First Manchester

[M60lad]

RE: First Manchester
According to a driver me and P528LND know quite well the damage to 69177 looks to be just to the underside, airpipes and the damage to the offside panels and as you can see in the photo there also seems to have been what looks like some sort of liquid or foam type substance leaked onto the roundabout so if that's come from the bus whatever it is will need replacing

[VolvoB10M]

RE: First Manchester
That's good to hear. I thought it would bend easy from things I've been told about jacking up cars in the middle, but I realised buses are built with a solid chassis whereas most cars just have a moulded chassis integrated with the body.

[wirralbus]

RE: First Manchester
The position of the roadworks on the far side of that roundabout would make it impossible to go round that roundabout with that vehicle looking at them pictures i have seen , the bus should have attempted to pass the roundabout on the wrong side of the road and advised management that the roundabout with the roadworks is impossible negotiate without beaching as happened here on the roundabout .

[M60lad]

RE: First Manchester
The driver shouldn't have been coming from that direction to Holts in the first place as due to the roadworks there have been a diverson on 425 route this week and all 425 drivers have been warned to come direct to Holts via Lees Road and only go one way round Holts, management have known about these roadworks hence the diversion and it was even put up on First Manchester's twitter site and the diversion notice would have also been put up in the traffic office at Oldham Depot

Yes he/she probably realised they had made a common mistake when they got to the terminus and realised they couldn't get round the roundabout, first thing they should have done was radioed comm's (if radio was working) to get further instructions and not to do what has happened here and mount the roundabout which I find stupid and beyond belief, its something I wouldn't have done if I was a driver.

[Mayneway]

RE: First Manchester

(07/02/2015 07:03)M60lad Wrote:  The driver shouldn't have been coming from that direction to Holts in the first place as due to the roadworks there have been a diverson on 425 route this week and all 425 drivers have been warned to come direct to Holts via Lees Road and only go one way round Holts, management have known about these roadworks hence the diversion and it was even put up on First Manchester's twitter site and the diversion notice would have also been put up in the traffic office at Oldham Depot

Yes he/she probably realised they had made a common mistake when they got to the terminus and realised they couldn't get round the roundabout, first thing they should have done was radioed comm's (if radio was working) to get further instructions and not to do what has happened here and mount the roundabout which I find stupid and beyond belief, its something I wouldn't have done if I was a driver.

The official line from First was that the information regarding the diversion hadn't been given to this particular driver and he obviously attempted to get himself out of a tricky situation hoping colleagues or management wouldn't find out. I'm sure he's had a rollicking and is the laughing stock of the depot right now had there been passengers on board it may have been a different story.

[Mayneway]

RE: First Manchester

(04/02/2015 19:24)SF07 Wrote:  69177 had a bit of a problem this morning in Holts (not sure if it was on the 81A or 425) as it got stuck on a mini roundabout after hitting a bollard.

Second story in two days on the MEN website involving First, as there was a video of a driver getting into a scuffle with a passenger on Monday at Piccadilly Gardens.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/n...er-8579591
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/n...01#rlabs=3

The story regarding the scuffle between the driver and passenger, although sketchy is shocking. I read the story last night and watched the video online. I'm genuinely shocked not so much at the driver but at First's response to this where they seem to be condoning the drivers actions. The whole idea of the big ugly plastic screen around the drivers cab is to protect them from this sort of thing yet here we see a driver out if how cab wrestling a guy to the ground. He's left himself wide open to criminal or even civil action.
If the passenger was refusing to leave the bus the driver should have radio'd for police and sat and waited.

I remember some years ago hearing about a Stagecoach driver on a school run. A fight broke out on the upper deck and the driver pulled over went upstairs and pulled the kids apart. Allegedly one of the kids banged his arm on a hand rail as the driver pulled him away and a complaint followed. The driver was given an official warning simply because he left his cab and intervened.

[Mayneway]

RE: First Manchester

(07/02/2015 11:16)Dentonian Wrote:  I haven't watched the video, as I refuse to sit through 30 seconds of adverts on such transmissions. However, given the tone of the article, I would imagine there was more to it than met the eye, for the MEN to paint the "passenger" as the guilty party. For instance, was he a "passenger", and what went on before the featured incident.
What surprised me, given the location, was why no supervisors intervened earlier. Whenever I pass through Piccadilly, there are always Supervisors of both First and Stagecoach visible, with First concentrating on that area (36, 37 etc). OTOH, I think you are being a bit naive, suggesting the driver call the Police and wait (and wait, and wait) for assistance. Perhaps the driver's overriding thought was to sort the problem out himself, so that he could get back to his primary job of getting his passengers to their destination...preferably the same day!

I don't think I'm being naive at all. This is something all drivers (working for the bigger companies) get taught in training. Radio it in, stay in cab and wait for assistance. I'm not saying the driver was wrong to confront the guy but to restrain him and wrestle him to the ground while saying 'I'm going to smash your head in' was a step to far. By getting physical with someone you leave your self wide open to complaint or (sadly) a claim for compensation that's why it's best to leave these issues to the police. Clearly the driver only aggravated the situation as everytime the driver closed the doors te guy barged through them so no time was saved 'ejecting' the would be passenger.

Obviously there is more to the story. I suspect the guy was trying to board the bus possibly with an out of date pass.

[stait.john@hotmail.co.uk]

RE: First Manchester
Police generally don't attend incidents regarding buses. They haven't the resources, so it's either ignore it or deal with it yourself. The job has changed beyond recognition these days as has society.

[Mayneway]

RE: First Manchester

(07/02/2015 22:14)Dentonian Wrote:  They have the resources, they just don't deploy them in the right place or enforce the law when given the oppurtunity. Very much still with Piccadilly in mind, there was a news report of another "sting" on Oxford Road - funny it never seems to reach MRI - on illegal cycling. In 2x 6 hour operations, they fined FIVE cyclists for cycling on the pavement (and warned four more). FIVE (presumably £350 in FPNs) in 720 minutes is just a joke and sticking two fingers up to pedestrians.

On the subject of Piccadilly, I'm sure I read recently that the mobile police station that's become permanent near the 216/231 stand is there specifically to deal with crime in and around the gardens including incidents on buses/trams in the city centre?

Incidentally Ashton Bus station has had it's own mobile police station (tiny portacabin) for over a year now and it's common to see police officers and plastic police (sorry PCSOs) patrolling the bus station and Metrolink stop. I also quite often see officers travelling on 219's, talking to passengers etc so clearly they are still putting resources into dealing with crime on buses.

GMPs stance on cyclists using pavements is laughable. They will quite happily sit watching cyclists wizz along the pavement one day and do nothing then suddenly launch 'stings' to try and combat it - ironically I'm told they only carried out these stings after pressure from a large pedestrian group. After all they have to be seen to do doing something!


All we seem to hear and be fed these days is 'we haven't got the resources for this' and 'we haven't got the resources for that'. I've just had a letter regarding council tax. I wonder if I tell them I haven't got the resources to pay this year will it be deemed acceptable?

[M60lad]

RE: First Manchester
One final thing on this before we get back on thread is that is it one rule for one and one rule for the other as in the past I've seen plenty of Police and PCSO's riding bikes on the pavements