Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Meet the new London routemaster
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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I've been saying since they arrived that the bendy buses need conductors. They would recover their wages in about five minutes of every hour. They could also help with the 4x4 buggy wars.
BTW the original rationale for bringing in bendy buses was that people don't go upstairs for short journeys, so there's a mighty crush on the bottom deck. I know I don't, not least because the stairs can be scary with less-than smooth drivers. These new double-deckers won't help with that.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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It's a curious word that: conductor - or rather our narrow usage of the word for the no longer extant clippie (and the fairly redundant chap waving a hand at the orchestra while scratching his bald patch with a baton.)
If, like the French and Spanish, we were to start calling our Arriva drivers bus conductors, do you think that might persuade them that their driver's cab isn't a hermetically sealed cell but that they are 'conductors of the bus' with communication rights with their passengers and influence over their 'conduct'?
(I realise that my appeal to continental usage is weakened by Italian refusal to call a bus driver conduttore; they prefer 'autista di bus' - which doesn't seem conducive to much communication.
And as for Busfahrer well, I'm already expecting a rocket from Berlin so I'll say no more on that front.)
Nevertheless, this brief paragraph from the Job Description (Mission!!) of a Parisian Bus company's ad seems to go to the heart of being a budding conducteur/conductrice :
Conducteur/Conductrice de Bus
Ses Missions:
Le conducteur/La conductrice de bus assure le transport des voyageurs dans des conditions de confort, de sécurité et de qualité de service.
En contact permanent avec la clientele, il prend en charge l'accueil des usagers et il est a leur disposition pour les conseiller et leur donner des informations.
Le conducteur/La conductrice est également responsable de la vente des titres de transport.
I shall quote it verbatim to La Conductrice/El Conducteur des 29, 141, 341 & W5 going forward.
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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HaHa Monsieur OAE... here comes the rocket.. :o)
I think I heard many years ago in a radio programme (150 years London buses BBC R4 - 1979) that the origin of the use of the word conductor comes from George Shilibeer's original 1829 adverts for employees to work on his first Omnibus Route from Marylebone to Bank.
In them, "Well conducted persons of suitable manners are required to work".....
As for the German word 'Busfahrer' .. that's the driver.. :o) from the verb Fahren (to ride/to drive) e.g. er fahrt Bus (he drives a bus)
Sonderfahrt (special journey) .. and that English word with the same sound does also have something to do with movement. Doesn't it :o)
There did also used to be/still is an English equivalent 'Fare' as in 'Fare ye well' or Farewell (good journey)!! and a Fare for a Taxi
Oh, nearly forgot .. the German word for conductor is 'der Schaffner' or 'die Schaffnerin'
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May I again cite my favourite Swedish traffic word: Farthinder = speed hump ?
But my main point, Steve, was that it is you (ex)bus drivers who deserve the title 'conductor', from the Latin con-ducere which has to do with leading or driving together for a conducive purpose. I wonder what they call a bus driver in Bucharest - perhaps they remember their Roman roots. Surely, in these Oyster days, the grand title Conductor is wasted on someone who no longer needs to natter: 'Dingding, tickets there now - free rides only after midnight etc.'
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Permalink Reply by Neville Collins on
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With all the spending reductions, is there any chance that these buses will become a reality? One may say not!!!
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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On paper yes but many are reluctant to go up top and the bus ends up full on the bottom and empty on the top. This does not happen with bendy busses and it is why each bendy bus is replaced by two double decker busses.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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I'm sure you're right John that some are reluctant to go up top, but this tends to be counterbalanced by those, like children and me, who prefer to go up top for the better view.
Many times I go up top and am disappointed to see every seat taken and have to come back down the stairs to stand at the bottom. My favourite position is top and front.
the bus ends up full on the bottom and empty on the top
Overall, the normal tendency is for the bottom to fill up first and any overspill then fills up the top. It's not the case that the bottom is full of goodness and only evil dwells upstairs!
– On the buses
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Permalink Reply by dubmill on
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It is certainly a problem on the existing double decker buses that the lower deck area becomes congested with people standing there and unwilling to go upstairs, but who at the same time block access to the stairs for newly boarding passengers.
The beauty of this revamped Routemaster design (and one it replicates from the original RM and its predecessors) is that the rear staircase provides a perfect access point to the upper deck without having to pass through a crowded lower deck area.
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The back staircase is also available on the bus in my photo - available tomorrow if necessary, not in five years like the model shown here..
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But only in English... Take a 41 from Tottenham Hale to West Green Rd and you'll see what I mean.
I think the only people who post on here are the ones who like to sit at the top above the driver...
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Permalink Reply by Germana on
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This is all really depressing and such a waste of our money. They are really dangerous. I certainly have seen at least 3 people getting hurt by getting on or off at the wrong time. One tourist in central London seemed particularly hurt and I will never forget that. All she did was try to get off between stops, but hit a lamp-post instead. And I know various people who very nearly killed themselves by trying to catch them on the run.
There's no doubt these buses are more beautiful than the bendy bus but they will get more crowded, there's much less space for prams compared to the bendy buses they replace - and incidentally those of us who have small children will have to wait for several buses before getting on, which never happens with bendy buses. Many parents will end up buying a car/using it more, and adding to the horrible traffic and pollution in this area....
I am actually really upset about all this to be honest. I think it's just a disgrace that there hasn't been much more of an uproar about it - I haven't read one single article mentioning the issue of the prams. The only faintly reasonable argument I heard in their favour (apart from aesthetic ones) is that fewer people will ride without a ticket. But more spot checks on bendy buses would have solved that, or conductors, as someone else said. It's just really appalling.
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