"Interesting" reasons for non-operation of transport services

[Ivo]

This is a somewhat light-hearted thread intended for us all to have a laugh at some of the "excuses" we have heard over the years. Essentially, if you've been given a reason for a transport service not operating which seems a bit odd, post it here! Bonus points for originality.

Please state the operator and service number.

This idea comes from one I had earlier today, which afflicted the 319 operated by First Somerset & Avon from Bath to Cribbs Causeway. Courtesy of a "full" bus on a different route (which was half-empty and for which a formal complaint has made), I missed one 319 and had to wait for the 1500. This bus sat the bus station doing pretty much nothing, until 1506 came and I decided to ask at the Travel Shop. They didn't know, and so began a period of uncertainty in which it was revealed that the company had given a driver the wrong instructions and sent him out on a different bus and even route to the one he was supposed to be doing! The company then tried to source a replacement and after about 90 seconds gave up and cancelled the service.

All this, because of an administration error - the kind you wouldn't expect even a 5-year-old to make. How hard is it to give any one driver the correct running card and the correct vehicle, or if they do go wrong, for this to be noticed?

Who wants to go next?

 

[causton]

Au contraire, how easy is it to give someone the wrong running card and the "right" vehicle for that wrong running card?

The best one I had was when the buses were cancelled from Hatfield station late at night because of an event at Hatfield House, because too many people would be parking outside the station...
...showing how integrated transport in Hatfield is, as they could have laid on shuttle buses to the park and ride (owned by the same University as the bus company) or, you know, persuading people from the concert to take a bus home!

 

[transmanche]

Best one I can think of was on 2 Feb 2009. When Boris cancelled all bus services in London, due to some snow.

Operator: TfL
Service: All of them.

 

[gnolife]

This is one that we got on Princess Road in Manchester, waiting for a 105 to Broadoak Road, adjacent to a bus depot that has now died, and at the time had plenty of buses parked inside.
"This is due to a vehicle being unavailable"
To add insult to injury, there was plenty of other Stagecoach buses going up and down, many out of service, and the ones that were in service were carting fresh air.

 

[Ivo]

I recall one I was given in an e-mail by First relating to what was then the SPA1 towards the end of 2011...

"I can confirm that our records show that due to operational issues, which were addressed at the start of this vehicle’s journey to Bath Spa University, this service was operating with a fifteen minute delay. I am sorry that this caused you inconvenience but regretfully this delay was beyond our operational control."

How the Hell is an OPERATIONAL issue outside of OPERATIONAL control?! Needless to say, I wrote back - thus wiping out most of my last seminar of 2011...

This journey was the first on what turned out to be an absolutely disastrous day for me which was supposed to have involved a Forum Meet in Aylesbury. On the flip side however, it did start the chain of events leading to me doing non-contractual work for S&A...

This is one that we got on Princess Road in Manchester, waiting for a 105 to Broadoak Road, adjacent to a bus depot that has now died, and at the time had plenty of buses parked inside.
"This is due to a vehicle being unavailable"
To add insult to injury, there was plenty of other Stagecoach buses going up and down, many out of service, and the ones that were in service were carting fresh air.

This sounds like the 15/16 in Southend at the moment. They have been suspended completely because of the high number of vehicles off the road, and are thus (well, partly "thus", and partly something else) being withdrawn next month. I tried to board a 15A a couple of weeks ago from outside the First Depot, which had something like 15 buses in it at the time, and yet not one was available. Lousy peak services from Benfleet station...

I am in two minds about alerting VOSA about this practice, because I have found nothing suggesting they have been advised about this. But if I do, will it harm my own prospects with S&A - but then again, with stunts like that in Post #1, you have to wonder...

 

[Tomonthetrain]

i am sure ARedFlyer would be here soon to moan about Trent Bartons cancellations

 

[wintonian]

Had a train once that was rather late into Basingstoke due the police attending a firearms incident on-board another train somewhere around Eastleigh/ Winchester.

and one day last year all the buses had to be diverted out the rear of the bus station and miss the first stop outside as the council forgot to remove the cones/ road closed signs etc. from an event the day before. :roll:

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I was on a northbound WCML train once that was considerably delayed because the tea boiler in the buffet car had blown a fuse; apparently it was more important to get a fitter along to replace the fuse at an intermediate station than it was to avoid a 40+ minute delay to the train.

Obviously that was back in BR days!

 

[dvboy]

I had one a few weeks ago delayed by over 30 mins because the driver's car had broken down at his home. Surely NXWM aren't that short on drivers that they can't shuffle the shifts around a bit to get things running on time?

Most often the excuse I get is a broken down vehicle or unexpected traffic (where there's no evidence of any incident on the route and traffic is pretty predictable).

 

[bb21]

Most often the excuse I get is a broken down vehicle or unexpected traffic (where there's no evidence of any incident on the route and traffic is pretty predictable).

This. I don't understand how someone can trot out traffic as an excuse on a Sunday morning when there is no one about.

 

[VTPreston_Tez]

Preston Bus blaming breakdowns for cancellations to their services when there's always a multitude of buses back at the depot. Grinds my gears, especially at night-time when there's even more buses.

 

[cdonnigan]

ive had a friend using a local Go North East service rang up to complain and was told it was because of the amount of old people using this particular service and were not used to scannig there new consessionary passes on the machines.