Relief Buses

[goldstone]

A totally of-the-wall non-Albion thread, but when did bus companies stop running Relief buses?

I remember as a kid that Southdown were always operating them to supplement the regular service at busy times of day.

Presumably they just operated more frequencies instead of the Reliefs?

Any ideas?

 

[Gully]

They stopped running them when people started to take everything in life literally, a bit like NSC, it is wrong to relieve yourself on a bus!

 

[Deleted User X18H]

There is no need the metro services in Brighton & Hove are really quite good !!

 

[BensGrandad]

Another thought on buses. Excluding city services like Brighton & Hove Buses would the bus companys survive without the subsidy that pensioners free passes give them. On many occassions I get on the No 40 from HH to Burgess Hill or Brighton and perhaps 1 person actually pays cash the rest are all on concessions and the bus is full virtually. Some may have season tickets but I wouldnt think that there are many.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

That no 40 is run by a shocking company. part of it's remit is to connect the hospitals now that many have to travel to HH.

A few weeks back Mrs & i were coming out of the prices royal. She was unsteady so couldn't run, I went ahaead and borded the bus as a paying customer.

Driver refused to wait claiming he was 15mons late, but, by the time I had my fair out mrs was almost within touching distance but he wouldn't wait, i had to jump off or leave her.

Thing is, hardly anybody gets on or off between the hospital & brighton and, with open road, time can soon be made up.

As if that wasn't bad enough, i emailed the company, countrywide, and did not have the decency of a reply.

 

[siclean]

most of the buses running around in brighton during the day are running empty..i mean why do we need so many buses

 

[BensGrandad]

That no 40 is run by a shocking company. part of it's remit is to connect the hospitals now that many have to travel to HH.

A few weeks back Mrs & i were coming out of the prices royal. She was unsteady so couldn't run, I went ahaead and borded the bus as a paying customer.

Driver refused to wait claiming he was 15mons late, but, by the time I had my fair out mrs was almost within touching distance but he wouldn't wait, i had to jump off or leave her.

Thing is, hardly anybody gets on or off between the hospital & brighton and, with open road, time can soon be made up.

As if that wasn't bad enough, i emailed the company, countrywide, and did not have the decency of a reply.

Must disagree on a number of points:

The No 40 goes from Cuckfield to Churchill Sq the no 40X goes from Princess Royal to RSH in Brighton.

On most occassions during the morning especially, both of the buses 40 and 40X are full long before they get to Burgess Hill with people travelling to Brighton and then the reverse in the afternoon.

There is only a small portion of the road that time can be made up on between Clayton and A27/A23 roundabout. It then stops at virtually every stop with people usually with a pass jumping on to go to London Road or Old Steine or Churchill Sq as appropriate.

The service is operated by Countryliner in Guildford who when I have complained have been quick to respond.

Sorry to be so pedantic and pick out the mistakes but I agree with your principal I would have been most annoyed and if it happens to me I stand 1 foot on the bus and 1 on the pavement.

I wonder how the bus companies get their money as it cant be a % of the correct fare because very few drivers ask where you are going although on the 700 coastliner route they always ask.

 

[Fef]

They stopped running them when people started to take everything in life literally, a bit like NSC, it is wrong to relieve yourself on a bus!

Reminds me of the sign:

WET PAINT
This is a warning, not an instruction.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Bus companies are run nowadays to maximise profits. Relief buses used to manned by drivers and conductors who were provided as extras in the staffing rosters and not needed as cover for sick absence that day instead of them sitting in the canteen for the whole of their duty.

 

[Gwylan]

most of the buses running around in brighton during the day are running empty..i mean why do we need so many buses

You've got to be joking. I've several times had to wait for another bus back from town because the bus is too full, most buses to and back from town are standing room only - particularly in the summer when they're packed with foreign students.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

You've got to be joking. I've several times had to wait for another bus back from town because the bus is too full, most buses to and back from town are standing room only - particularly in the summer when they're packed with foreign students.

Years ago, I organised a survey of summer bus use in Hastings. The busiest hour of the day was between 12 noon and 1 pm ... when the language students had all finished their morning classes.

 

[Gwylan]

It's not just at those times, Ed. Last week, on a Sunday, I saw a group of about 30 foreign students at a bus stop in Coldean. As the Sunday buses are only one an hour, they're normally reasonably full by the time they leave Coldean, that group would have packed it out well before it got into town.