Drivers leaving buses unattended with passengers onboard.

[83G/84D]

Today I witnessed three different buses and three different locations where this happened.
Nothing unusual in that except in one case the driver left the bus running for approximately 10 minutes for a comfort break with passengers onboard and a queue outside forming. They didn’t take a cash tray or anything else with them.
In another case the driver turned off the engine but left the door open.

Most times I see a driver changeover the incoming driver will turn off the bus and take a long piece of paper/ receipt out of the ticket machine and shut the door if the replacement driver is not already there.
Rarely do I see them go for a toilet stop and leave the bus running and their belongings in the cab.
What are the general company policies on this or if you are a driver what do you do?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

in one case the driver left the bus running for approximately 10 minutes for a comfort break with passengers onboard and a queue outside forming. They didn’t take a cash tray or anything else with them.

(...)

Rarely do I see them go for a toilet stop and leave the bus running and their belongings in the cab

This suggests a degree of desperation on the part of the driver.

Such things must happen.

 

[johncrossley]

This is common practice in many countries. In such places, some buses have buttons to open the doors and they close automatically after a few seconds to avoid hot or cold air getting in, interfering with the air-conditioning or heating. This means that passengers can board at their leisure before departure time. Trams work in a similar way. Presumably this is good for drivers to give them a break.

 

[Steve440]

It is illegal to leave any vehicle unattended with the engine running.

 

[Tester]

It is illegal to leave any vehicle unattended with the engine running.

1. Does that apply to buses?

2. How does that work with an electric vehicle?

 

[PeterC]

This suggests a degree of desperation on the part of the driver.

Such things must happen.

I recall once seeing a lady driver running with a very pained expression towards our local Sainsbury's. We certainly have local routes where the only option for a loo break involves leaving the vehicle with passengers on board. Never looked to see if the engine was running.

 

[izvor]

It is illegal to leave any vehicle unattended with the engine running.

Does that apply to buses?

AFAIK, yes. I always understood that this only applied on public highways, and not on private property, such as bus stations and depots, railway station forecourts etc. Open to correction however: I am not up to date with latest legislation.

The electric (and hydrogen) vehicle situation is interesting, maybe it would need a court case to decide on the definition of "engine"?

 

[Simon75]

I saw a driver earlier this year stop at a bus stop to use (i guess) the pub toilets

 

[IanMac]

I had an odd experience recently at a recognised waiting point en route when the driver turned the engine off and left the bus to make a phone call. After a few minutes the engine restarted. As I was in the front seat I commented on this when the driver got back in, and he said "yes, it does that".

 

[LucyP]

Yes it applies to buses, but it is not illegal "where the machinery is required to be worked for a purpose other than driving the vehicle" (Road Vehicles (C & U) Regs 1986.

The engine was running to provide power to the bus for everything from the pumps for the air pressure to the lighting, display, ticket machine, HVAC, wi-fi, usb sockets etc. (S.98(2)(b))

There is no problem with a BEV, because there is no machinery to stop and no noise, so no need to "stop the action of any machinery attached to or forming part of the vehicle so far as may be necessary for the prevention of noise." (S.98(1))

 

[Bletchleyite]

I had an odd experience recently at a recognised waiting point en route when the driver turned the engine off and left the bus to make a phone call. After a few minutes the engine restarted. As I was in the front seat I commented on this when the driver got back in, and he said "yes, it does that".

Sounds like a bus with start/stop tech. Most of these stop the engine when the handbrake is engaged, but like with cars would restart it if the battery voltage started to drop.

 

[Trainman40083]

Sounds like a bus with start/stop tech. Most of these stop the engine when the handbrake is engaged, but like with cars would restart it if the battery voltage started to drop.

Quite unnerved me . I was walking past an Enviro 200MMC one day. I could see the driver a few yards away (possibly been to the toilet that was closed), and the bus engine just started on its own.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Quite unnerved me . I was walking past an Enviro 200MMC one day. I could see the driver a few yards away (possibly been to the toilet that was closed), and the bus engine just started on its own.

Freaks me out when my car does it!

 

[Trainman40083]

Freaks me out when my car does it!

More worrying if it drives off on its own

 

[Martin1988]

I once experienced this on a First Potteries bus. I had boarded a 3 (now 103) in Haslington and informed the driver I was traveling onto Stoke Railway Station. The driver then told me to remain on the bus when we reached Hanley Bus Station as the vehicle would be going on to work a 25 towards the railway station and once we reached Hanley he left me on the bus during the layover before another driver took over (about 5-10 minutes).

 

[Joshua_Harman]

First time I drove a hybrid bus was an experience, was driving along (quite fast) and suddenly the engine just cut out was a scary first few seconds until I realised it was still all fine

 

[Dwarfer1979]

Today I witnessed three different buses and three different locations where this happened.
Nothing unusual in that except in one case the driver left the bus running for approximately 10 minutes for a comfort break with passengers onboard and a queue outside forming. They didn’t take a cash tray or anything else with them.
In another case the driver turned off the engine but left the door open.

Most times I see a driver changeover the incoming driver will turn off the bus and take a long piece of paper/ receipt out of the ticket machine and shut the door if the replacement driver is not already there.
Rarely do I see them go for a toilet stop and leave the bus running and their belongings in the cab.
What are the general company policies on this or if you are a driver what do you do?

Drivers should never leave a vehicle unattended with the engine running. Drivers shouldn't leave a bus during a driver swap with passengers onboard before the relief driver arrives, because the driver doesn't know for certain the relief driver is actually arriving or if something unexpected has happened, though that generally only gets picked up if a complaint arises due to an issue. It is acceptable for the driver to leave passengers on board to pop to the toilet mid-journey if they need to, they should really leave the door open in those cases to allow passengers to get off in an emergency as they may not be able to reach the door controls (less important now the emergency exit is in the low floor area but I have a colleague who early in his driving career came across a couple of old ladies stuck on a Leyland Swift where the driver had left the door closed and they weren't tall enough to reach the controls above the door and the drop from the emergency exit was too high for them to safely take themselves). Drivers are responsible for their money and possessions so whilst it is not a rule to take their cash with them if it is stolen then they will be on the hook to repay it so most would take it with them.

 

[Martin1988]

I remember one NX journey I went on which involved a stopover in Birmingham. The driver told us we had the option of getting off the coach and then waiting to reboard or staying on the coach but with the doors closed for the duration of the driver's break.

At the same time I remember other instsnces of NX drivers leaving the coach doors open whilst laying over in Birmingham with existing passengers free to board and alight and plenty of instances where everyone was forced off the coach during the break in Birmingham before being reboarded first at the end of it.

 

[computerSaysNo]

It is acceptable for the driver to leave passengers on board to pop to the toilet mid-journey if they need to, they should really leave the door open in those cases to allow passengers to get off in an emergency as they may not be able to reach the door controls

This is a good point that I hadn't considered until now. Is there a greater purpose to the interior emergency door controls being above the door or just convention? To me it would seem sensible to reposition them to shoulder or waist height so that everyone can reach them especially in an emergency where the driver may have become incapacitated.
I suppose in a perfect world it would be a good idea to also have an additional bus kneel button on the emergency door panel and a way to deploy the wheelchair ramp which a wheelchair user could themselves do in an emergency, but that is probably adding too much complication for a scenario which I imagine is fairly unlikely to occur (emergency occurs; driver incapacitated; wheelchair user must get off bus urgently; no other passengers or witnesses available to assist).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Height of the controls is an interesting point, I've always assumed they were up there so kids couldn't reach them but it might not be that. I do note that in recent years the emergency exit door on the offside has been moved from the back to the low floor section, the benefits of this presumably being twofold, namely that it's more accessible that way but also it's further from the engine which is where most bus fires start.

 

[londonbridge]

plenty of instances where everyone was forced off the coach during the break in Birmingham before being reboarded first at the end of it.

I had this once.

A now withdrawn night bus used to come through my area and for a while, when on early shift I had the option of either the last night bus or a day bus on a different route to get to work. Similar journey times and they were timetabled to arrive at similar times so I just got whichever one showed up first. On the night bus there was one stop where the driver would jump out with the engine still running and go into the newsagents to get a paper.