Can buses let you off between stops?

[BanburyBlue]

Hi all,

Yesterday I was in Oxford, and caught the Arriva 280 service (Aylesbury - Oxford bus) from Speedwell Street to Oxford Railway station. When the bus got to the end of Park End Street, with the junction of Frideswide Square, it was jammed with traffic (I think because of roadworks on the Botley Road). I asked the driver to let me off as my train was due in a couple of minutes. For those that don't know the area it's only a couple of hundred yards to the railway station from Frideswide Square. The bus driver refused (politely) saying he wasn't allowed to let me off as he wasn't at an official stop, and there was cctv everywhere and he'd get in trouble.

Is this right?

In the back of my mind, when they liberalised the buses back in Mrs T's day, I believed one of the changes was that buses could stop anywhere on route, and not just at recognised stops.

Thanks.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Legally they can. However it is normally against operator policy for safety reasons.

 

[buslad1988]

Yes unfortunately from experience it’s the fault of the ‘blame culture’ for operators generally having such policies.

If the driver was to of let you off and you tripped or slipped and fell the driver/company would be to blame for letting you off at a non designated bus stop.

All sounds daft but in this age of everyone wanting something for nothing it’s no surprise operators have such rules.

 

[PeterC]

Yes unfortunately from experience it’s the fault of the ‘blame culture’ for operators generally having such policies.

If the driver was to of let you off and you tripped or slipped and fell the driver/company would be to blame for letting you off at a non designated bus stop.

All sounds daft but in this age of everyone wanting something for nothing it’s no surprise operators have such rules.

I have noticed that a few years ago, on my local village service, drivers would drop a couple of disabled passengers at their front gates. Now they only stop at the stops.

 

[AlbertBeale]

When they re-introduced buses with open rear platforms in London a few years back, lots of people used the opportunity to nip on and off in jams and to speed up interchanges and so on. In the period when there were many such routes in the centre, some of my journeys were 30% faster using the hop-on-and-off facility.

Since they've abandoned the open rear doors, many of us are extremely cheesed off at journeys by bus being slower again; in my case, I frequently use the emergency door open button if the bus is, eg, waiting at traffic lights. But that only claws back part of what's lost - you can't do that when the bus is crawling long as opposed to stationary (or it makes the bus lurch - brakes go on I guess?); and although you can sometimes still get off where you want, you can't get on where you want ... though I did open the rear platform door in a jam recently for someone else to get on, but no-one's ever done that for me.

I'm surprised that more people don't do what I do - but perhaps it's because I've been around in London long enough to remember the era when all buses were hop-on-and-off, so for me it's the normal way of travelling. And the recent period when the system was re-introduced on some buses presumably wasn't sufficiently universal (and didn't go on for long enough) for that culture to get properly re-established.

 

[BVW]

Since they've abandoned the open rear doors, many of us are extremely cheesed off at journeys by bus being slower again; in my case, I frequently use the emergency door open button if the bus is, eg, waiting at traffic lights. But that only claws back part of what's lost - you can't do that when the bus is crawling long as opposed to stationary (or it makes the bus lurch - brakes go on I guess?); and although you can sometimes still get off where you want, you can't get on where you want ... though I did open the rear platform door in a jam recently for someone else to get on, but no-one's ever done that for me.

I'm surprised that more people don't do what I do - but perhaps it's because I've been around in London long enough to remember the era when all buses were hop-on-and-off, so for me it's the normal way of travelling. And the recent period when the system was re-introduced on some buses presumably wasn't sufficiently universal (and didn't go on for long enough) for that culture to get properly re-established.

I imagine bus drivers just love you doing that.

 

[hexagon789]

A number of years ago, drivers seemed to be quite nonplussed about letting people off when stopped in traffic or between stops even but for a number of years now whenever someone has (on the rare occasion) asked every driver has refused saying they aren't allowed to.

 

[daveshah]

I've seen London bus drivers showing people to use the emergency buttons to open the doors if they want to get off while stuck in bad traffic - presumably an attempt at a liability shift, not sure how it would actually stand up in court.

 

[richw]

In urban areas I was taught stops only, rural areas anywhere safe within reason.

The door/brake interlock on modern buses means we can’t open the doors quickly sat in traffic anymore to let someone jump off quick.

 

[DaleCooper]

In urban areas I was taught stops only, rural areas anywhere safe within reason.

The door/brake interlock on modern buses means we can’t open the doors quickly sat in traffic anymore to let someone jump off quick.

Just this evening I was let off while the bus was waiting in a queue at traffic lights (that happens quite often) and recently I was on a bus that stopped between stops because the driver had not heard the bell and sailed past the stop.

 

[awsnews]

In Glasgow there is a Traffic Regulation Order which prohibits setting down and picking up anywhere other than designated stops.

 

[matt_world2004]

London buses can,providing the driver judges it to be safe to do so. They can only let you off the front door however. The 12 triaxle has a warning sensor at the front that warns passengers there is a bike between the bus and pavement for just this purpose. However it generates a lot of false positives. Warning about lampposts and other on pavement furniture.

 

[richw]

Just this evening I was let off while the bus was waiting in a queue at traffic lights (that happens quite often) and recently I was on a bus that stopped between stops because the driver had not heard the bell and sailed past the stop.

Guess not everything has interlocks, everything we’ve got newer than 66 plates do. Can’t open and shut the doors and pull off quickly.

 

[175mph]

When I use the late night 1a in Scunthorpe, there is one or two drivers who always do this for me, otherwise it's a ten minute walk the rest of the way home.

 

[RailAleFan]

Why are the emergency buttons red for open and green for close rather than the other way round which would seem more logical?

Asking for a friend.

 

[Stan Drews]

Why are the emergency buttons red for open and green for close rather than the other way round which would seem more logical?

Asking for a friend.

I assume red for danger, when the door is opened. Green to close, then it’s safe to go.
Seems logical to me.

 

[PeterC]

London buses can,providing the driver judges it to be safe to do so. They can only let you off the front door however. The 12 triaxle has a warning sensor at the front that warns passengers there is a bike between the bus and pavement for just this purpose. However it generates a lot of false positives. Warning about lampposts and other on pavement furniture.

But does it warn you when the bus is setting passengers down into a live cycle lane?

 

[LiviCrazy]

In my area First will regularly pick up and drop off away from stops. For example the 23, particularly at night, will drop off at a junction in Mid Calder.

Also quite common for the First buses to drop at the road island crossing at Heriot-Watt when the traffic is heavy then let people across. Similar in traffic in Edinburgh the driver will often ask “do you want off here?” if sitting stationary in traffic.

 

[midland1]

I have a feeling that a while back there was a legal case about this sort of thing, and the result was that a passenger could not be kept prisoner on a bus.

 

[Serathor]

Arriva buses in Darlington will only let you off at the designated stop.

 

[Busaholic]

When my car has been repaired (all too often) and I catch the bus, which passes the garage premises on a country road, without pavements and nowhere near a stop, I do ask the driver in advance if he'll kindly stop outside or near the premises for me, and they invariably do. Having a stick, and being unsteady on my feet, may be a contributory factor. On the journey we pass the path which leads to First's Long Rock (Penzance) depot, and often a bus driver or two gets dropped off there at another non-stop, so it could be considered hypocritical to deny me!

 

[83G/84D]

When the "Hoppa" buses were launched in Cornwall (with Ford Transit minibuses, progressing on to Mercedes Benz 608D's and Iveco's) they were advertised as stopping anywhere as a Hail and Ride type service (provided it was safe to do so). I will look around for the leaflets that were produced at the time, I have a copy somewhere.

 

[carlberry]

When my car has been repaired (all too often) and I catch the bus, which passes the garage premises on a country road, without pavements and nowhere near a stop, I do ask the driver in advance if he'll kindly stop outside or near the premises for me, and they invariably do. Having a stick, and being unsteady on my feet, may be a contributory factor. On the journey we pass the path which leads to First's Long Rock (Penzance) depot, and often a bus driver or two gets dropped off there at another non-stop, so it could be considered hypocritical to deny me!

The drivers that are being dropped off are likely to be wearing hi vis vests which are known to be protection against all dangers!

 

[Ianno87]

; in my case, I frequently use the emergency door open button if the bus is, eg, waiting at traffic lights.

<snip>

I'm surprised that more people don't do what I do - but perhaps it's because I've been around in London long enough to remember the era when all buses were hop-on-and-off, so for me it's the normal way of travelling. And the recent period when the system was re-introduced on some buses presumably wasn't sufficiently universal (and didn't go on for long enough) for that culture to get properly re-established.

Sorry, but how impatient *are* you? Things, and times, change. Sorry.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sorry, but how impatient *are* you? Things, and times, change. Sorry.

One thing that's frustrating about London (particularly Oxford St) is that the bus stop layout is very poorly thought through, and this was fine in RM days because people just boarded and alighted anywhere. What is needed to solve this issue is to look again at stop positioning and bus lane design to minimise this situation.

 

[Deerfold]

Since they've abandoned the open rear doors, many of us are extremely cheesed off at journeys by bus being slower again; in my case, I frequently use the emergency door open button if the bus is, eg, waiting at traffic lights.

Isn't that for, er, emergencies?

 

[higthomas]

Hi all,

Yesterday I was in Oxford, and caught the Arriva 280 service (Aylesbury - Oxford bus) from Speedwell Street to Oxford Railway station. When the bus got to the end of Park End Street, with the junction of Frideswide Square, it was jammed with traffic (I think because of roadworks on the Botley Road). I asked the driver to let me off as my train was due in a couple of minutes. For those that don't know the area it's only a couple of hundred yards to the railway station from Frideswide Square. The bus driver refused (politely) saying he wasn't allowed to let me off as he wasn't at an official stop, and there was cctv everywhere and he'd get in trouble.

Is this right?

In the back of my mind, when they liberalised the buses back in Mrs T's day, I believed one of the changes was that buses could stop anywhere on route, and not just at recognised stops.

Thanks.

I've been on both Stagecoach and OBC buses in that location and been let off before. Often they'll do it without any prompting.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Sorry, but how impatient *are* you? Things, and times, change. Sorry.

I'm impatient for an urban public transport system that is designed to allow passengers the quickest journeys.

Some changes are driven by other considerations than the interests of passengers, and make life worse for passengers. So I naturally resist such changes as much as I can. "Times change" is too fatalistic - I judge things not on whether they are new or old, but on how I judge their functionality (for me, for society and for the planet).

 

[SCH117X]

IME is comes down to the driver as I have different experiences with the same operator - some seem to get some perverted joy out of annoying passengers by making them stay on the bus whilst its a few yards from the stop and stuck in traffic, others have no hesitation in opening the door. The one issue I can see with letting pasengers off away from a stop is an incident occurring of someone getting off a bus as a cyclist passes on the nearside not expecting anyone to alight from the bus - suppose the answer could be a external warning light or two that the doors are opening/open.

 

[takno]

I'm impatient for an urban public transport system that is designed to allow passengers the quickest journeys.

Some changes are driven by other considerations than the interests of passengers, and make life worse for passengers. So I naturally resist such changes as much as I can. "Times change" is too fatalistic - I judge things not on whether they are new or old, but on how I judge their functionality (for me, for society and for the planet).

Good for you! Interfering with emergency equipment will definitely show 'em. No doubt you'll be back here moaning if you ever find yourself up before the beak for it.