Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

[126th street]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester

(27/06/2013 09:01)CX54 DKD Wrote:  Those 2 rest days out of 7 are built into a drivers weekly duty compilation. They're rest days assuming that you're working 5 days, not assuming you've had 5 days off. Thus, if you want those two days off as well, considering they're already built into a normal working week, you should have to ask for a full week off and not just 5 days with the expectation your rest days will be slotted in around that.

I can't believe it's so difficult to understand, but obviously it is.

Let's look at it like this. A driver is rostered to work the following:

Mon: Work
Tue: Work
Wed: Rest day
Thu: Rest day
Fri: Work
Sat: Work
Sun: Work.

He will put five days' holiday in and thus is off on paid holiday Mon, Tue, Fri-Sun. Wed and Thu he would have been off anyway because those are his rest days. He is entitled to take them and the company cannot say otherwise. Hence for five days' holiday burnt he gets a week off.

Your comment about 'slotting rest days in' is irrelevant, and to be quite honest those who have not a scooby-do as to how the bus industry's use of rotas works would do best not to comment. A week's holiday is seven days off work - end of discussion.

[mbonwick]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester
I think we're actually trying to say the same thing here, but with an attitude like that I'm not going to bother trying to clarify what I said.

If the industry is fully of people like you, then I'm bloody glad that I'm at university and unlikely to have anything to do with buses professionally!


FWIW, I don't think the problem was rest days while on holiday, it was more the expectation to come back to work on a given day, and have that day as a rest day....

[CX54 DKD (Moderator)]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester

(27/06/2013 11:53)126th street Wrote:  Your comment about 'slotting rest days in' is irrelevant, and to be quite honest those who have not a scooby-do as to how the bus industry's use of rotas works would do best not to comment. A week's holiday is seven days off work - end of discussion.

It's a public forum, anyone's free to post within the rules whether it's in agreement with yourself or otherwise. But for a moment, I'll agree with what you've said. However, from what I understand, the issue here stems from an expectation that rest days will be rearranged to be encompassing (one at the beginning and one at the end) of any holiday period, that's what my comment (not at all irrelevantly) refers to and I'm not quite sure where you get the justification for that kind of expectation?

Feel free to dismiss my postings as someone who doesn't work within the industry but don't bother even typing out a response if you're not going to read my post properly first.

[MX12EOC]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester
Guys, it seems as if you're all arguing over how many days holidays drivers get, now assuming MOST of you don't work in the bus industry I assume the drivers themselves can give us information, not assumptions, I don't want to be involved with this btw, just giving my view. Please be kind to each other c:

[motormayhem]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester
How long as 22136 been service at wigan for as in the fleetlist its down as being in reserve.

[ace]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester

(27/06/2013 18:26)motormayhem Wrote:  How long as 22136 been service at wigan for as in the fleetlist its down as being in reserve.

I think it moved there about 2 weeks ago.

[motormayhem]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester
Ahh right,thanks ace.

[Polo Mint]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester

(26/06/2013 14:13)126th street Wrote:  

(24/06/2013 14:30)Polo Mint Wrote:  What about new drivers? Would be difficult for them to learn every route.

How are rotas allocated/chosen? I assume timetables are not permanent, but can drivers choose what shifts or routes they work or are they given at random?

My experience is that new drivers eventually learn all routes, but not at one go.

As for rotas and choices, it's a complicated thing and no doubt varies from company to company. Some rotas are more desirable than others - for example one which includes lots of short-distance town services is never going to have drivers queuing up to get on as such work becomes very boring, very quickly. However some drivers like that.

Other rotas might include longer-distance work, or only a handful of round trips per day, and these are normally the most popular ones. Others might include a spare rota - that is, drivers book on at the time as posted and are allocated work as and when needed such as when someone phones in sick. They might also be used as holiday cover.

Such things as school rotas, the really undesirable stuff, often have 'sweeteners' on there such as no late turns or Sundays. Equally split turn rotas can be Monday to Friday only as an incentive for drivers to do them.

Vehicles are sometimes a factor also. If a depot has a brand new fleet for route 123 then the rota which covers that will be more desirable than the one which works mainly route 234 with a bunch of 15-year old Darts, for example. Busier routes are often not as popular with drivers as those which carry little, the list is almost endless. That's before you get into four-day weeks against five-day weeks...

As for allocating drivers to rotas there might be a waiting list for the better ones. Alternatively when a vacancy comes up a memo might be posted inviting those interested to let 'the office' know. Either the most senior driver will get the position in this scenario or it can be judged on other factors. Everything differs between companies and you might well find that at Company A's depot 1 they do things a lot differently to depot 2.

Thanks for explaining, but why are school runs unpopular?

So the company would have a range of rota's and every few months they are picked and senior staff get first dibs?

[MX12EOC]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester
For example the 845 service is constantly fire-bombed, quite literally because some of the passengers tend to light the upper deck on fire... Only saying that is.

[R971XVM]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester
As a driver;

Holidays: If I want to book a week off, it is taken off as five days paid (+ the two days rest days as mentioned) -At this particular company I work for, the week starts from Sunday. If I'm lucky, my rostered rest days from the previous week before the holiday starts could be Fri & Sat and on the Sun the week following the holiday taken - this would then give me a great ten day break.

School runs: Depends on the driver tbh, not very many on the normal 38hr roster anyway, but some commercial routes get a bit "challenging" at kicking out time (Service 50 around 3pm I'm looking at you here)

Rosters: There's a few where I work, there's the standard 38hr that all new drivers start on - All routes covered (possibly bar one) including some schools - and options to move onto permanent lates / semi lates to name a few.