Brighton and Hove buses announce new boss (From The Argus)

Sensible move to give the job to someone who knows Brighton & Hove and has been in the bus industry for so long He has a hard act to follow mind you. Roger French has done extremely well in keeping Brighton & Hove buses one of the best run bus services in Britain (if not the best in my opinion).

Just one request .... can we have two door buses from now on please? It's such a faff having to wait while the world , his wife, granny and multiple pushchairs all try and get out the same door before you can get on! It would speed up journey times too now we have "The Key" smartcard.

Mac the Knife is his nickname from Southdown,

Bristol VR wrote:
Sensible move to give the job to someone who knows Brighton & Hove and has been in the bus industry for so long He has a hard act to follow mind you. Roger French has done extremely well in keeping Brighton & Hove buses one of the best run bus services in Britain (if not the best in my opinion).

Just one request .... can we have two door buses from now on please? It's such a faff having to wait while the world , his wife, granny and multiple pushchairs all try and get out the same door before you can get on! It would speed up journey times too now we have "The Key" smartcard.

I don't think he'll have a choice either way. Basically loads of London buses are coming up for replacement and they'll all get cascaded down to the other companies within the group. It'll be a case of "Here's a 2 door bus. Now go drive"

Bristol VR wrote:
Sensible move to give the job to someone who knows Brighton & Hove and has been in the bus industry for so long He has a hard act to follow mind you. Roger French has done extremely well in keeping Brighton & Hove buses one of the best run bus services in Britain (if not the best in my opinion). Just one request .... can we have two door buses from now on please? It's such a faff having to wait while the world , his wife, granny and multiple pushchairs all try and get out the same door before you can get on! It would speed up journey times too now we have "The Key" smartcard.

what would really speed things up is if people had there card out ready,they stand at a bus stop,waiting for a bus,then once they get on they start hunting through there bags looking for it.

bluemonday says...
4:40pm Tue 22 Jan 13


what would really speed things up is if people had there card out ready,they stand at a bus stop,waiting for a bus,then once they get on they start hunting through there bags looking for it.

By people, were you really meaning one particular gender?

nuff said wrote:
bluemonday says...
4:40pm Tue 22 Jan 13


what would really speed things up is if people had there card out ready,they stand at a bus stop,waiting for a bus,then once they get on they start hunting through there bags looking for it.

By people, were you really meaning one particular gender?

Haven't you heard of 'Man Bags' ?
:-)

I'll grant that it is helpful if people getting ready to board a bus have their tickets/cards ready ... what would possibly be more helpful even is if passengers allowed wheelchairs and pushchairs to board before other passengers. Trying to get a wheelchair correctly positioned on a bus when it is full of passengers trying to organise themselves is a nightmare and can make the whole process take longer then it should do ...

He has big and very good shoes to fill as Roger French has done a sterling job.

Brighton buses are superb in comparison to some towns and cities. The drivers on the whole are friendly and drive smooth. There is a particular Geordie (or North East England) driver often on the 1 and 1a. He has to be the friendliest and most courteous bus driver in the UK.

Some drivers are fantastic and lets face it ... for most of us they are the only contact we really have with the company.

Algeria Touchshriek wrote:
He has big and very good shoes to fill as Roger French has done a sterling job.

Brighton buses are superb in comparison to some towns and cities. The drivers on the whole are friendly and drive smooth. There is a particular Geordie (or North East England) driver often on the 1 and 1a. He has to be the friendliest and most courteous bus driver in the UK.

Yeah I know Geordie 9yeah we really call him that). He's a nice guy.

Bristol VR wrote:
Sensible move to give the job to someone who knows Brighton & Hove and has been in the bus industry for so long He has a hard act to follow mind you. Roger French has done extremely well in keeping Brighton & Hove buses one of the best run bus services in Britain (if not the best in my opinion).

Just one request .... can we have two door buses from now on please? It's such a faff having to wait while the world , his wife, granny and multiple pushchairs all try and get out the same door before you can get on! It would speed up journey times too now we have "The Key" smartcard.

is that the end of mr french or does he still own 2 of the bus garages ?

Bristol VR.

The cost of have central doors would be too steep.

1. B&H buses have a good new fleet and a new bus costs over £120,000. They have plenty of life in them still!

2. The cost of elongating many bus stops as the central doors will need wheelchair ramps. Running into millions.

3. Also the drivers will need training as DSA tests only use the front doors. They wont need a new test, but will all need training. And what with the demands the hideous Labour Govt put on CPC (a stealth tax if I ever saw one!) where all drivers who got their PCV before 2008 have to do 35 hours before Sep 2013.


So good idea to have central doors, but the cost will be too much for the public to bear.

big job to fill. 2 door buses are a pain, and cause much more fare evasion, which in turn causes fares to rise! we are getting rid of them in oxford, in favour of single doors. agree with the comment about w/chairs and prams though. let them board first to make it easier for them, and everyone else

Algeria Touchshriek wrote:
Bristol VR.

The cost of have central doors would be too steep.

1. B&H buses have a good new fleet and a new bus costs over £120,000. They have plenty of life in them still!

2. The cost of elongating many bus stops as the central doors will need wheelchair ramps. Running into millions.

3. Also the drivers will need training as DSA tests only use the front doors. They wont need a new test, but will all need training. And what with the demands the hideous Labour Govt put on CPC (a stealth tax if I ever saw one!) where all drivers who got their PCV before 2008 have to do 35 hours before Sep 2013.


So good idea to have central doors, but the cost will be too much for the public to bear.

Are you bonkers? I drive "2 door" buses -mercedes citaro - otherwise known as a bendy.
At no cost to anybody lol