First Bus Introduce Social Distancing

[RomeoCharlie71]

Guidelines ≠ rules

The Government have issued the guidance, and operators have acted upon it in their own ways. I doubt anyone in Government knows what an Enviro300 is nevermind dictate the temporary capacity for one.

I understand where people are coming from though, 25% capacity is far from sustainable long-term.

 

[RogerOut]

At the moment, the buses are relatively quiet. But in a few weeks in June, the shops will open up again.
Let’s see how easy bus operators find it then, when everyone starts coming at again. In addition, I wonder how hard it will be to go back to the 9.30 am rule for the pensioners. It was hard enough pre- covid getting some of them to understand this rule.
The bus operator bosses should be telling the government that social distancing on buses can’t work.

Wait until key workers will be left behind at bus stops, which will result on them complaining on the local news that the nasty driver drove past them.
Also, the awkwardness of a driver having to let a wheelchair user on, at a busy stop , refusing a crowd of passengers. Or leaving a wheelchair user behind, or asking a buggy user to get the next bus to make way for a wheelchair user.
This is bloody lunacy !!

You're missing the point. The government are issuing guidelines, they're not advising bus operators to refuse to pick up passengers if a bus exceeds more than 25 per cent of it's capacity. If key workers are unable to get to work on time because First or Stagecoach are refusing to stop for them then something's very wrong.

But the driver won’t know if they are key workers or not.

 

[Romsey]

Will all this lead to another policy change?

If there are crowding problems as seen on London Underground all ready, how long before social distancing is changed to 1 or 1.5 metres if you're wearing a face mask? All it needs is "key workers" not getting to work and a bit of high profile publicity and there will be a knee jerk reaction. Or will it become mandatory to wear a face mask on public transport?

For what it's worth Blue Star and Stagecoach are trundling around the area south of Winchester almost empty on reduced frequencies. The best loading I've seen is 5 passengers. ( The remaining operating bus services don't go where I need to go for shopping or exercise.)

 

[WM Bus]

For what it's worth Blue Star and Stagecoach are trundling around the area south of Winchester almost empty on reduced frequencies. The best loading I've seen is 5 passengers. ( The remaining operating bus services don't go where I need to go for shopping or exercise.)

On the odd occasion i've seen some busy looking buses on the Birmingham 55 and 94 services must have about 20 or possibly more on some of them. (Others occasions they look emptier - so not all the time).

They're also gradually increasing the frequencies, from March 30th it was running at every 15 minutes, then went up to every 10 minutes a few weeks ago, and from tomorrow it will be every 7, next week it will still be every 7 and there "may be extra buses at busy times", so must mean more people are starting to travel again and more comapred to the first few weeks of lockdown.

 

[Geordie driver]

To be fair, no one is missing the point. These guidelines/ rules mention overloading for vunereble passengers, I was always told that there was no way I could tell if a passenger was vunereble or not, so treat them all as such.

People are rightly in a heightened state of anxiety and once a driver starts overloading there will be hell on.

 

[WM Bus]

Diamond Bus 25 service (Ward End to Erdington) is carrying a sign today saying that the bus is "limited to a maximum of 7 passengers". The first I've seen it in the Birmingham area.

 

[RogerOut]

Yes, wait for photos of buses overloaded to make the news/ Facebook. The driver will be blamed. Yet the same driver will be blamed for refusing travel in a loaded bus. The driver cant win.

 

[Pete_uk]

Stagecoach cotswolds are going to start putting restrictions on its services. I suppose it's for when things start opening up but it's like the horse has bolted and died of old age before they close the stable door

 

[richw]

A friend reported Stagecoach in Torbay Already going between Torquay and Paignton with bus full on the destination

 

[Tetchytyke]

I get leaving an empty row between people, I really do. But I don't see why you can't have the two window seats occupied in the same row. An Enviro400 is 2.55m wide, therefore that plenty covers the 2m distance guideline. You should be able to get 30-odd onto an E400.

It seems overkill.

Bus Vannin have blocked off the seats immediately behind the driver, beyond that you can sit where you want. But I've also not seen a 40-seater Citaro with more than about 8 people on it, so what works here may not apply there.

 

[richw]

I get leaving an empty row between people, I really do. But I don't see why you can't have the two window seats occupied in the same row

You can.
Window seats Both sides every other row on ours

 

[Ianigsy]

The only problems I've noticed so far on my route (X84 Leeds-Otley) have been with people who didn't have English as a first language not understanding the signage (which, to be fair, includes four different styles).

One potential issue I've noticed, however, is that the seat chosen in the first row would put the occupier face to face with somebody using the wheelchair space!

 

[Enthusiast]

What I don't understand with all this malarkey is that the country's biggest bus operator, TfL, has no formal "social distancing" measures at all. All that's happened is that the front doors are out of use, the driver's area including the first row on the lower deck near side (and sometimes the second as well as the little "dickie seat" under the stairs, depending on the bus type) is taped off and there is a notice inside saying "try to spread out a bit" (or words to that effect).

Diamond Bus 25 service (Ward End to Erdington) is carrying a sign today saying that the bus is "limited to a maximum of 7 passengers".

What's its normal capacity? Quite frankly that sounds ludicrous.

 

[northernchris]

I've seen a First double decker today which had a sign near the doors saying it could carry a maximum of 19 passengers.

 

[NorthOxonian]

Reading through some of the stories in this thread, this whole approach seems to massive own goal. I can understand why the measures exist but they don't seem to have been thought through.

If you have an essential journey, you're not going to want to risk taking a bus which might well leave you stranded at a bus stop (thanks to having a tiny capacity), and those making non-essential journeys are being encouraged not to travel. So who is the bus actually for now?

 

[WM Bus]

What's its normal capacity? Quite frankly that sounds ludicrous.

It was an optare solo single decker, YJ10EYV. So would think something around 30 maximum plus a few standing normally?
It is an hourly service however, so if you get left behind there's another hour for the next one.

 

[Bikeman78]

Reading through some of the stories in this thread, this whole approach seems to massive own goal. I can understand why the measures exist but they don't seem to have been thought through.

If you have an essential journey, you're not going to want to risk taking a bus which might well leave you stranded at a bus stop (thanks to having a tiny capacity), and those making non-essential journeys are being encouraged not to travel. So who is the bus actually for now?

In Cardiff the answer appears to be no one. They are often completely empty. Meanwhile the number of cars seems to be heading back towards normal off peak levels.

 

[Enthusiast]

It was an optare solo single decker, YJ10EYV. So would think something around 30 maximum plus a few standing normally?
It is an hourly service however, so if you get left behind there's another hour for the next one.

I didn't know where Ward End and Erdington were until I looked them up, but I see they are only three or four miles apart, either side of the M6 near "Spaghetti Junction". I don't know what sort of clientele that route normally accommodates but if they are running hourly buses at only around 20% capacity I frankly cannot see the point. There was a lengthy discussion about buses on another thread (can't recall which one) - including a suggestion that passengers might have to pre-book a "slot" to join the bus. Needless to say the practical problems of that seemed endless and insurmountable but my view is that in this case only passengers boarding at Ward End or Erdington would get a look in.

 

[WM Bus]

I didn't know where Ward End and Erdington were until I looked them up, but I see they are only three or four miles apart, either side of the M6 near "Spaghetti Junction". I don't know what sort of clientele that route normally accommodates

At present a lot of the clientele tend to be predominantly elderly passengers (with a few exceptions), from what i've seen over the past few weeks. It goes round a longer route so the terminus are only 3 or 4 miles apart. Rather than going direct - with the direct route along Bromford Lane/Wood End Road being served by the 11A/11C more frequently - every 10 minutes at present..
Only thing about getting them to book onto the service, is a lot of might not have internet access. To some of them I think it would perhaps be a lifeline as well.

 

[richw]

I've seen a First double decker today which had a sign near the doors saying it could carry a maximum of 19 passengers.

Other new notices include...

 

[scotrail158713]

What I don't understand with all this malarkey is that the country's biggest bus operator, TfL, has no formal "social distancing" measures at all. All that's happened is that the front doors are out of use, the driver's area including the first row on the lower deck near side (and sometimes the second as well as the little "dickie seat" under the stairs, depending on the bus type) is taped off and there is a notice inside saying "try to spread out a bit" (or words to that effect).

To be fair I’d say that it sounds like they’re being reasonable. They seem to realise that it’s not always going to be possible, however are taking some simple measures to protect staff.
I’ve not been on a bus since March 8th, so I’ve not seen what other operators are doing, however going by posts on here there’s some rather unworkable approaches being taken by others.

 

[richw]

The government even acknowledged it won’t always be possible on public transport.

 

[Enthusiast]

Only thing about getting them to book onto the service, is a lot of might not have internet access.

That is by no means the only problem, but that's been discussed elsewhere.

To be fair I’d say that it sounds like they’re being reasonable.

I quite agree. I cannot get my head round the reason why such rigid restrictions exist on an hourly bus service that visits a few villages on the outskirts of Birmingham whilst in London, where there are (from memory) about 8,000 buses going round, there are no formal restrictions.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I quite agree. I cannot get my head round the reason why such rigid restrictions exist on an hourly bus service that visits a few villages on the outskirts of Birmingham whilst in London, where there are (from memory) about 8,000 buses going round, there are no formal restrictions.

Have a look at the stats for hospital admissions by region, they're knocking round on Twitter somewhere. They seem to me to demonstrate clearly that London is once again going to be a massive problem.

 

[Enthusiast]

Have a look at the stats for hospital admissions by region, they're knocking round on Twitter somewhere. They seem to me to demonstrate clearly that London is once again going to be a massive problem.

But it won't be solved by running buses round 80% empty whilst people wait at bus stops. There is more than one aspect to this problem and the economy is rapidly overtaking health and wellbeing as the gravest risk. If the country is to return to work and a second wave begins the NHS will have to cope with it. Locking the country down again (not that it's been released yet) simply will not do. They've had over three months to make further preparations.

EDIT: since posting I've learned that TfL is to revert to front door boarding on 124 routes from tomorrow, with all routes reverting by the middle of June. BUT...double deckers will be limited to 20 passengers and single deckers to between 6 and 10. Quite how that's to be policed on a wet Monday morning outside Charing Cross is anybody's guess. Where I live, when a bus pulls up outside a school at 3:30, a double decker (90 capacity or thereabouts) is quickly filled, with some children often being left at the stop. It will now take five buses to clear the stop (providing nobody else wants to get on, that is). From the TfL website:

"Our message to Londoners is clear though - please work from home and travel on foot or bike if you can. Public transport is a precious resource that should be preserved for those who need it."

 

[PG]

I wonder if we may witness the revival of 'works' services, if employers realise the alternative is staff not reliably turning up anywhere near on-time?

These used to be basically bus operators running 'on-hire' service buses exclusively for workers at a specific location usually paid for by the employer (so no fares charged on board).

These days I imagine service buses will be a scarce resource and any works services will be run with private coaches.

 

[Geordie driver]

It is strange after decades of being encouraged and coerced to use buses, we are now being told not to.

 

[Class195]

This is beyond farcical now.

Twice in the past week, I've tried to get the 612 which is an hourly service and twice it's had more than 18 people on and drove past leaving myself and three others at the bus stop.

I cant see how this is going to work?

 

[Mag_seven]

This is beyond farcical now.

Twice in the past week, I've tried to get the 612 which is an hourly service and twice it's had more than 18 people on and drove past leaving myself and three others at the bus stop.

I cant see how this is going to work?

"going to work" - its quite clear it isn't working!

 

[Bletchleyite]

It is strange after decades of being encouraged and coerced to use buses, we are now being told not to.

It is, but this is a totally unique, and hopefully short term, situation.