Yesterday I was on a mainline bus and noticed the following sign

"due to events in london, no luggage to be placed in luggage racks, baby buggies only"

and today on a different mainline bus I saw another very similar sign.

Both of these were hand written on bits of card, I was wondering if this is a mainline directive or is it just a few drivers who are very nervous and putting their own signs up.

Sounds like nervous drivers.

What services?

Joe

Yesterday it was the 75 and today it was the 52

Hi,

I've extended my feelers and hope to get some information later today as to whether this is Mainline policy or not.

Joe

Originally posted by valentine
Yesterday I was on a mainline bus and noticed the following sign

"due to events in london, no luggage to be placed in luggage racks, baby buggies only"

and today on a different mainline bus I saw another very similar sign.

Both of these were hand written on bits of card, I was wondering if this is a mainline directive or is it just a few drivers who are very nervous and putting their own signs up.
No it is not the result of nervous drivers it is now the official company policy for obvious reasons.

Originally posted by d71146
No it is not the result of nervous drivers it is now the official company policy for obvious reasons.

I can understand 'obvious reasons' but it would be nice for the operators to let folks know.

I've asked the folks I work with at SYPTE to contact First Mainline for me and get the official line.

Of course, your bomb carrying lunatic will simply carry his bomb in to the bus with him and still blow it up. Just seems to me that this sort of move by First Mainline will cause more concern than it relieves.

Joe

So what exactly does this mean? No luggage allowed on buses anymore? A bit puzzling given that a lot of suicide bombers strap the explosives to their bodies.

Sounds like a knee-jerk reaction to me.

i bloody hope not!!

Here we go another chance to slag of First.

I agree with Joe,
this will cause so much 'luggage congestion' on the seats and galleys that everyone will look to be fiddling uncomfortably with bags and luggage, In my view this would make it more difficult to spot a suspect passenger. it would be just as easy to place a package under a seat and slip off the bus. so will there be an outright ban on luggage by first?

Originally posted by d71146
No it is not the result of nervous drivers it is now the official company policy for obvious reasons.

If this is company policy, why aren't the signs on all buses and why aren't they printed on mainline headed paper.

I didn't think First's low floor buses had luggage racks anyway?!

Whenever I have had a suitcase on a bus (when I'm going to the railway station for the airport train) I've had to put it either in the wheelchair space or on a seat, as their is nowhere else for it. The one tiny luggage shelf has a Metro paper holder in it!

Originally posted by unners
Here we go another chance to slag of First.

No, it's just an atempt to find out what's happening. By flapping around we play in to the hands of terrorists. Just take a chill pill, 'steady the buffs', and get the information.

No point in generating panic when the steps taken, short of banning luggage, would make little difference to outcome of a bomb. The bomb in London wasn't in the luggage rack, after all.

It was on the person of the bomber.

Let's just play it cool and see what First have to say.

And if this DOES get in to widespread slagging off of First, then we'll simply squeeze those posts off to another thread!

Joe

Originally posted by Andy C
I didn't think First's low floor buses had luggage racks anyway?! The new Eclipse ones have a Metro paper rack fitted in them...
And various passengers sitting there due to no seats.

Originally posted by JonJParr
So what exactly does this mean? No luggage allowed on buses anymore? A bit puzzling given that a lot of suicide bombers strap the explosives to their bodies.

Sounds like a knee-jerk reaction to me.

I was going to say that it was knee-jerk and short-sighted, as the average bomber will just ignore the signs...

Alex - :)

you're not surpost to put luggage in them anyway unless the driver says that you can in cas they get stolen and you try to sue the bus company.

New signs about bus vandals will be going up on mainline buses after the holidays click on the link below to have a look.

http://www.sheffieldtoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=58&ArticleID=1082041

Originally posted by valentine
Yesterday it was the 75 and today it was the 52

This has been put up because the 75/76 travel's through a "High Risk Area" ( Not My Words!)

Originally posted by exmrbd
This has been put up because the 75/76 travel's through a "High Risk Area" ( Not My Words!)

whos words? cos its true!!

Originally posted by ryan123
whos words? cos its true!!

I know it true!

Lets say that there has been lots of alerts in areas of which the 75&76's run (Most of the alerts have not been passed on to the Press) Can't think why?

Luggage in luggage racks is 'unattended', and cannot easily be associated with one passenger. It just makes 'vigilance' easier if people keep their posessions with them. It's more to do with conditioning how people think, I suppose.

It's surprising how many people think 'he's forgotten his key' if they see somebody climbing through a window :suspect: I fall into the 'what's that burglar doing?' camp :D

Originally posted by exmrbd
I know it true!

Lets say that there has been lots of alerts in areas of which the 75&76's run (Most of the alerts have not been passed on to the Press) Can't think why?

haha neither can i, :(

It would be pointless for First to place notices on board the vehicles,as the majority of passengers take no notice of them anyway.

but,yes it is company policy now

How strange,

Just heard back from Mainline that after Mainline Group initially suggested to operating compaines that they ban the use of luggage racks, but then re-considered. Situation now appears to be that :


"... official notices have not been issued on bus but drivers were initially advised not to use luggage racks which may be the reason for the 'unofficial' notice the customer has seen.

Main message we want to convey:

Our advice at this point to all our drivers and customers is simply to be vigilent and we ask that in light of the events in London last week customers do not leave any luggage unattended at any time on bus for safety reasons."

That's the message I've heard from First Mainline.

Sounds like we just keep our eyes open and calm down.

Joe

no, folks, it doesn't appear to be nly specific routes other mainline buses i have travelled on, covering various routes have all had the same stickers put on the luggage rack.

must be a cross-fleet thing.

PT

I suppose it's common sense really, if someone puts some luggage in a holding area, then leaves the bus, no-one will know if the owner has left the bus (unless they specifically remember the person depositing it and then leaving). If you have your luggage with you, and then leave it on the seat or something, it will be noticed a lot sooner.

But if there are going to be suicide bombers then they are most likely to keep the luggage (bomb) with them.

I also don't think any particular areas can be classed as 'high risk' as anyone planning to be a suicide bomber is most likely to target areas their own friends/family do not frequent.

The message should be, as always, if you see an unattended bag/package, report it.

My daughter came back to the UK last Monday. Been on her hols. Caught a bus and was told to keep her suitcase on her person! What a laugh! The suitcase was bigger then her! Sooooooo......she had to take up 2 seats. Good job the bus wasn't full! I can understand the knee jerking going on all over the country........but we have to live! As somebody has allready said......a suicide bomber would carry the ****e on his body anyhow. If it is going to happen it will happen........regardless of whatever measures we decent folk take. It just makes me very angry that the shadowless cowards of this world can reduce the good folk to watching their backs like they are doing. What makes me even angrier is that the brainwashed puppets really believe that there will be wine and vestel virgins waiting for them after they have committed their attrocities! They are supposed to be religious people so why would they want to leave this earth to gain such "sins" if they really believed in their religion? Perhaps I am on the wrong track here and if I am perhaps somebody can put me right.
You will have to forgive me people because I just cannot get my head around it all and I am so very angry. Just how can these so called "British citizens" attack their own? It sickens me to the pit of my stomach.

Last Thursday slung my gym bag on the luggage rack of a 97 going from Drakes Snooker Club on Abbeydale Road. Shot upstairs and heard the bus driver shout something. Thought nothing of it and sat down. Then the bus went a few yards and stopped and the bus driver came upstairs and said,'You can't leave it there'. My dazzling response was to say, 'but it's a luggage rack'. To which jobsworth again said, 'You can't leave it there'. He then told someone else who must have got on at an earlier stop to shift her shopping bags as well.

Anyway I took it with me to my seat and tried to work out the logic behind his order. The only sense I can make of it is that he was protecting himself, not his passengers, if it had contained a bomb. The driver is close to the luggage rack, keeping it empty means that in the event of a bomb going off his chances of survival, however minimal, are increased if he keeps bags etc at a greater distance from his cab.

Has this happened to anyone else?