How broken does a bus need to be before it can't go out?

[PG]

We are getting lost in pedantry

Agreed, with apologies as I think I'm the one who steered us down this road!

That said, a quick search of the PSV inspection manual reveals that either an audible or visual device to signal to the driver to stop should be functional. So if the bus stopping sign can be seen by the driver then the bell doesn't have to work. Who knew...

 

[Glasgowbusguy]

Agreed, with apologies as I think I'm the one who steered us down this road!

That said, a quick search of the PSV inspection manual reveals that either an audible or visual device to signal to the driver to stop should be functional. So if the bus stopping sign can be seen by the driver then the bell doesn't have to work. Who knew...

Normally there's a light on the dash that lights up when a stop bell is pressed

 

[Geordie driver]

I had the joy of riding on what I think was a Wright Streetlite Eclipse yesterday. Apologies if I got this wrong as I don't know much about modern buses.

The suspension appears to be none existent. The roads round here are ok but every bump and manhole cover goes straight into your spine. The transmission feels like a shuggy boat on anything except acceleration. Rather foolishly I sat next to the emergency exit which vibrates constantly and flexes the 2 panels on either side.

I was only on for 20 minutes, although I caught the same bus home later; I felt sorry for the poor driver.

These were like this the day they were bought. Someone in the company looked at them and decided this was a reasonable way to treat their customers. Small wonder then that they will send out defective buses if they think they can get away with it.

There would be no point in recording this vehicle's faults as the company doesn't see them as a problem; nothing will be done.

I can only assume they buy these heaps dirt cheap. If I was given a Mk1 Leyand National like this in 1985 I would have refused to drive it.

 

[CN04NRJ]

Not every depot ‘has a big book’. It all depends on their driver defect reporting system. Some may have vehicle defect cards. Others may have driver defect books. Some may now use ticket machines for defect reporting (not least because DVSA ‘earned recognition’ requires electronic submission of data).

Before leaving the garage we have to select 'Bus checked - no defects' when logging in to the machine. All defects are recorded electronically - arguably better than a paper system where things get missed/ignored.

 

[dgl]

I had the joy of riding on what I think was a Wright Streetlite Eclipse yesterday. Apologies if I got this wrong as I don't know much about modern buses.

The suspension appears to be none existent. The roads round here are ok but every bump and manhole cover goes straight into your spine. The transmission feels like a shuggy boat on anything except acceleration. Rather foolishly I sat next to the emergency exit which vibrates constantly and flexes the 2 panels on either side.

I was only on for 20 minutes, although I caught the same bus home later; I felt sorry for the poor driver.

These were like this the day they were bought. Someone in the company looked at them and decided this was a reasonable way to treat their customers. Small wonder then that they will send out defective buses if they think they can get away with it.

There would be no point in recording this vehicle's faults as the company doesn't see them as a problem; nothing will be done.

I can only assume they buy these heaps dirt cheap. If I was given a Mk1 Leyand National like this in 1985 I would have refused to drive it.

Thery're cheap and that's why they get bought, though still better than the Morebus E200MMC (XLB) that I went on last year that probably was the most harsh riding bus I've ever been on; every bump in the road was terrible.

As for defects, I was on one of First Wessex's ex. Manchester E400's when after kneeling the bus a suspension related alarm went off in the cab and many restarts of the bus (including some waits between attempts) did not kill the sound/warning. I understand the bus was still safe to drive but it ended up with us being put on a replacement bus as the driver felt it distracting to be driving with the warning sound going.
Supposedly said bus had a similar issue previously (going by one of the passengers on said bus) but the driver had just put up with it.

 

[L401CJF]

I had the joy of riding on what I think was a Wright Streetlite Eclipse yesterday. Apologies if I got this wrong as I don't know much about modern buses.

The suspension appears to be none existent. The roads round here are ok but every bump and manhole cover goes straight into your spine. The transmission feels like a shuggy boat on anything except acceleration. Rather foolishly I sat next to the emergency exit which vibrates constantly and flexes the 2 panels on either side.

I was only on for 20 minutes, although I caught the same bus home later; I felt sorry for the poor driver.

These were like this the day they were bought. Someone in the company looked at them and decided this was a reasonable way to treat their customers. Small wonder then that they will send out defective buses if they think they can get away with it.

There would be no point in recording this vehicle's faults as the company doesn't see them as a problem; nothing will be done.

I can only assume they buy these heaps dirt cheap. If I was given a Mk1 Leyand National like this in 1985 I would have refused to drive it.

I used to drive them, theyre terrible. From day 1 they would cut out randomly, refuse to start. The gear changes were rough, occasionally slip out of gear, red line then whiplash into a different gear, very harsh retarders, uncomfy, but good heaters!

They did actually sort the gearboxes on them, my former employer got voith out to look at them and were confused as to why Wrights had used the ECU setup that they had. They simply tried a more suitable config for the setup fitted and that cured it.

Why do they buy them? Price unfortunately.

 

[Eyersey468]

I agree about buses being bought on price. We bought MCVs for a few years and mechanically they are ok being Volvo chassis, but MCV build quality is atrocious. I drove one of the Evosetis when it was a fortnight old and thought it would fall apart.

 

[gc4946]

Here's a few of the defects I've noticed over the years that would have required the bus to be taken out of service:
I travelled on a Stagecoach 219 bus between Ashton under Lyne and Fairfield Street, Manchester. Every time it stopped at a bus stop, the driver got out of the cab to close the doors because they failed to shut properly when the button was pressed. At Fairfield Street I overheard the driver saying he needed to take it to depot.
A First Leeds Wright single decker had a window where water was trapped like a goldfish bowl between both laminated glass panes and it sloshed about depending on the vehicle's acceleration and braking.
A Harrogate Bus Co Wright single decker on route 7 working from Leeds to Harrogate stopped on Coal Road, Whinmoor when the driver suddenly noticed no lights on dashboard. After phone call to depot he told the passengers on board, the speedometer lead was broken, and was told by the depot to proceed to Harrogate without a working speedo. With his passenger load, he then drove much more slowly and carefully.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It was years ago but I was on an MK Metro bus where the driver's door open button didn't work, so at every stop he gestured for those boarding to press the emergency button to open it, same for alighting.

At least Arriva MK have managed to avoid that sort of thing happening...Metro was an interesting operation but with a very mixed and rather old fleet which had all sorts of issues.