Lack of drivers is not the problem, says the Island Coachways MD
Thursday 26th May 2011, 2:29PM BST.
THE island’s bus operator has dismissed a suggestion that it does not have enough drivers.
Island Coachways managing director Hannah Beacom said her company currently had one full-time vacancy, which it was confident would soon be filled.
She was responding to comments made by Bus Users Group coordinator, Fergus Dunlop, after services were reduced following a spate of breakdowns.
Mrs Beacom (pictured) said her company aimed to share all possible information about staffing levels with its driver team.
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So how come I know people that work there including a mechanic and a driver and they both say the busses are ok but there a so few drivers????
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With ref to recent events including gearbox & clutch problems, maybe headline should read lack of GOOD DRIVERS is the problem??!!
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Too many buses and far too many services for this island.
you can easily get rid of half of them and re organise the routing to bring in those who need to be in town on a morning and leaving later in the day, some to do the shopping routes between the workers busses and the school needs.
What else does an island this size need……walk, for goodness sakes. Shoes cheaper than the subsidy for the busses.
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Nathan, it’s often been stated that compared with the gearbox’s of vehicals in the UK the gearbox’s of vehicals in Guernsey have much greater wear and tear. Can it be that the bus’s were unsuitable for Guernsey roads in the first place.
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Don’t even get me started on these hideous buses! They are wayyy too big for this little island, I have seen quite a few bus drivers stop the bus and shout at other vehicles for “being in the way” one incident happened this week by the Mallard. Not all, but most of the drivers are extremely rude, they don’t stop to allow cars to squeeze past. They carry on, and expect the cars to somehow find shelter before being smashed into. I’ve had two mirrors wiped off, and I had a Peugeot 106! Hardly a large car, and before smart a*ses come back with typical women driver remarks – I was that tight to the wall/hedge that it scraped the passenger side too. Makes me so angry.
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“THE island’s bus operator has dismissed a suggestion that it does not have enough drivers.”
Male bovine faeces!
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Of course Hannah Beacom would say that the public have mis-understood the situation. I don’t think this woman has a clue.
I would say just ask any bus driver about the lack of drivers but you don’t have to do that. They freely volunteer this information to whoever will listen. Bus drivers don’t get a proper break and are often expected to work a 12/13 straight shift with only a quick dash to the toilet and no break.
I was chatting to a former bus driver who had been away and returned to Guernsey at the height of the so-called mechanical problems. I asked if he was back driving buses and he said he’d have to be absolutely desparate to go back again and had managed to find himself a job where conditions were far better. That’s the problem, the drivers are treated shockingly and it’s no wonder that Mrs Beacom can’t find enough drivers.
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Me-thinks the lady doth protest too much….
I still feel either Environment, Coachways, or both, are not telling us the real facts
@Nathan
The States fleet of buses are automatics. I’m the worlds worst driver ( apart from my wife) , and even we would struggle to break the clutch and gearbox on an automatic …..
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JC
Do you walk everywhere then? If so does that include walking with bags of shopping? If it does then I take my hat off to you.
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Nothing wrong with Jersey bus fleet! Maybe they have found better drivers too??!
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i feel i have made many apt points about the currently diterioating bus service. there should be better routes and a second terminus. on such a small island they should be able to get something so simple as a bus service to run. in all major cities around the world they have fully viable and user friendly transport networks.
if they want the buses to be more used and frequented. then reliablity in one issue – the other being that you have to wait FOREVER for a bus to turn up – solution?
2nd terminus at grande roque. and buses that head East and West. none of this north and south nonsence!
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Fred – are you volounteering to drive the buses west from Grandes Rocques ? don’t forget your scuba gear …….
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thats if you could get a test might be quicker to swim round the island
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Guernsey Fred:
The 5S & 5AS run east / west through the island, as does the 2, 3 & 3A. A little more homework needed I think. And they provide timetables which, if read correctly, can greatly shorten the amount of time you wait for a bus from “FOREVER” to just a few minutes.
And as Tony points out, you’d need a lot more than a competent mechanic and a damn good underseal to go west from Grandes Rocques!
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@ Guernseasider
Do you actually use the buses yourself? It’s all well and good reading a timetable but a paper booklet does not guarantee that a bus will turn up on time if at all.
As for the number 2 bus I have to say that it is not a commuter friendly service. For those who need to be at work in/near Town by either 8am or 9am that route is no good. Neither is it any good for people who want to get home after work. Who wants to finish at 5pm then have to wait until 5.30 for a bus?
I agree that a west coast Terminus is an excellent idea to provide buses heading East then returning from East to West.
Most of all the timetable needs scrapping altogether and rewriting to provide more regular services at peak times and starting much earlier. It’s no wonder that people with cars won’t get the bus when they can control when they travel rather than standing at a bus stop hoping a bus will arrive to get them to work on time.
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Bus user:
Neither does an airline ticket guarantee you a flight, or a lottery ticket guarantee you happiness. It’s not a perfect world.
And there IS a terminus at Grandes Rocques in case you missed it. The buses even WAIT there until their scheduled departure time. It even has a shelter and a bench, which is more than the poor souls down the road at Cobo have, so Fred, think yourself lucky you don’t have to STAND “waiting FOREVER” for your bus.
Be grateful for small mercies …
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@ Guernseasider
I don’t expect a plane or a lottery ticket to get me to work on time! :)
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I thought it was a lack of mechanics and/or proper maintenance?
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