was pushed and then any subsequent presses just rang the back one. So the passengers heard a bell but the driver just got the one and wasn't going loopy thanks to all the ding dings.

 

[mic]

it has happened to me in the Manchester area if on streetlites and some has pressed bell and got off stop before and shut the doors so quick the stopping light remains on so bell does not work then

 

[Bletchleyite]

A piece of great design, imagine how frustrating it is for drivers having constant ringing in their ears.

Doesn't allow the "reminder" case I noted, though, meaning more missed stops. If you wanted to stop the "kids messing with it" scenario I suppose you could put in a timer allowing a ring again only after 10 seconds or so.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Wouldn't announcing the bus is going to stop be a good thing to stop others trying to press and to make sure the driver definitely knows, just as if you said 'next stop please'? A ding could be missed and even a dash light may not stand out amongst the other lights on (warning lights on the dash seem common on many buses I travel on!).

Talking about standing clear of the doors is rather unnecessary though.

On this particular poor design of London bus the announcement was just in the passenger cabin, the driver just got a ding.

 

[96tommy]

Only time I've seen this was on a Coastliner going into York a few years ago. People kept ringing the bell but driver went past about 3 stops

 

[robk23oxf]

On some buses of particularly poor build quality like ADL products, the sound of the interior panels rattling can easily drown out the sound of the bell if going through a big enough hole in the road.

 

[Dentonian]

I'm not a Londoner...

Your profile says "Location: London" and your icon is a Night Tube roundel courtesy of "Londonist" !

 

[507021]

A friend of mine who drives for Stagecoach told me that if you ring the bell immediately after the bus has left the previous stop, before the door sensor has detected that the doors are fully closed, the bell may not work properly, causing the stopping light to go out immediately after the bell is rung.

This happens on the stock (mainly Mk2 Enviro400s and Gemini3 hybrids) I drive as well.

Unfortunately, the bell won't register until the door sensor confirms the doors are properly closed. If the doors aren't registered as closed when the bell is rung, then it will immediately cancel itself, along with the stop request notification on the binnacle.

On some buses of particularly poor build quality like ADL products, the sound of the interior panels rattling can easily drown out the sound of the bell if going through a big enough hole in the road.

I think the more recent Alexander Dennis products are very good, particularly the 2009-15 generation of Enviro400, which in my view feels solidly built and is a pleasure to drive.

 

[Lrd]

Your profile says "Location: London" and your icon is a Night Tube roundel courtesy of "Londonist" !

This isn't the place to discuss this. If you wish to discuss my personal details then feel free to PM me.

Do you have any sources to say that companies aren't cost cutting? I've experienced it first hand, working for one of the big companies who failed to fix the smallest of faults and allowed others to get worse even though they were reported multiple times in good time to do something about it. I've also been pressurised into working long weeks and going right up to the legal limit for weeks on end and made to feel guilty for refusing to and them having to cancel trips. This is all 100 miles away from London (like that has anything to do with it anyway).

 

[Dentonian]

This isn't the place to discuss this. If you wish to discuss my personal details then feel free to PM me.

Do you have any sources to say that companies aren't cost cutting? I've experienced it first hand, working for one of the big companies who failed to fix the smallest of faults and allowed others to get worse even though they were reported multiple times in good time to do something about it. I've also been pressurised into working long weeks and going right up to the legal limit for weeks on end and made to feel guilty for refusing to and them having to cancel trips. This is all 100 miles away from London (like that has anything to do with it anyway).

I'm not interested in your personal details - beyond a curiosity as to why your profile seems to contradict them, maybe - but I fail to get the link between "cost cutting", which exists throughout British society and has done for many years, and bus drivers not carrying about a basic part of their duty. Especially as, 99%+ of bus drivers DO carry out this basic part of their duty, irrelevant of how bad their management is or how greedy their shareholders are. Besides, I thought the mantra of the private sector was "The customer is always right".

 

[Typhoon]

I'm not certain that drivers that miss stops always (or even usually) do so deliberately. Concerned about the cyclist whose path is closer to a sound wave rather than a straight line, whether the pedestrians hanging about near a crossing actually want to cross, the thump-thump-thump of a bottle coming down the stairs, being late because the level crossing was down because two trains had passed, the intermittent fault light that comes on for a second or two at a time, the noisy group of school kids on the upper deck who are up to something (I could go on). So very occasionally they might forget to stop - particularly if there is no physical stop pole or are new to the route. If they are not slowing down, 'This stop please' - other contributors have indicated why the driver might not have heard a ring. Drivers are human, they occasionally get things wrong, its no big thing - and, in my experience, are usually apologetic.

The dictionary definition of a mantra is a statement or slogan, frequently repeated. There is no implication that the slogan is true, or is believed to be true! (Evidence - every general election that I can remember.)