Beware Falling Buses

At my bus stop this morning I found this most disturbing grammatical error.

Apparently there will be falling services at the Bathgate end of the 417/27/28. Does this mean that buses will be falling out of the sky to their new starting point at the station rather than South Bridge Street.

Or is the falling more to do with the more than 10% hike in weekly ticket prices today, for two zones to included Edinburgh and West Lothian up from £24 to £27. Don't these bus companies realise that none of us are actually even getting inflationary pay increases and now they are hiking the fares once again.

First Bus Fail in Freezing Weather

Here is what the First Bus website says about services for today.



Fair enough it is a Saturday timetable. So my normal bus the X1 is not running, my alternative service to work on the Calder Road is the 27/28 service. Here is what the timetable says for Saturday service.



The circled is my bus stop in Bathgate. I stood there from 6:40 this morning in readiness for the 6:52. It didn't show. Then the 7:23 didn't show. So I am now typing on the 7:53. I mean it is not like it is warm or anything.



I could have hopped on an alternative service to get me into Edinburgh, though along the Glasgow Road, but I shouldn't have had to. Both an 10 and a 16 came past me as I waiting in the vain hope that mine was just behind. There was meant to have been two buses before the one I am currently on. I would have been slightly late for work at 8am with the Saturday service as it was. Now I will be an hour late no matter what.

If and when I do get feeling back in my toes I'll let you know via twitter.

The Bus Passenger's Prayer*

As regular readers of my Twitter feed will know I'm quite often Tweeting about how the bus driver may think he's Jenson Button but forget he has two decks of metal to navigate around the bends. It does make me wonder if on the bus of a newbie driver (who doesn't even know where Windyknowe is) is really the time to blog this.

I wasn't on a bus home yesterday evening, not that I would have been at Edinburgh Road in Bathgate by that sort of time either. However, I would have been wondering what was going on, why the diversion etc coming into town. Though I would admit that there are some drivers that I'm somewhat wary of.

However, as there are too many times for me to even contemplate that I or someone else has been viciously hurled around the bus or down the stairs (yeah I sit on the top deck whenever possible) I think we need to know. If you have had a particular dangerous bus trip. If the bus driver has used excessive braking or acceleration and left you feeling unsafe or caused actual harm, let the depot know. Get off and check the registration number of the bus, remember the time you got off it and the scheduled time (this may be harder with delays etc) of the bus that you think you're on. The write, email or call the depot.

On the reverse side if the driver has done a good job and got you home safely and comfortably let them know. Give a proper thank you rather a timid muffled one as you step off..

For the record this bus driver has just had a case of late braking which he then had to swerve out of to avoid a second crash for First Bus Scotland in 24 hours, as we came off the M8 and were heading towards Dechmont. Drivers especially of buses should really learn to drive to the conditions and within the envelope of driver and machine.

*The title is a take on the Ian Drury and the Blockheads song The Bus Driver's Prayer

Our Father,
Who art in Hendon
Harrow Road be Thy name
Thy Kingston come
Thy Wimbledon
In Erith as it is in Hendon.
Give us this day our Berkhampstead
And forgive us our Westminsters
As we forgive those who Westminster against us.
Lead us not into Temple Station
And deliver us from Ealing,
For thine is the Kingston
The Purley and the Crawley,
For Iver and Iver
Crouch End.

Too Hot to Train

Yesterday I had to get out of work early to head back to Linlithgow for a dentist's appointment. Intended to catch the 16:14 train from Edinburgh Park to Dunblane. However, the one train I need to catch to make my 4:30 appointment is cancelled.

In their wisdom Scot FirstRail decide that the next Dunblane train will be of two coaches in length and so I join the other sweaty commuters jammed in to the corridor space between the two carriages. Due to the heat this train takes 25 minutes to make the twelve minute journey to Linlithgow. Heaven knows what time it got into Dunblane.

Having missed my dentist I was able to inform the receptionist of my delay, but then had to work out how to get out of Linlithgow as buses to Bathgate seem to stop after 5 in the evening.