South Yorkshire Bus Service Needs Improvement

[fools 447]

13 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

There should be a bus route from every house in Sheffield to every other house, at least once every 20 minutes, operating 24 hours a day. And the buses will all have a clippie on them, and all inclusive free drinks.

Quite the reverse of what I said, keep up.

[Guest busdriver1]

33 minutes ago, fools said:

Try and understand it better.

My 40+ years in the bus industry at many levels mean I understand the subject a lot better than you clearly do. 

There are things like construction and uses regulations. Design constrictions to comply with PSVAR  regulations. Power to weight constrictions. Fuel efficiency,  price, maintenance requirements and thats before the bus leaves the builders. Then when you get them on the road there are drivers hours, uncooperative councils, cost v efficiency of routes,  regulations regarding routing, timing and fares.  Non of these are just rushed out. A lot of thought goes into them. 

You want direct buses home missing out areas not in a straight line. What about the people who live in those areas?  They obviously are of no importance to you. Bus operation is very expensive for very low rewards most of the time. Very experienced people run the services and try to make them as affordable as possible whilst complying with regulations. If you are so sure of yourself then try getting a job with one and showing them how to do it. 

I am sure they will welcome you with open arms 

 

 

Once they stop laughing. 

 

Maybe. 

37 minutes ago, HeHasRisen said:

There should be a bus route from every house in Sheffield to every other house, at least once every 20 minutes, operating 24 hours a day. And the buses will all have a clippie on them, and all inclusive free drinks.

I am loving this its so funny. Thank god its just a wind up and he's not serious. 

[fools 447]

24 minutes ago, busdriver1 said:

My 40+ years in the bus industry

40 years don'tya know. 

 

So, back to the original point, is the bus service any better or more comfortable than 40 years ago. I say not (or very marginally). So what have you all been doing for those 40 years.

 

A 100 yard zig zag is neither here nor there, please understand the point

 

What thought goes into timing the last bus going out of town to be before the last train, (by a few minutes in many cases)

 

(Don't say usb sockets, and wifi, couldn't care less.)

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by fools

[Guest busdriver1]

5 minutes ago, fools said:

40 years don'tya know. 

 

So, back to the original point, is the bus service any better or more comfortable than 40 years ago. I say not (or very marginally). So what have you all been doing for those 40 years.

 

A 100 yard zig zag is neither here nor there, please understand the point

 

(Don't say usb sockets, and wifi, couldn't care less.)

 

The bus service today is provided under massively different conditions and can not realistically be compared. 

[fools 447]

Just now, busdriver1 said:

The bus service today is provided under massively different conditions and can not realistically be compared. 

Unfortunately, that is exactly what we are doing.

[Guest busdriver1]

1 minute ago, fools said:

Unfortunately, that is exactly what we are doing.

Some of us are. 

[fools 447]

I was asked what discomfort, and provided a list of what could be better. You'd think all those things would be taken care of automatically, but apparently not, a warm cabin/clean windows/clean floors/comfortable ride is too much to expect in 2022.

Edited January 24, 2022 by fools

[Resident 1,181]

3 minutes ago, fools said:

40 years don'tya know. 

 

So, back to the original point, is the bus service any better or more comfortable than 40 years ago. I say not. So what have you all been doing for those 40 years.

 

(Don't say usb sockets, and wifi, couldn't care less.)

 

• Passenger seating is a hell of a lot comfier than it was 30-40 years ago.  EXAMPLE from 40yrs ago
• Ride comfort on vehicles is much better due to advances and standardised use of air-suspension technology. 40 years ago they were still using leaf-springs. 
• Forced air 'climate control' systems to spread availble heat/air throughout the saloon instead of just a single hot metal pipe running down one side of it. 
• Introduction of low-floor access for disabled/wheelchair passengers, deployable ramps to aid on/off boarding of wheelchair users & any other passengers that require such.
• Power-steering (that actually works) & telematic monitoring systems to 'encourage' the driver to drive smoother.

 

So yeah, a lot more comfortable. 

[fools 447]

7 minutes ago, Resident said:

So yeah, a lot more comfortable. 

Dreamworld. Put a monitor on a back seat and go for a ride as the driver races to the next timing point for a play on their phone (is that illegal now..)

 

You think those seats are less comfortable than that thin hard leatherette you get nowadays?

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by fools

[Guest busdriver1]

6 minutes ago, Resident said:

• Passenger seating is a hell of a lot comfier than it was 30-40 years ago.  EXAMPLE from 40yrs ago
• Ride comfort on vehicles is much better due to advances and standardised use of air-suspension technology. 40 years ago they were still using leaf-springs. 
• Forced air 'climate control' systems to spread availble heat/air throughout the saloon instead of just a single hot metal pipe running down one side of it. 
• Introduction of low-floor access for disabled/wheelchair passengers, deployable ramps to aid on/off boarding of wheelchair users & any other passengers that require such.
• Power-steering (that actually works) & telematic monitoring systems to 'encourage' the driver to drive smoother.

 

So yeah, a lot more comfortable. 

It's fair to say there have been some trade offs. 

Low floor buses by design do not have the chassis space available for high standard suspension but we have evolved fairly well there. 

[Resident 1,181]

3 minutes ago, fools said:

I was asked what discomfort, and provided a list of what could be better. You'd think all those things would be taken care of automatically, but apparently not, a warm cabin/clean windows/clean floors/comfortable ride is too much to expect in 2022.

Cabing heating requires the vehicle's coolant to be at 90°c minimum to even make a dent in the cabin temp. There's approx 30 litres of it in the coolant system to warm up, often from minus temperatures. 

Right. I have an experiment for you. 

You'll need a shed with mains electric, a cold day, a small oil-filled radiator & 2 hours of your time. 

Now. Once you have a cold day. Place the radiator in the shed and turn it on then over the course of the next 2 hours, open the door of the shed for 2 mins every 5mins. 

At the end of the experiment, see how warm the shed is...

[RollingJ 1,983]

5 minutes ago, fools said:

I was asked what discomfort, and provided a list of what could be better. You'd think all those things would be taken care of automatically, but apparently not, a warm cabin/clean windows/clean floors/comfortable ride is too much to expect in 2022.

Current 'covid' advice is to have windows open to 'aid ventilation' - which is incompatible with keeping a bus warm. Winter road conditions - wet/salted roads make keeping windows clean difficult - unless you want to take a bus off the road every hour to run it through the bus wash. If you want clean floors, tell your fellow passengers not to drop their rubbish, and as @Residentsays in post #596, a modern bus is far comfier a ride than 40 years ago.