Bus driver wouldn't help visually impaired passenger

[boldforester 10]

As has been pointed out, I am not from Sheffield and rarely visit the place. I have seen a building with the words South Yorkshire Police on it on Attercliffe common near Weedon Street so had assumed that was the police station. Why would you not?

I had not noticed the IOS building as I have never stopped at that stop and when driving by the building is set back and the name partially obscured by trees. I would also not have guessed that a large warehouse ( as it appears to be) was the institute of sport. I do not follow sport so it has never come on my radar and despite this thread still have no idea what function said building performs. A title like institute of sport conjures up an office type building to me so am surprised it is a factory or warehouse.

I am not now or ever have condoned the alleged actions of the driver as he was clearly not right in the way he handled it but I do take issue with those who unbelievably think a bus driver should know the function of every building he may pass in his job.

It gets even more complex when passengers ask for buildings that have not been there for 20 years. That does happen a lot.

I am sure most bus drivers reading this would agree that the way this was handled was wrong, but, it has to be realised that there is no way a driver can know all landmarks. As I said I would have asked passengers in that situation as as has been raised here most seem to know where the place is.

I have in the past encountered similar situations and always arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

I have heard, in recent times, a driver being asked "Do ya stop outside Walsh's?" That is...Sports Direct...TJ Hughes...House of Fraser/Rackams's / Walsh's, back in the day.

Mind, I still instinctively say "Cole Brothers".

[carosio 186]

I wasn't familiar with the name "Institute of Sport" until recently, but if anyone had asked me I would have guessed, along that bus route, that it was associated with the Don Valley Stadium complex (I know it's now gone) and I would have been very surprised if he didn't know where that is (was).

 

On the other hand, a while ago I left my phone on the little Northern General service bus. The driver actually phoned me on his mobile so I could arrange to pick it up when he stopped at my local stop. Granted, it's not a busy route.

[amandaholden 10]

Is that really what they said?

 

I wonder how it's supposed to work in practice then when you're trying to get downstairs and the driver has already started to let passengers on?

 

Yep apparently all passengers should remain seated until it stops!!! yeah right, no-one would ever be able to get off!

[Rosa 10]

My partner is totally blind and has experienced the same problems with buses in Sheffield and Manchester and pretty much everywhere. No wonder blind people find public transport so inaccessible. But well done to you for helping the partially sighted man. My partner says that this is lovely and really makes so much difference. Unfortunately disabled people suffer a lot of abuse these days and that makes life infinitely harder.

[Phili Buster 10]

Yep apparently all passengers should remain seated until it stops!!! yeah right, no-one would ever be able to get off!

 

Stay seated until it stops!?!?

 

I have been on a bus where the driver has continued past the stop even though the 'bell' has been rung, the red 'stopping' sign is lit and with 4 or 5 passengers stood waiting to get off. On realising that the bus was not going to stop, the passengers told the driver "we want this stop", before the bus actually reached the stop. Said driver continued 1/4 mile to next stop saying "You need to ring the bell". On being told the bell had being rung our friendly driver replied "I didn't hear it".

I wonder what he thought the 4 or 5 passengers who got out of their seats and walked down the aisle to the front of the bus were doing? Perhaps they were waiting for a bus?!?!

[CheekyBandit 10]

So you want drivers to learn every building on routes from Dinnington, to Barnsley and Doncaster to Sheffield?

 

I would expect a driver to know where every building of significant importance (like the EIS) on all routes that he or she is expected to operate on - if they can't on a particular route then they shouldn't be operating on the route in question. The EIS is of national importance (the E for English gives a clue here). It would be a bit like a driver on London route 182 (Harrow Weald to Brent Cross) not knowing where Wembley Stadium is.

 

The bus does not have audio announcements, on a train these are made by the guard who is not involved in driving the train. On a bus there is no equivalent person. The tram system has it I believe but given the very limited nature of its routes that is fairly easy to install.

 

Yet driver-only operated trains and buses elsewhere (also very much driver-only operated) seem to have audio announcements ...

Edited June 2, 2015 by CheekyBandit

[Phili Buster 10]

As has been pointed out, I am not from Sheffield and rarely visit the place. I have seen a building with the words South Yorkshire Police on it on Attercliffe common near Weedon Street so had assumed that was the police station. Why would you not?

I had not noticed the IOS building as I have never stopped at that stop and when driving by the building is set back and the name partially obscured by trees. I would also not have guessed that a large warehouse ( as it appears to be) was the institute of sport. I do not follow sport so it has never come on my radar and despite this thread still have no idea what function said building performs. A title like institute of sport conjures up an office type building to me so am surprised it is a factory or warehouse.

I am not now or ever have condoned the alleged actions of the driver as he was clearly not right in the way he handled it but I do take issue with those who unbelievably think a bus driver should know the function of every building he may pass in his job.

It gets even more complex when passengers ask for buildings that have not been there for 20 years. That does happen a lot.

I am sure most bus drivers reading this would agree that the way this was handled was wrong, but, it has to be realised that there is no way a driver can know all landmarks. As I said I would have asked passengers in that situation as as has been raised here most seem to know where the place is.

I have in the past encountered similar situations and always arrived at a satisfactory conclusion. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

 

You have managed to spot a building that has only fairly recently had the words 'South Yorkshire Police' on it but you manage to miss the sign on Attercliffe Common for the English Institute of Sport

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.39...mFLMdosTfQ!2e0

 

You should be ok, the lights are at green but red does not seem to stop most bus drivers,

[RollingJ 2,020]

I would expect a driver to know where every building of significant importance (like the EIS) on all routes that he or she is expected to operate on - if they can't on a particular route then they shouldn't be operating on the route in question. The EIS is of national importance (the E for English gives a clue here). It would be a bit like a driver on London route 182 (Harrow Weald to Brent Cross) not knowing where Wembley Stadium is.

 

 

 

Yet driver-only operated trains and buses elsewhere (also very much driver-only operated) seem to have audio announcements ...

 

Don't think your first paragraph is 100% fair, TBH. Most busdrivers, if they are regular on a route will have a reasonable idea of major stops/locations, but if they are doing a route they have never/rarely covered and it is out of their area, it is a little unrealistic for them to know all the details. I have usually found however, that if they don't know, it is fairly easy to ask other passengers.

 

With regard to your second item, most of these announcements are tied in with the route information carried on the bus - if the operator (in this case First) have not installed this AUTOMATIC system, then it is unrealistic to expect the driver to shout out every stop.

[CheekyBandit 10]

Don't think your first paragraph is 100% fair, TBH. Most busdrivers, if they are regular on a route will have a reasonable idea of major stops/locations

...

 

And the EIS is not a major location?

 

...

With regard to your second item, most of these announcements are tied in with the route information carried on the bus - if the operator (in this case First) have not installed this AUTOMATIC system, then it is unrealistic to expect the driver to shout out every stop.

 

Given that First seems to find £5m to spend on 22 swanky new buses with leather seats and WiFi I don't think it is unreasonable for this automatic system to be installed.

[Vegas1 10]

Bit of naughty editing there CheekyBandit, he goes on to say the driver may not have been a regular on that route.

[CheekyBandit 10]

Bit of naughty editing there CheekyBandit, he goes on to say the driver may not have been a regular on that route.

 

Then they should be given sufficient route knowledge. Do they fall asleep during any route learning programme (if they actually have them)? Given that I have been on National Express journeys where the driver didn't know the way to the bus station in Leicester and took the wrong turning on approaches to others it wouldn't surprise me if they do.

[Vegas1 10]

Then they should be given sufficient route knowledge.

 

All well and good. What if they pitch up at Rotherham bus station (or whatever) one morning and are told "right, you arent doing the X78 today, you are doing the 69, you have ten minutes until the 0953 departs".

 

I dont know if things like the above happen. However you cant expect a driver at a depot to know every single significant building of every route, I assume drivers stick to a set list of routes and dont often deviate from them.

 

Not everyone is sport-mad or even have a passing interest in sport, some people in Sheffield may have never heard of the EIS. Not defending his subsequent reported behaviour, though.