Can I ask the people who are currently CSA 1 & 2's. How do you find the early and late shifts? I live in East Essex and am concerned about the commute into and out of London. Is there anyone from my side of Essex doing these shifts and how do you normally commute in and get home?
It can be a challenge. Understandably, LU treat lateness as a disciplinary matter - stations often have minimum staff number requirements, and if they don't have the required number of staff, they can't open the station! If they can't open, then the 1st trains are required to non-stop the station, and it's a massive drama that can't really be overlooked, as well as being terrible for our customers.
Some stations have a few 'middle' duties, so there is availability to swap, but there is a requirement to have staff that can open a station and close a station, so it will definitely be an issue for you. CSA2 duties didn't used to begin at start and close of traffic, but they do in some stations.
There is a staff taxi service, but it can be a little cumbersome and slow to use (depending on where you have to go to and from). I think the furthest 'east' they go is Ongar... Which won't help if you live in eg Southend.
I'm being vague as I don't have a clue where you live, or what station you will get. Living in Purfleet and working at the east end of the District Line is easy. Living in Braintree and working at Heathrow won't be easy at all.
I guess I would turn the question around and ask you, "How would you get to King's Cross/Waterloo/Green Park for 0445hrs?"
