Quality of Rail Replacement Buses

[Skymonster]

Am I misguided in my view that operators of Rail Replacement Buses tend to be drawn from the lower-end of the market?

Today I have had to travel on a vehicle driven by a guy who seemed to think it was fine to pile pasenger's luggage in the aisle, after claiming the under-floor baggage space could not be used - right up until I complained, saying it was a safety hazard and put us at risk should we need to evacuate in a hurry and threatening to report him for such. Then later a driver who made it very clear that he really didn't want to drive the service he was booked for because I was the only passenger - and that I was depriving him of a break. Both vehicles were rather elderly - disguised by non-aging number plates - although I guess that is relative compared to a 40-year old HST. Neither had wifi despite the local municipal operator (and the TOC) not finding it a problem to install such systems. The second vehicle also smelled like a 20-year old minicab.

This is not the first time I have wondered about the quality of rail replacement bus services. Is it not reasonable for rail passengers to expect that replacement buses are of a similar standard - and operated to similar standards - to the trains they are replacing?

(FWIW these were planned replacements due to Network Rail engineering, not short notice substitutions due to disruptions, and these were substitutes for long-distance style rather than commuter trains)

 

[goblinuser]

That sounds especially bad. I have not experienced such problems with rail replacement buses/coaches.
Which area was this in?

 

[DarloRich]

The quality of the vehicles is variable but if you have concerns about conduct report them officially. I have done so in the past.

 

[Bovverboy]

I don't think that we should be too surprised if coach companies/drivers don't always take rail replacement as seriously as they might when the relevant TOC's approach can leave a lot to be desired. Having said that, I gather that TOCs can vary considerably on this point.

 

[Robertj21a]

Blame the TOC/NR responsible, not the bus/coach operator. They set the standards, pay the charges etc and, like most things, you get what you pay for.

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Another factor can be driver availability. Operators who have the bulk of their work on school contracts have drivers available at the weekend, whilst those who have all day work on weekdays may not have drivers available at weekends. Those operators focussed on school work will often have older vehicles as that is what the contracts often use.

 

[Stampy]

When I was on a RRB last year from Preston-Blackpool, it was a School bus that turned up.... Everybody was squeezing into the seats...
Lots of people complained upon arrival at Blackpool after a near 90 minute trip around the sticks crammed into a bus..

The trip back later, we had a bigger bus!!!!

 

[Dentonian]

Am I misguided in my view that operators of Rail Replacement Buses tend to be drawn from the lower-end of the market?

Today I have had to travel on a vehicle driven by a guy who seemed to think it was fine to pile pasenger's luggage in the aisle, after claiming the under-floor baggage space could not be used - right up until I complained, saying it was a safety hazard and put us at risk should we need to evacuate in a hurry and threatening to report him for such. Then later a driver who made it very clear that he really didn't want to drive the service he was booked for because I was the only passenger - and that I was depriving him of a break. Both vehicles were rather elderly - disguised by non-aging number plates - although I guess that is relative compared to a 40-year old HST. Neither had wifi despite the local municipal operator (and the TOC) not finding it a problem to install such systems. The second vehicle also smelled like a 20-year old minicab.

This is not the first time I have wondered about the quality of rail replacement bus services. Is it not reasonable for rail passengers to expect that replacement buses are of a similar standard - and operated to similar standards - to the trains they are replacing?

(FWIW these were planned replacements due to Network Rail engineering, not short notice substitutions due to disruptions, and these were substitutes for long-distance style rather than commuter trains)

I am tempted to say that "beggars can't be choosers", as the Rail industry seems to treat the bus industry with contempt on the one hand, and then expect to be bailed out at the drop of a hat. However, I'm clouded by the fact that the bigger problem in GM is Metrolink replacement, and I do note that in your case these were planned works......on a Sunday. Therefore, it should have been relatively easy to secure half decent vehicles and its difficult for a busman like me to imagine any part of the rail industry scraping around for a few extra quid to secure a bit of quality.

The rest of the week sees most bus and coach operators having vehicles and drivers committed to their "bread and butter" work, and they can't afford spare resources "just in case", a competitor comes knocking on the door asking for help. I suspect there may also be a problem with multi-operator hires or sub contracting. I don't go out much on Sundays, but I regularly see Replacement "buses" on Piccadilly Approach on other days, and the quality can vary. The only time recently I've actually travelled on one it was a 5 year old coach in good nick, albeit very lightly loaded. However, more recently, I've seen a greater proprortion of buses and older coaches. What I noticed on one recent long-term job (might have been when Moses Gate bridge first collapsed) was that most buses were provided by Tyrers of Adlington, including many 'deckers with coach seats, but they had to sub contract to another nearby company, and as i walked down the Approach, I saw a poorly presented T-regd bus with a scruffy driver happily stood next to the cab (ie well inside the bus), smoking.

 

[alexl92]

I think the bus companies probably just see the RR service as similar to a school bus contract - they just use whatever busses are left over after their more prestigious contracts have been covered. I know plenty of companies keep older busses which they are less meticulous about for school services as they tend to get battered anyway.

The thing is, like trains, a well-maintained bus will go on for years and hundreds of thousands of miles. Given that a coach or decker bus can be £80k+, many operators still have coaches that are 20-odd years old but still entirely serviceable - but most of these old busses (and many newer ones) won't have wifi. And if you need a large number of coaches to cover rail replacement services, you can't be picky about only hiring coaches which have wifi - there just won't be enough. It's the same with National Express services covered by other operators.

Conduct is another thing, but that driver shouldn't have had grounds to complain - even if you were the only passenger at your station, surely there could be more further along? I'd comment to the TOC about the drivers' conduct; the TOC can take it up with the relevant companies if necessary.

 

[PHILIPE]

I think the bus companies probably just see the RR service as similar to a school bus contract - they just use whatever busses are left over after their more prestigious contracts have been covered. I know plenty of companies keep older busses which they are less meticulous about for school services as they tend to get battered anyway.

The thing is, like trains, a well-maintained bus will go on for years and hundreds of thousands of miles. Given that a coach or decker bus can be £80k+, many operators still have coaches that are 20-odd years old but still entirely serviceable - but most of these old busses (and many newer ones) won't have wifi. And if you need a large number of coaches to cover rail replacement services, you can't be picky about only hiring coaches which have wifi - there just won't be enough. It's the same with National Express services covered by other operators.

Conduct is another thing, but that driver shouldn't have had grounds to complain - even if you were the only passenger at your station, surely there could be more further along? I'd comment to the TOC about the drivers' conduct; the TOC can take it up with the relevant companies if necessary.

We've only recently had a thread on this:-

www.railforums.co.uk/threads/rail-replacement-bus-services.140468

Covered all aspects