The dreaded FIRST BUS!

simong · Post by **simong** » Sat 23 Jun, 2012 1:07 pm

As I understand it the bus stop indicators depend on whether the buses working a route have transmitters fitted and working. If they don't, or they're turned off then the indicators follow the timetable. Newer buses have transmitters but some of the older ones still don't as First refused to retrofit.

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Sat 23 Jun, 2012 1:25 pm

simong wrote: As I understand it the bus stop indicators depend on whether the buses working a route have transmitters fitted and working. If they don't, or they're turned off then the indicators follow the timetable. Newer buses have transmitters but some of the older ones still don't as First refused to retrofit. Rather than start new thread......Arriva not performing much better either.481 service to Wakefield was eagerly awaited by several passengers,incl.myself,due out 11.22........never came in bus station,no replacement or notification.One guy went to Metro office but couldn't contact Arriva(don't man the phones Saturday ?).Another swore blind he saw a Leeds 481 fly past the bus station up York St,(Mecca bingo side),back out,skipping the bus station altogether.Was 5 mins past due time then.Not much joy from either of these behomoths of public transport.Hope that Metro can get more joy in their efforts to wrest control of services etc

Loiner1960 · Post by **Loiner1960** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 11:11 am

481 missing the bus station. Yes, even when they park in the station! The sooner quality contracts come in the better. Then eventually a nice LCT bus will run... No-one seems to care, as long as the subsidies get paid and the profits roll in.....http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... ssets.html

amber · Post by **amber** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 11:39 am

Loiner1960 wrote: 481 missing the bus station. Yes, even when they park in the station! The sooner quality contracts come in the better. Then eventually a nice LCT bus will run... No-one seems to care, as long as the subsidies get paid and the profits roll in.....http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... ssets.html " A nice LCT bus will run".Back in the days of the 60s not all drivers and conductors were goodie goodie but those who wern't were soon in the queue to see Mr J B G*** the general manager who did read letters of complaint and acted upon them and if seen again by him again they got a single ticket out of his office. In those days staff either left after a couple of months or stayed for 30 or 40 years.Yes looking back LCT were a fleet to be proud of,but not everyone at the time thought so.

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 11:43 am

Loiner1960 wrote: 481 missing the bus station. Yes, even when they park in the station! The sooner quality contracts come in the better. Then eventually a nice LCT bus will run... No-one seems to care, as long as the subsidies get paid and the profits roll in.....http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... ssets.html Very true..............the hourly services that mop up outlying areas always suffer with service cuts....replacement buses/drivers are rarely sent out either to cover breakdowns,staff shortages etc They're just not interested.Saturday,being arguably an important day(less commuters but more non-essential bus users going about their business),should be fully serviced and that includes customer information points at the bus companies(NOT Metro)....to obtain information on failed services,but they are not.How many times do we have to sit in the bus stations like plonkers because we simply can't get a few answers ? The feedback from both the main operators is practically non-existent....even a simple message on the real time notice boards would be of some use(delayed....by x mins,not running,broken down etc etc) but not in our wildest dreams will we get that.signed.....Victor Meldrew

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 12:36 pm

[quotenick="somme1916"]The feedback from both the main operators is practically non-existent....even a simple message on the real time notice boards would be of some use(delayed....by x mins,not running,broken down etc etc) but not in our wildest dreams will we get that.signed.....Victor Meldrew [/quote}I quite agree Victor. I know that I only submitted my complaint to Metro about last Sunday evening's circus by phone on Tuesday, but of course no reply yet. I did tell the helpful Metro lady that I wanted Metro to deal with it, but seemingly it must be "passed on First."An incredible saga from long ago - One Saturday night I was waiting in Otley Bus Station for the last number X84 from Skipton. I later found out that it had not run for the previous three hours and therefore the last bus from Skipton to Leeds was missing entirely. There were at least twenty of us stranded in Otley, many unfamiliar ones at a loss as to what to do so I advised them all to get taxis and submit the bills - this somewhat misfired on me as they all beat me to the taxi office and I had to wait a good while, but no matter. I got a receipt from the taxi driver for the £16 (not bad I think from Otley to Headingley after midnight) and submitted it to Kirkstall depot with letter. I received a patronising reply, from someone who I had previously helped to train in my Metro days as a garage inspector, agreeing to pay up - for a missing last journey they have little option - and enclosing you'll never guess what !! In this day and age of inter- stellar communications someone had been sent from Kirkstall depot to Haddon Place sub Post Office to buy two Victorian Postal Orders - one for ten pounds, one for six, and poundage on both. I was happy to receive them, but surely in the twenty first century a cheque .....................??

Riponian · Post by **Riponian** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 12:52 pm

Slightly aside, it was a few years ago but I heard that an official from Arriva trains admitted to someone from Metro that it was cheaper for them to pay the fines for not running a service than to run it, and this was one of the reasons they lost the franchise. I understand a quantity of alcohol was involved at the time.I always note that First are fast off the mark to stick their fares up when fuel prices go up, as if their costs are just linked to that, but now as prices have dropped a bit, shall we look forward to a refund?

simong · Post by **simong** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 4:13 pm

I used to live in Kirkstall and drank at the West End House, and when I moved to Yeadon I would still go there regularily. The last 33A was scheduled for 11:05 which made it relatively simple to get home, apart when it didn't. When that I happened, I would do that, get a taxi (and tell everyone else waiting to do the same) and send the receipt to First, who always offered a free week's pass (no use to me as I didn't use the buses otherwise) or a postal order for the cost of the taxi. I would imagine that the postal order was because it came out of petty cash or some refund fund that the complaints department held. A less charitable person would say that using cash kept the money off the books and hid the amount of compensation that they gave out.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Sun 24 Jun, 2012 10:21 pm

simong wrote: I would imagine that the postal order was because it came out of petty cash or some refund fund that the complaints department held. A less charitable person would say that using cash kept the money off the books and hid the amount of compensation that they gave out. Being a simple soul I hadn't thought of that simomg, but it sounds highly feasible and explains a lot !!

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Tue 26 Jun, 2012 4:59 pm

simong wrote: As I understand it the bus stop indicators depend on whether the buses working a route have transmitters fitted and working. If they don't, or they're turned off then the indicators follow the timetable. Newer buses have transmitters but some of the older ones still don't as First refused to retrofit. I didn't think First refused to retrofit as Metro were claiming something like 75% coverage 4 -5 years ago and that wouldn't have been possible without most of the First fleets. Only the smaller independents and some Centrebus vehicles lack it now http://www.wymetro.com/yournextbus/What ... extbusBigN may be able to confirm but if its part of the ticket machine then every bus should have it in about 18 months which I think again from Big N is the deadline set by Metro for contactless technology in the ticket machines.The issues are mainly as you otherwise say it not been switched on at all or incorrectly set. Again thanks to a Big N explanation some time ago, the machine has to be set from the service's departure point, which isn't necessarily where the driver "signs in" on the route.Apologies to BigN if I am misrepresenting him or if the technology has moved on making my retelling of his observations obsolete.