STA Observations - December 2017

[Ray]

lol...from what I've seen, no one except the driver is out of the spew range at night, and that's because of the glass partition!

[Jurassic_Joke]

and that's because of the glass partition!

Which funnily the Mercedes 0405NH is the only State Transit bus I believe that lacks this, which is why I suspect they're a huge rarity at night nowadays.

I'm all for driver safety. I just wish this government would do more for them than a slab of glass.

[Stu]

L-Depot continues to be the depot with a depth of variety since a number of heavy OC500LE CNG buses were transferred from P-Depot as well as 2323 & 2325 from Y Depot due the most recent timetable overhaul. Prior to this, when B-Depot received new Volvo B7 units, some Volvo B12 units were transferred to L-Depot.

[boronia]

Waiting in Eddy Ave for a 39x bus this afternoon. Along comes a "393 Railway Sq" service. A 395 had left only a few seconds before so only a couple of pax in it, and a couple more get on. So I ask the driver "where are you going?" Got the usual "look at the desto, idiot" finger point and a gruff "Port Botany". So I tell him he is still showing Railway Sq. and he leans over to change it. Then when everyone is onboard, he decides "this is a 391 bus, not a 393". Lets a few people get off, closes the door and drives off.

Never mind that he probably left quite a few 391 pax behind at Lee St, and probably a few in Eddy Ave as well. Only 20 minutes till the next one.

[swtt]

Waiting in Eddy Ave for a 39x bus this afternoon. Along comes a "393 Railway Sq" service. A 395 had left only a few seconds before so only a couple of pax in it, and a couple more get on. So I ask the driver "where are you going?" Got the usual "look at the desto, idiot" finger point and a gruff "Port Botany". So I tell him he is still showing Railway Sq. and he leans over to change it. Then when everyone is onboard, he decides "this is a 391 bus, not a 393". Lets a few people get off, closes the door and drives off.

Never mind that he probably left quite a few 391 pax behind at Lee St, and probably a few in Eddy Ave as well. Only 20 minutes till the next one.

Attitudes like this make the government want to accelerate any form of privatisation.

[Fleet Lists]

But will that make any difference?

[Jurassic_Joke]

Not directly - but it will send a message that passengers are more or less pretty much fed up with rude attitudes from some drivers, and will have no sympathy for them anywhere they're worse off under the new operator. Unfortunately assuming this bloke is from Port Botany, he'll be spared privatisation for now. For example when Keolis Downer took over Newcastle there were complaints from drivers getting chronically underpaid going around for a while. And I hope you reported him through Feedback2Go, Boronia.

Whats everyones stance on drivers swearing? Was on a 400 late tonight, and when going through Randwick/UNSW, there was a tonne of narrowly/poorly placed traffic cones, to do with light rail construction. I sat in the front seat. Driver dropped the F bomb several times. Then a truck driving slowly infront - "Oh for F's sake, F'ing hell", we weren't even late or anything - is this really necessary? I can hear you very clearly. Honestly - do think about professional conduct. Some drivers really do look like they're just about done with life

[ScaniaGrenda]

Whats everyones stance on drivers swearing? Was on a 400 late tonight, and when going through Randwick/UNSW, there was a tonne of narrowly/poorly placed traffic cones, to do with light rail construction. I sat in the front seat. Driver dropped the F bomb several times. Then a truck driving slowly infront - "Oh for F's sake, F'ing hell", we weren't even late or anything - is this really necessary? I can hear you very clearly. Honestly - do think about professional conduct. Some drivers really do look like they're just about done with life

Usually I feel comfortable when they act professional and remain calm but there are times where idiot passengers will push drivers over their limits and the Driver turns into an angry person.

Had a Newcastle Transport Driver a month back get into a verbal fight with a Passenger. Only happened because the passenger was on the 110 (Shuttle service) and wanted to get off at Market town shopping centre which the bus does not stop at. Guy tried to pull the doors open at a set of lights and the Driver had a verbal fight (like I said) I can't recall what was exactly said but I think the driver swore a couple of times. When I got off I just told the bus people at Newcastle Interchange an incident happened on (Insert Bus number here)ST and the operator said "okay or I'll look into it".

I don't recall seeing the same driver since (Hopefully wasn't fired) but if the CCTV was working on the bus there's a chance they later went over the recording after I reported the incident. Saw what happened and either gave the driver a warning or dismissed him. If they needed witness statements I would of been happy to back the driver up as he was in the first place trying to keep the passenger cool but the passenger lost their mind over not being allowed to hop off where they please.

And before NT Took over. I had a grumpy Newcastle State Transit driver on the 363 who wouldn't put down the ramp for older people with those trolley things and mobility issues. He stared at them like a HAWK silently as they got off. I had a word to him as I got off. Should of photoed he's authority card. But what he did wasn't what I'd consider professional.

[Mercedes3035]

The drivers I get in my area are usually calm. Although I did have an argument with a driver about a month ago at Railway Square. He accused me of not tapping on, even though I did it right infront of him and he was staring at me when I did it. We exchanged some words and I tapped the reader again to prove my point. The reader said I already tapped on, and the guy standing behind me backed me up and the driver stopped talking. Instead of leaving it there and walking in the bus like I should've, I lectured him about what an incompetent idiot he was and sat down. Instead of turning right at Newtown Station, he continued down King Street towards St Peters, leaving the passengers (some who were tourists), very confused. I was going to say something to the driver and ask him where he was going, but I had a feeling he was on a diversion, so I left it. As I got off the bus, he gave me a dirty look, so I gave him a look back. He drove past and gave me another look, so I stuck my middle finger up at him. This was on a 428 to Canterbury.

I posted the incident to my story on Instagram, and one of my followers (who works at Kingsgrove depot) suggested that I report the incident, which I did. I received an email back saying he may be retrained, and all that stuff. I was told by the person who worked at the depot that he was interviewed over the incident, and apparently the CCTV from the bus aligned with everything I said. I admit I could have handled the situation better and he could've been having a bad day, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with his attitude, hence I called him out on his poor behaviour.
For those wondering, I would never fare evade purposely, in fact, I love seeing drivers pull up fare evaders. This guy falsely accused me of doing it, had an attitude and never apologised for his mistake.

I am kind of surprised that they took this complaint so seriously. Are they trying to keep a good reputation to the community, especially with all this Franchising business going on now?

Usually I feel comfortable when they act professional and remain calm but there are times where idiot passengers will push drivers over their limits and the Driver turns into an angry person.

I agree, I like it when drivers keep their cool in high pressure situations, but I also like seeing people get told off by drivers when they deserve it.

However the worst driver I ever encountered was when I was about two years old. Apparently as my Dad and I were getting on, I asked the driver what function did the button on his dash had. The driver got angry, and slamed the money I was holding down on the desk area on his door, we got the tickets and sat down (after my Dad yelled at the driver of course). As we were getting off up at Five Dock, my Dad lost his temper and had a go at the driver, calling him every name under the sun. The driver got angry and began slaming his fist against the driver shield. That was when an old lady came up and escorted us off the bus, just so no one got hurt. 30 more seconds and I'm pretty sure either my Dad or the driver would've began throwing punches. The incident was reported to the police and STA, but the police couldn't do anything about it, and the CCTV couldn't be pulled off the bus because none of the cameras were working on that bus (Volvo B10BLE from Burwood depot).

Sorry for the rant everyone. In other news, most new accreditations and run plates have been applied to the buses that were transferred to Region 6 recently. I'm quite satisfied with the transfers, because it gives me a few different buses to look out for. I must say, I still haven't gotten used to seeing ex. P buses on New Canterbury Road yet, but it is good seeing a variety different buses now.

[OKO]

I am kind of surprised that they took this complaint so seriously. Are they trying to keep a good reputation to the community, especially with all this Franchising business going on now?

Every piece of feedback is entered into the Salesforce software and must be followed up. TfNSW have access to it and can see all the details entered. There are several KPI involved in this including contact time, resolution time, complaints per boarding. They can also see the actions taken with the Bus Operator.

As I understand the Privates have this to look forward to as part of the new contracts.

[Cowra]

Waiting in Eddy Ave for a 39x bus this afternoon. Along comes a "393 Railway Sq" service. A 395 had left only a few seconds before so only a couple of pax in it, and a couple more get on. So I ask the driver "where are you going?" Got the usual "look at the desto, idiot" finger point and a gruff "Port Botany". So I tell him he is still showing Railway Sq. and he leans over to change it. Then when everyone is onboard, he decides "this is a 391 bus, not a 393". Lets a few people get off, closes the door and drives off.

Never mind that he probably left quite a few 391 pax behind at Lee St, and probably a few in Eddy Ave as well. Only 20 minutes till the next one.

Was this by any chance a Bustech? The LED desto controllers on the Bustechs and new CB80s have an issue where they can reset to a previously set display once the ignition of the bus is switched off. Has caught quite a few drivers off guard.

[boronia]

I think it was. Usually a Bustech regularly on this service.

[burrumbus]

I am kind of surprised that they took this complaint so seriously. Are they trying to keep a good reputation to the community, especially with all this Franchising business going on now?

Every piece of feedback is entered into the Salesforce software and must be followed up. TfNSW have access to it and can see all the details entered. There are several KPI involved in this including contact time, resolution time, complaints per boarding. They can also see the actions taken with the Bus Operator.

As I understand the Privates have this to look forward to as part of the new contracts.

Its already in the contracts for Metro.,Outer Metro and Rural and Regional.

[sunnyyan]

Waiting in Eddy Ave for a 39x bus this afternoon. Along comes a "393 Railway Sq" service. A 395 had left only a few seconds before so only a couple of pax in it, and a couple more get on. So I ask the driver "where are you going?" Got the usual "look at the desto, idiot" finger point and a gruff "Port Botany". So I tell him he is still showing Railway Sq. and he leans over to change it. Then when everyone is onboard, he decides "this is a 391 bus, not a 393". Lets a few people get off, closes the door and drives off.

Never mind that he probably left quite a few 391 pax behind at Lee St, and probably a few in Eddy Ave as well. Only 20 minutes till the next one.

Was this by any chance a Bustech? The LED desto controllers on the Bustechs and new CB80s have an issue where they can reset to a previously set display once the ignition of the bus is switched off. Has caught quite a few drivers off guard.

I think the issue affects all destos as I think the desto has to refresh before the ignition is turned off, otherwise the destos will stay on the current desto.

[boronia]

I am kind of surprised that they took this complaint so seriously. Are they trying to keep a good reputation to the community, especially with all this Franchising business going on now?

Every piece of feedback is entered into the Salesforce software and must be followed up. TfNSW have access to it and can see all the details entered. There are several KPI involved in this including contact time, resolution time, complaints per boarding. They can also see the actions taken with the Bus Operator.

As I understand the Privates have this to look forward to as part of the new contracts.

With Feedback2go, once the issue is passed to the department concerned, the case is "closed" ("Necessary action has been taken") and there is no follow up to ensure any reply is sent, when requested. It seems the "response required" request is not passed on. I often have to re-submit complaints a couple of times to get a response.

[Stu]

Never mind that he probably left quite a few 391 pax behind at Lee St, and probably a few in Eddy Ave as well. Only 20 minutes till the next one.

Was this by any chance a Bustech? The LED desto controllers on the Bustechs and new CB80s have an issue where they can reset to a previously set display once the ignition of the bus is switched off. Has caught quite a few drivers off guard.

I think the issue affects all destos as I think the desto has to refresh before the ignition is turned off, otherwise the destos will stay on the current desto.[/quote]

The Mobitec ICU402 can hold 3 x destinations in memory with 1 x in display and 2 x in storage (memory bank). When the bus is switched on, the default setting is for "ROUTE 1" to be on display (Mobitec description and not to be confused with a Moore Park special event service).

[fm2790.]

Lets not forget that since November 26 timetable change v buses have appeared on Route 182 Narrabeen - Mona Vale service too

[Tonymercury]

P had 1685 on an outbound 393 to Little Bay this afternoon.

[Frosty]

P depot is weird today on the L94 a mix of regular 12.5m buses, Scania 14.5m buses plus volgren B12 bendies while sending out 1800 & O405 CNG on the m20.

[Stu]

Boxing Day.
- Additional route X25 services between Strathfield and SOP to cater for the expected shopping crowds at DFO.
- Additional route 170 services, quite a few more trips expected compared to the current timetable.

[swtt]

Boxing Day.
- Additional route X25 services between Strathfield and SOP to cater for the expected shopping crowds at DFO.
- Additional route 170 services, quite a few more trips expected compared to the current timetable.

They need to advertise these services similarly to how it may have appeared on the STA's old website with a PDF flyer.

[Swift]

On the MAN Deckers, have fun travelling on one after hours and you'll likely be forced to share your seating with one of these grubs that made the news: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/ ... 19c2e30562

Usual stock lip service from Hatred Transient Authoritair. No intention of ever addressing the problem it seems.
Only this morning at 8:30am a young 20 something thuggish looking young guy got on a 396 and poked his head right into the driver's compartment as he got on, probably blurting a BS tale as to why he didn't have an Opal card and then proceeded straight on. Just one of those people that makes your blood run slightly cold at the sight of him.

Onto Obs, 1682 B12BLEA ZF Northern Beaches castoff sporting wrap for some firm called Pacific Boating. May have existed before transfer to planet Eastern Beaches.
I had a coincidence of my own recently (after reading Jurassic_Bloke's post) when I spotted 1696 one afternoon last week and the next evening as I ran for a bus arriving at the stop, guess who? It made for a nice change from the Volgren bendy and sounded very well maintained by whomever had it last.

[stajourneyman]

...according to fleet list changes, 2833 Y and 2838 B have now switched depots.

Any explanation for switching two identical buses??

[boronia]

I don't think it has been mentioned here, but a number of buses are currently being decorated in "historic" liveries to mark the 85th anniv of Govvy buses in NSW

[Swift]

Ugh! A B12 in green and cream! *sticks index finger in mouth*.