Guards not doing their job properly (and other poor experiences with staff on the railway)

[amahy]

The guard's role has evolved over time and some would suggest that in it's traditional form it is no longer required (but this isn't about DOO). For most trains, most of the time, the safety of train and passengers is best ensured by having the guard working within the passenger saloon, engaging with passengers and providing confidence that there is a staff presence. Ticket checking provides a valuable way of doing that, engaging with passengers and providing a way to identify and deal with troublemakers.

But many guards aren’t doing this, as evidenced by my and other peoples poor experiences.

Playing devils advocate here. You could argue that commission per ticket scan also encourages guards to go down the train as fast as possible, scan everyone’s tickets, not deal with anything else, and get back to playing Candy Crush in their cosy back cab, without any riff raff. That way, the guard maximises their income without having to deal with any issues. After all, there is no commission for helping customers or dealing with troublemakers! Of course, this doesn’t apply to services with frequent stops.

 

[35B]

But many guards aren’t doing this, as evidenced by my and other peoples poor experiences.

Playing devils advocate here. You could argue that commission per ticket scan also encourages guards to go down the train as fast as possible, scan everyone’s tickets, not deal with anything else, and get back to playing Candy Crush in their cosy back cab, without any riff raff. That way, the guard maximises their income without having to deal with any issues. After all, there is no commission for helping customers or dealing with troublemakers! Of course, this doesn’t apply to services with frequent stops.

If a guard is not doing their job properly, that is then a question of how they are managed - I completely agree with @bramling on that. My point about commission is that it is a carrot that encourages revenue duties and thus their being out in the train as a whole, as well as helping with the viability of the service. It's not perfect, and if someone's lazy, they're going to be lazy.

However, the stories I'm reading here aren't about laziness, but about poor customer service. Whether it's your OP and the way that the guard dealt with people telling him "but it says that on the board", or others reporting the unwillingness of guards to intervene, we're seeing guards not stepping up as some would expect.

Commission is not the problem here, but nor is it the solution - it addresses one facet of a complicated issue. My own view is that it will never be solved while the emphasis is on the traditional role description of the guard, as that downplays the importance of dealing with people.

 

[LowLevel]

Regarding the departure board issue. The way it now generally works is the operational control make their decisions and communicate them out through something like an internal Teams chat. The operational controller if an SSO is required might contact the issuing station directly to give them the heads up to do it. They might also contact the guard where provided (though evidently not in this case). They will also contact their counterpart in the Network Rail route control to advise signalboxes so they have a few things to do.

The appropriate info controller will create an alteration in the customer information system that will create a message. When sent this will do several things.

1. Issue a message through the staff messaging service. This is generally how station staff and traincrew will find out (more at the end about this point).

2. Update customer information portals like Journey Check online. The Trainline amongst others will pick this up and send messages directly to customers.

3. Update station departure boards and if the train is online and connected to the service, on board information screens too.

Now regarding 1 - Northern are very hot on dispatch procedures and one thing you are most unlikely to see is a guard on the platform before departure casually browsing their workphone messages as they are likely to end up on a disciplinary charge for using electronic devices whilst dispatching.

Therefore it is entirely possible that in the circumstances described the guard and driver will be the last to know of the alteration.

They could be more proactive in finding out what is going on, sure, but I wouldn't say they were innately doing their job badly in being uninformed.

 

[Tetragon213]

The last time I used CrossCountry one guard (and I had them at least four times on previous journeys) was addiment that my ticket wasn't vaild. He seemed to blow a fuse when I pointed out his extremely poor customer service skills and would be better off working where I was at the time then he'd really lose his rag. He simply looked at me and carried on looking miffed.

I've since opted to using my car since I've got a guarrenteed seat, first class view (of the road ahead), don't have to put up with whingy passengers who'll either be a) still wearing a face nappy as of 2026, b) playing their phone on the highest level possible so that everyone else can hear it, c) blocking spare seats with bags so that no one else can sit down. I just park and ride where possible.

Indeed, if I can get away with it, I'll take a car over CrossCountry any day of the week.

No other TOC manages to anger me quite like XC. Between the overcrowding, poor customer service, and general lack of value for money, the car is a much more preferable option. XC's rot goes beyond just the guards, though. There are so many problems with that company.

 

[kkong]

The thing I notice is though that it is noticeable slower to do the check when a smartcard is presented. An e-ticket takes less than a second to scan and flash up green/yellow/red on their PDA. A smartcard takes several seconds to achieve the same outcome. I assume that's just due to the nature of ITSO.

I have also noticed the long time these handheld devices take to read smartcards (on ScotRail).

I don't think it's due to ITSO, because several types of ticket barrier open just as quickly with an ITSO smartcard as with an e-ticket or magstripe ticket.

 

[amahy]

Regarding the departure board issue. The way it now generally works is the operational control make their decisions and communicate them out through something like an internal Teams chat. The operational controller if an SSO is required might contact the issuing station directly to give them the heads up to do it. They might also contact the guard where provided (though evidently not in this case). They will also contact their counterpart in the Network Rail route control to advise signalboxes so they have a few things to do.

The appropriate info controller will create an alteration in the customer information system that will create a message. When sent this will do several things.

1. Issue a message through the staff messaging service. This is generally how station staff and traincrew will find out (more at the end about this point).

2. Update customer information portals like Journey Check online. The Trainline amongst others will pick this up and send messages directly to customers.

3. Update station departure boards and if the train is online and connected to the service, on board information screens too.

Now regarding 1 - Northern are very hot on dispatch procedures and one thing you are most unlikely to see is a guard on the platform before departure casually browsing their workphone messages as they are likely to end up on a disciplinary charge for using electronic devices whilst dispatching.

Therefore it is entirely possible that in the circumstances described the guard and driver will be the last to know of the alteration.

They could be more proactive in finding out what is going on, sure, but I wouldn't say they were innately doing their job badly in being uninformed.

Thank you for the detailed information.

I wasn’t overly bothered with what the guard was trying to say, more the way he said it. He seemed to imply it was all us passengers fault that our information didn’t match his, when if anything, he should be angrily phoning control, if he wants to take his frustration out on anyone.

I previously mentioned in post #11 two cases where the SSO procedure “failed”, and the train didn’t stop at the additional stations, and the guard’s response was poor in both cases.

On the occasion of skipping Walsden, the guard replied, “oh, so I was”, with no apology, and didn’t seem too bothered that they’d skipped a station, with passengers waiting on the platform. (A friend of mine was on the platform at Walsden, and witnessed the train being announced, followed by it sailing through a minute later!)

On the occasion when Moston, Mills Hill, and Castleton were skipped, the guard shouted, “I was never told”, which may have been true, but was again rude to passengers. Fortunately, it wasn’t too long till the next Manchester-bound stopper from Rochdale

I’d be interested to know how many guards or other operations staff pay any attention to departure boards, or whether they are deliberately discouraged from looking at them during their training. Both these cases would’ve most likely been avoided if they did!

 

[bunnahabhain]

If it's 25+ degrees on a train, the air conditioning is not working, or is very ineffective, which is basically the same thing from a passenger's perspective. That, or the temperature was set too high.

158 aircon and most train aircon is only designed to cool to a set point which is usually 21c and it will usually increase that setpoint should the ambient outside temperature be warmer.

On a 158 if the outside temperature reaches 26c it will trend with that temperature if it increases and keep -5c below it. So if it's 35c outside the train will do it's best to cool to 30c.

The hopper windows will do nothing to help in cooling the train, opening them actually increases the internal temperature. If you want a breeze onboard, being a fan along with you.

As for the suggestion of using a key or tool of your own to open the windows, don't.

 

[Bletchleyite]

158 aircon and most train aircon is only designed to cool to a set point which is usually 21c and it will usually increase that setpoint should the ambient outside temperature be warmer.

On a 158 if the outside temperature reaches 26c it will trend with that temperature if it increases and keep -5c below it. So if it's 35c outside the train will do it's best to cool to 30c.

The hopper windows will do nothing to help in cooling the train, opening them actually increases the internal temperature. If you want a breeze onboard, being a fan along with you.

As for the suggestion of using a key or tool of your own to open the windows, don't.

I really hope you're not a guard on a TOC with 158s, as that's incredibly passenger unfriendly. Moving air is more comfortable than static air (it aids the body's sweating process), hence why the windows should be open if the aircon is not cooling to a tolerable temperature (which would vary by person, but certainly isn't over about 25 degrees).

And yes, I've used my house key to open windows on a train (a Class 166) to raucous applause and a request to open them all (which I went on to do, to further appreciation from those on board). On a guarded train I request them to be opened and they always have been when requested, on a DOO train that opportunity doesn't exist, and so I'd happily stand up in Court and justify doing so if fGW had been stupid enough to attempt to prosecute me for it.

Fortunately modern train aircon isn't as rubbish, I remember enjoying about 22 degrees on an 80x on GWR on that 40 degree day a few years ago. Stepping out at Paddington was like getting off a plane somewhere really hot.

 

[Bikeman78]

I'm not sure that's "safe" if the public information is stating the deviation from plan, and the traincrew don't receive an SSO. That would put both public and traincrew in an unreasonable position.

I am glad I am not the only one who can see this. If the TOC has advertised that a train will call additionally and then it does not, there will be a lot of angry people at the next station that it does stop at. Which will most likely cause more delay whilst the passengers argue with the crew.

 

[35B]

I really hope you're not a guard on a TOC with 158s, as that's incredibly passenger unfriendly. Moving air is more comfortable than static air (it aids the body's sweating process), hence why the windows should be open if the aircon is not cooling to a tolerable temperature (which would vary by person, but certainly isn't over about 25 degrees).

And yes, I've used my house key to open windows on a train (a Class 166) to raucous applause and a request to open them all (which I went on to do, to further appreciation from those on board). On a guarded train I request them to be opened and they always have been when requested, on a DOO train that opportunity doesn't exist, and so I'd happily stand up in Court and justify doing so if fGW had been stupid enough to attempt to prosecute me for it.

Fortunately modern train aircon isn't as rubbish, I remember enjoying about 22 degrees on an 80x on GWR on that 40 degree day a few years ago. Stepping out at Paddington was like getting off a plane somewhere really hot.

Having read depot staff on this, the impact of this tends to be to knacker the air conditioning as it tries to work harder to overcome the additional heat being let in.

That then takes us to the design, where the choice to set the temperature relative to the air temperature is at fault - and I'm delighted to note that Hitachi have got something right in the IEPs. I have travelled in 158s in summer heat which have been fine, so am inclined to think that running "sealed" is the least bad option - provided that the aircon is actually working.

 

[LowLevel]

I really hope you're not a guard on a TOC with 158s, as that's incredibly passenger unfriendly. Moving air is more comfortable than static air (it aids the body's sweating process), hence why the windows should be open if the aircon is not cooling to a tolerable temperature (which would vary by person, but certainly isn't over about 25 degrees).

And yes, I've used my house key to open windows on a train (a Class 166) to raucous applause and a request to open them all (which I went on to do, to further appreciation from those on board). On a guarded train I request them to be opened and they always have been when requested, on a DOO train that opportunity doesn't exist, and so I'd happily stand up in Court and justify doing so if fGW had been stupid enough to attempt to prosecute me for it.

Fortunately modern train aircon isn't as rubbish, I remember enjoying about 22 degrees on an 80x on GWR on that 40 degree day a few years ago. Stepping out at Paddington was like getting off a plane somewhere really hot.

You tend to find traincrew get a bit funny about people interfering with their train. I nearly got into a heated debate with a driver travelling on my train (a 158) a while back. I was having a bad day as it was, it was warm and the unit had been shut down for an hour.

I knew the air con was working as I'd been on the same unit a few times that week and when I walked past the windows were shut.

By the time we got underway I came out to do tickets and found this driver travelling had taken it upon himself to walk the length of the train opening all of the windows without so much as a word to me.

I made myself even hotter and more irritated by going back through and slamming them all shut and locking them again, whilst the passengers thinking I was taking their ventilation away shouted at me.

15 minutes later both coaches were like walking into a fridge and having initially expressed my thoughts quite robustly to my colleague on the way back through I accepted his apology for interfering with my train.

Consequently yes, talk to the crew, and if the train is DOO then there's some licence for the TOC choosing to remove the customer facing staff - but please don't just open the windows on a 158 because it is deeply irritating.

 

[amahy]

Now I’m not an expert regarding the 158 air-con thing, there should be an easy way of telling if it’s working or not. If there is fresh, cool air circulating round the carriage, it is working. If there is stagnant, hot air in the carriage, and the air-con has been switched on for a few minutes, it is not working, or completely ineffective.

In either case, it needs looking at by maintenance staff at the depot, and in the meantime, windows should be opened, so at least some air is circulating, even if it is not much.

In the case I mentioned on Northern, the clear evidence that the air-con was not working was heaters blasting out hot air when it was already 25+ degrees on the train!

 

[Quincy]

As a follow up to the point about safety and people being thugs, at the very least, if the staff member didn't feel confident about dealing with it themselves, they could call the BTP, travel safe officers, or other security staff for assistance.

Not relevant for all staff but a fair few I know won’t intervene personally due to safety concerns and there is no BTP on the line these youth’s (regular troublemakers) travel on and (for most of the time) have no interest in.

 

[tfw756rider]

Not relevant for all staff but a fair few I know won’t intervene personally due to safety concerns and there is no BTP on the line these youth’s (regular troublemakers) travel on and (for most of the time) have no interest in.

Who has no interest in what, just to be clear?

 

[Quincy]

Who has no interest in what, just to be clear?

From what I’ve heard, (from mates who work in the railway) BTP seem to have no interest, bar a once every few months appearance, in intervening in a variety of antisocial behaviours by mostly youths. Sorry if I didn’t make it clear originally and with there being no BTP “base” nearby there’s no support if it escalates (which it often does).

 

[amahy]

Not relevant for all staff but a fair few I know won’t intervene personally due to safety concerns and there is no BTP on the line these youth’s (regular troublemakers) travel on and (for most of the time) have no interest in.

Yes, when posting the comment you quoted, I remember seeing a fair few comments on this forum suggesting that the BTP, like the rest of the police force in Britain, are broken. Probably worse than train guards!

Even so, my point still stands, that the very same guards that are relaxed about antisocial behaviour are militant with fare dodgers. Not that being militant with fare dodgers is a bad thing.

 

[trentside]

From what I’ve heard, (from mates who work in the railway) BTP seem to have no interest, bar a once every few months appearance, in intervening in a variety of antisocial behaviours by mostly youths. Sorry if I didn’t make it clear originally and with there being no BTP “base” nearby there’s no support if it escalates (which it often does).

There’s a lot of very good officers in the BTP. I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with plenty of them during my career and had excellent support. As with policing as a whole there’s also bad apples. The cuts to BTP numbers, station closures and further proposed reductions reduce their effectiveness even more. The TOCs have tried to compensate with security staff but they have fewer powers and vary greatly in their approach to the job.

 

[ainsworth74]

There’s a lot of very good officers in the BTP. I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with plenty of them during my career and had excellent support. As with policing as a whole there’s also bad apples. The cuts to BTP numbers, station closures and further proposed reductions reduce their effectiveness even more. The TOCs have tried to compensate with security staff but they have fewer powers and vary greatly in their approach to the job.

Yes surely the issue with the BTP is less about individual officers approaches and more that there are fewer and fewer of them to begin with? Which means that a) they're harder to get hold of when needed (if you're in Bimbly-On-Wye and the nearest officer is 50 miles away down a load of B roads what odds they're going to be able to get to you?) and b) they have to ruthlessly prioritise what they do with the officers they have (if you've got one officer and the current jobs are someone who has been punched in the face and the other is someone smoking which do you think will get the response?).

I imagine that your average BTP officer would be happy to help out dealing with anti-social behaviour and being a visible reassurance on and around the network. But when there's hardly any of them available to begin with...

According to Home Office stats in September 2025 there were 2,802 BTP Police Officers (down 112 compared to September 2024) and 195 BTP PCSOs (up 3 compared to September 2024). Considering they can't all be on duty at the same time that's really not very many at all for the size of network we have.

 

[Horizon22]

Aside from non-revenue guards (are there any of those left?)

SWR Metro Guards? And some routes they effectively are - Crosscity services in Birmingham, for example.

 

[Horizon22]

Thank you for the detailed information.

I wasn’t overly bothered with what the guard was trying to say, more the way he said it. He seemed to imply it was all us passengers fault that our information didn’t match his, when if anything, he should be angrily phoning control, if he wants to take his frustration out on anyone.

This is a more reasonable take - if the initial conversation (as per your original post) did use that tone, it seems unnecessarily aggresive from the guard.

And Control regularly get the brunt of anger, not just from train crew - controllers are apparently meant to be omniscient and omnipresent!

 

[Bletchleyite]

And some routes they effectively are - Crosscity services in Birmingham, for example.

That's just Bletchley syndrome, which implies that the cause is poor management in WMT as a whole. On similar routes on Northern's network, tickets are done.

 

[Russel]

Given the advances in technology and years of Government wanting to expand DOO, it does surprise me how little customer service or revenue protection duties guards at certain TOCs do, for example, as mentioned in this thread LNWR and WMR, who's services are ripe for Thameslink style DOO operation.

Realistically, with the technology available and 30 years of proof of concept, opening and closing of doors is a job that guards shouldn't be doing, they really should be focusing on CS and revenue protection.

 

[Horizon22]

That's just Bletchley syndrome, which implies that the cause is poor management in WMT as a whole. On similar routes on Northern's network, tickets are done.

If you need to dispatch every 3-4 minutes, I can see how it is hard to do genuine revenue checks that aren't cursory. In my opinion that route is ripe for DOO, but that's not a debate to have here!

 

[trentside]

I’ve worked trains as a guard with frequent stops and high passenger volume. You can’t always get everyone, but I used to see it as matter of personal pride to try. My TOC took over a route from another and on my first trip I did revenue between two stations only 2 minutes apart - 3 had boarded and sat together, one exclaimed that nobody had ever checked her ticket at that point in the journey. It was a smart card too which is a slightly longer process.

 

[Bletchleyite]

If you need to dispatch every 3-4 minutes, I can see how it is hard to do genuine revenue checks that aren't cursory.

It's certainly harder, but Northern guards, certainly on the west side, seem to take pride in it.

 

[Horizon22]

It's certainly harder, but Northern guards, certainly on the west side, seem to take pride in it.

Oh yes it's not impossible, but as you say harder, especially if you have move to different coaches to be in the correct dispatch position at each station.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

It's certainly harder, but Northern guards, certainly on the west side, seem to take pride in it.

I can usually get an idea of if there will be a ticket check by where the guard is on a 158 when they open the local door when boarding.
If they're at the back, unlikely, if they're anywhere else, they were already doing so.

 

[bramling]

Yes surely the issue with the BTP is less about individual officers approaches and more that there are fewer and fewer of them to begin with? Which means that a) they're harder to get hold of when needed (if you're in Bimbly-On-Wye and the nearest officer is 50 miles away down a load of B roads what odds they're going to be able to get to you?) and b) they have to ruthlessly prioritise what they do with the officers they have (if you've got one officer and the current jobs are someone who has been punched in the face and the other is someone smoking which do you think will get the response?).

I imagine that your average BTP officer would be happy to help out dealing with anti-social behaviour and being a visible reassurance on and around the network. But when there's hardly any of them available to begin with...

According to Home Office stats in September 2025 there were 2,802 BTP Police Officers (down 112 compared to September 2024) and 195 BTP PCSOs (up 3 compared to September 2024). Considering they can't all be on duty at the same time that's really not very many at all for the size of network we have.

Yes this is exactly the situation. There’s always going to be good and bad experiences with the BTP, but there are two more fundamental issues
1) as you say, they are thinly spread, so it just isn’t possible to get an immediate response to every report

and related to this
2) any arrest means the arresting officer is out of commission whilst all the formalities are done

The second of those things helps lead to a perception that BTP sometimes don’t want to get involved in issues, as they don’t want to lose an officer.

Being cynical about all this, stuff like Serrano security are far cheaper than a BTP officer, so one can see why things have headed this way. The old saying penny wise pound foolish springs to mind, though.

 

[bramling]

Given the advances in technology and years of Government wanting to expand DOO, it does surprise me how little customer service or revenue protection duties guards at certain TOCs do, for example, as mentioned in this thread LNWR and WMR, who's services are ripe for Thameslink style DOO operation.

Realistically, with the technology available and 30 years of proof of concept, opening and closing of doors is a job that guards shouldn't be doing, they really should be focusing on CS and revenue protection.

Being cynical about all this, if I was a guard on LNWR and there is this constant backdrop of “route is ripe for DOO operation”, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to do more than my contractual minimum and what little one could get away with without being performance managed. At the end of the day, if DOO was going to be implemented it would happen even if I was the most wonderful customer service person going.

I’ve always been a bit surprised the Euston route has managed to retain guards yet south central didn’t. One of life’s little peculiarities.

 

[bb21]

I had an issue like this yesterday on a Northern service where the guard had been, for a good ten minutes, standing with some friends chatting not far from me, while some idiot played his phone out loud really loudly, even after I had asked him to turn it down (and he did, but then later back up again) and someone else intervened too. I said out loud to the other passenger but with the intention of her overhearing something like "well, you'd think the guard would deal with it seeing as she's stood there" and she seemed more annoyed by that than the evident breach of Bylaw 7, coming over and saying very bluntly "well if you'd asked me I would have done", to which I said "well can you please?" and she did, and it remained off for the rest of the journey.

I do understand that some staff fear such encounters and so won't intervene, but on being prompted she seemed happy to do so. So why not deal with it proactively?

It wouldn't surprise me if she felt compelled to intervene after you complained, even if that could mean putting herself at an elevated risk which she would otherwise not do normally, but not knowing her it is impossible for me to say why. There are of course bad apples, as with all professions, and it could also be the case that she was having a bad day and did not feel mentally strong enough to challenge them. We are all human. I may let go of certain issues on some days which I would happily challenge on others.

I would say you are quite fortunate that she intervened. If I had already decided that I was not happy with the risk of the anti-social behaviour potentially eslacating, you would probably have got shrugged shoulders, and a suggestion to please move into the next coach. After all, my primary responsibility was to ensure everyone gets to their destination safely, and that includes the troublemakers too. If there is a risk of such situations deteriorating and imploding, then a bit of noise and discomfort very much pales into insignificance.

Personally I prefer passengers to not challenge each other directly, as these often don't end well. Wrong things can get said or right things get said in the wrong way, tempers fray and things can get out of hand quite quickly. I tend to find a quiet word from myself working well, if a passenger raises a complaint about their fellow travellers directly with me. Unfortunately if quiet words have no effect then there is very little else I can do, nor will passengers taking matters into their own hands in those cases.

I'm not sure that's "safe" if the public information is stating the deviation from plan, and the traincrew don't receive an SSO. That would put both public and traincrew in an unreasonable position.

It really is no different to other situations where trains fail to stop at an intended station due to an error/misunderstanding/omission/comms issues. These only happen very rarely and there is no perfect "one size fits all" solution. Departure screens can be wrong, same with apps, especially during severe disruption. Services and stops get added/cancelled/reinstated at short-notice and that is just the nature of the ever-evolving operating environment. The bottom line for the crew is that unless they have solid personal confirmation otherwise, they stick to their booked schedule. That is a nationwide industry baseline. On the ground, driver and guard are the ones responsible for the service and interacting with passengers, so consistency is important so there is no confusion which set of conflicting information takes priority.

Traincrew also need to remember that they are part of their employer's customer service, and to use (and be provided with) effective means of communicating uncertainty - I've taken "I'm sorry, I know that's on the board but I've not had that confirmed yet; please wait" as an honest statement of position.

It is indeed all about communication. Showing empathy and giving passengers the impression that you care about their concerns can definitely help in conflicting situations. That said, again it will depend on the exact circumstances at the time. For example, if this is raised as an issue to me five minutes before departure I will happily call Control/driver to confirm, or flag down the dispatcher. Less than 2 minutes before departure, on a proceed aspect, then unless I get a call from Control/driver/slip from dispatcher, I am not delaying the train to check or be otherwise distracted from dispatch duties. The train calls at booked stations.

I get the logic, but disagree. While there will be exceptions, quiet calm enforcement by staff at all times helps create the expectation of the right behaviour. Leaving enforcement so it's by exception only just encourages the poor behaviour, while making the stakes higher when someone does enforce it.

Quiet enforcement only works to a certain degree, so does regularly patrolling the train, beyond which you are pretty much by yourself and support is often far away. This isn't anything a guard can fix.

You tend to find traincrew get a bit funny about people interfering with their train. I nearly got into a heated debate with a driver travelling on my train (a 158) a while back. I was having a bad day as it was, it was warm and the unit had been shut down for an hour.

I had to be quite stern with an off-duty staff member once when they used their own T keys to open several windows in the coach, when a struggling aircon was slowly working its way to optimum temperature. I had already passed once and all the passengers were happy to either stay or move to an adjacent coach. They boarded mid-journey and asked for a free ride, so knew exactly where I was. Doesn't take much to come knock on the cab door.