Bus Driving: Birmingham

Im Back!

2009-01-01T22:59:00.002Z

Havent been able to post on here, or even view the internet due to a few problems!

Ill start updating this blog once again!

How To Get Off A Bus..

2008-04-01T02:24:00.005+01:00

Its really not that hard is it ?

You would think so, all the people who sneak up on you... then a foot away from the stop.. "I wanted that stop"

Well did I hear the bell? did I f**k! ... just keep driving to the next one, before you open the doors ask politely, "can you just ring the bell please?" *ding* "F**k me! It does work!!"

- A Bell, Press it! it makes the bus stop! -

-This then lights up on the Dashboard, also a *ding* can be heard, telling me you want to get off!-

Press it once! not 3000 times! its rare to get somebody who does press it once! Its either one or the other, the silent type, who sneak up, or the ones who ring it so many times, just incase I forget!

*Sorry about the ranting, Its really starting to get to me this!! :P*

The Wayfarer and Tickets

2008-02-03T17:13:00.000Z

The wayfarer (Or Ticket Machine) is the magic machine that turns lots of change, into a ticket! Well, no magic is involved but its an essential part of a bus... other than seats, wheels etc :P

The keypad to the left is used when changing drivers, Journey Numbers, or Service numbers.

The ( + - ↓ ) buttons, + for going up a farestage/menu, - for going down, Simple!

The buttons across the top and bottom are issuing tickets or recording passes.

(Only can remember the letters on some of the buttons!)

The common ones are:

A - £1.10, B - £1.50 L - Record Daysaver Y - Record Travelcard N - OAP pass

(The bottom 2 on the left are for child fares 55p and 75p

Now to print a Daysaver.. Press Shift (↓) then L menu appears Scroll to [Ad Daysaver 3.00] then press ISSUE. There are several things on the Daysaver Menu; Adult Daysaver £3.00, Child Daysaver £2.00, Family Saver £6.00, and Daysaver Token.

Its the same for the nBus (used to be called BusMaster) tickets, Press Shift (↓) then C menu appears Scroll to nBus 3.40 then press ISSUE. easy! :)

TicketTravelCard

(Ill post up something about changeovers and the module later)

Livery (or, ooh dont it look purdy)

2007-12-29T16:29:00.000Z

Since we are owned by National Express, they have decided to change the 'Brand' of the buses in the West Midlands, Coventry, Surrey and Dundee. So whilst we still have buses running round in 20+ ? year old liverys and im sure we have 4 varieties of different ones in our garage! and theyre changing it again, even though there is buses less than a month old coming out in what is essentially old paint now! madness!

Personally I dont like it, but thats me! :)

Time to start...

2007-12-29T16:06:00.000Z

Right, Seeing I havent been around much because of PC issues I can start writing again!

Ill start by finishing off what happens when you finally get to garage after passing your PCV test!

First Day, Nerves? You bet! Once in the training room I started to feel at ease, joking with each other and being shown how to use the wayfarer.. easy... well it is now, wasnt back then confused the hell outta me! "Day Metro&Bus Please" er.... Shift, B, Scroll, Issue? whats that mean! its all fell into place now like, but back then I thought it would be as easy as pressing one button, not a million to get one ticket! Ill do more on the wayfarer later when i get some piccys :)

The end of the first day was just going through garage procedures and paperwork.. Fun... :(

Day two-five, "Right lads, lets go out there and do some drivin!" what!? brown trouser time! last time I had driven a bus was under an Instructors eye! now im out in a service bus (tho not in service, Yet!) Double decker too, right doesnt seem to difficult lets go! I think I know why they teach you in knackered service buses, when you finally get to the drivin of the modern buses everything is so nice! easy too! what happened over the next few days was the same, vehicle familiarisation, Ramp operation, and how to do a VCR check properly. Friday came round "right then next week we'll get you out there route learning" should be interesting!

Time to start writing again...

2007-12-03T15:13:00.001Z

After much hassle with PC issues, I can start blogging again! YAY!

New post comin soon :)

I Passed!!!

2007-08-06T17:21:00.000+01:00

Well I did it.. was brickin' it all mornin! I was on the second test so I had to wait over 2 hours for my test, which didnt help nerves!

But I did it, kept it all together!

3 Minors! 1 of which was on the 'show me, tell me' part.. so only 2 actually on road marks. Steering (too wide on exit of a roundabout) and Moving away (didnt check that blind spot!)

Well im well chuffed now! To the garage tomorrow, Start the garage based training!

Training Update...

2007-08-02T16:32:00.000+01:00

Well im near the end of me training now, only 2 more days of driving remain! Its about 11-12hrs driving time as on saturday it will be 1-2-1 on the B10 Test vehicle.

Most of the week has been continuous driving, having lunch at the various garages TWM operate, We have spent a LOT of time doing 'emergency' brake tests, and reverse manouvers.

The braking is a piece of piss! as we have changed to another Lynx and the brakes are a lot more progressive than the other Lynx we had started out with... either on or off!
Stop at the first cone, boot it to 20mph let off the gas, as soon as u pass the second set of cones hit the stoppers! easy!
Reversing is much the same just backwards in an S-Bend into an area marked out with cones, just dont hit any!

I also had my 'pre' test, like an assesment to see how well you are doing, and wether you will pass the test. Its done the same as a test, under the same conditions etc..

I pissed it 3 minors :)

3 days to go till test!

The First Day..

2007-07-25T19:48:00.000+01:00

Well it finally happened, First day over and done with... did quite a bit more than I was expecting!

I had to get to Walsall bus garage for 0800, Which meant I had a 3 bus journey ahead of me! But safe to say it went all as planned!

As I walked into the training centre I was shocked to as how many people were in there, Most were there for the fist assesments, only 12 of us were there to actually start the training.

Now, its probably the same at TWM as it is with most other companys when it comes to the induction, Lots of admin! :( I was expecting to be there for hours watching video's about how great the company is, (see BMW : )but i werent that bad, no videos!

Usual stuff first, Bank details, NI number etc.. also got given my payroll number feels like an army number, or even worse a prisoner number! Ordered my uniform, which I wont recieve until about 2 weeks time when I will be at the garage then.

After about 2 hours it was done! Then outside to the canteen for a drink, and a cheeky smoke :P

We got paired off to our instructors, done on a 2 students to 1 instructor basis, and shown around Walsall garage to get a feel for the enviroments of which we will be working in. Then off to the training vehicle to have a look round. So there it is G-Reg Leyland Lynx, a bit tatty but then again it is quite old!

We went through the VCR (Vehicle Check Record) to check that all was satisfactory and the bus was road legal, and got shown all the controls and what to do if it goes wrong! i.e Air pressure buzzer.

Now for the shock! Lets do a few laps of the parking area. What?! wasnt expecting this today!

Well I actually found it really easy compared to what I had expected, wasnt daunting no more, as I hastily sped forward at 5mph :P now for the brakes... Jesus! nothing for half the brake then a brick wall! there sharp! a few more circuits and I felt a lot more at ease.

Thinking that was that for the day, no chance! lol seems like im never gonna get home managed to get 5hrs driving in between myself and the other student, which wasnt bad all the way to Coventry garage to thier nice canteen and there amazing amount of polish drivers. Back to Miller St. as this is where I will be starting from for the next few days, with a classroom day on Saturday, about Disabled peoples, and how to deal with aggresive passengers. A day off on Sunday too!

One week to go!

2007-07-18T20:36:00.000+01:00

7 more days and them im off!

Start the training on 25th July, 10 days driving!

Should be interesting, Ill let you all know how it goes. :)

Walsall Bus Crash..

2007-07-09T19:20:00.000+01:00

Today in Walsall a nasty accident happened,

An Arriva single deck bus drove the wrong way up the one-way street in the Bus Station in Walsall town centre. It then collided into a TWM double decker and injured 7 people, Killing 1, a 60yr old woman.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/6284134.stm <-- BBC News Story.

I was there today around the same time, doing some drops for my soon to be 'former' company, The traffic was unreal following this, Strange to see the chopper in built up areas! Also the M6 was a car park again :(

Do you guys have any near misses or accidents in bus stations ?

The Letter..

2007-07-05T20:28:00.000+01:00

I recieved my conformation letter today about the training,

I will get paid the pricely sum of £40.66 a day! ooh!

The first day will be a 'company induction' something I feel will involve videos and such like. :-O

Then, after all the admin and other papery type work we will organise a "pick up" for the driver training; Outside my house would be ideal but i dont think they will agree :P

I also have to buy shirts and ties, something i have none of in my wardrobe!

Soon it begins...

2007-07-02T20:12:00.000+01:00

So finally I have my start date, 25th July.

Got to go all the way to Walsall too :(

I wonder what im in for? You guys probably know! ;)

*Quick Edit* Just noticed I had beaten Arriva Driver by 1 Mark on the Theory Test :P

I Passed!

2007-06-28T17:41:00.000+01:00

I passed the theory test today:

60/60 On the multiple choice, (100%) ^_^

60/75 On the Hazard Perception. (80%)

Im well chuffed :)

I will find out in the morning, what date I will start the training!

About Myself

2007-06-26T19:46:00.000+01:00

Spose' I best tell you about me then?

Well this is the second time I have applied to be a bus driver, the first time I cocked up the driving assesment!

Well, this time around I made sure that I didn't four star anything else up!

I flew through the Assesments, Driving & theory, and then the interview... YAY! I thought.. Im on the buses!

I passed the medical, not hard!

.....

Final thing send off form to the DVLA to get me Cat D onto it... "A few weeks" I was told!

.....

That was the start of March, I recieved my license back on 21st June... Its a long time I know!

What had happened was my Doctor, Mr Brilliant himself had not only put the wrong DVLA reference numbers on his statement, but also my wrong DOB and Hospital I was seen at!

No wonder the DVLA had no idea why my license hadn't come back!

Doctors! PAH!

Last thing... THEORY TEST!!! 28th June!! <-- Can't wait!

Welcome

2007-06-23T11:40:00.000+01:00

Hi,
Welcome to this new blog about myself starting a new job, Bus Driving and all the strange things that could happen... possibly.... as its well boring round here!

I'll be working for Travel West Midlands in one of thier many garages!

So lets see what I can do here then....

I was inspired by a few other blogs I have been reading for quite some time now,

Bus Driving, Bus Driver Jimmy, & Why am I always late.

I will link to them as soon as I remember how to!!