As a rail replacement coordinator for two transport companies its interesting to read through this thread and some of the comments that have been made. The replies I make here are the views of myself and are in no way the view of ether company, though they do relate to the way of working each company has in place.
What is outrageous is when coaches only suitable for carrying young school children are used. It is debatable whether 3+2 seating is acceptable on trains but I don't think it should even be legal to use such coaches to carry adults or more fully grown teenagers. The seats clearly simply aren't wide enough.
If the replacement work is planned then the use of any vehicle with 3+2 seating is not normally permitted. Obviously in emergency situations its not always possible to avoid such vehicles and its the same with breakdowns or any other unplanned or unforeseen situations. There are in place certain things that train operators specify when rail replacement services are used, i.e. coaches must have a toilet or there must be a certain amount of seats on each vehicle used etc etc... These requirements varies depending on the train operator.
Serious question - what are the instructions on checking tickets on bus replacement services?
The situation regarding ticket checks is that coordinators are only able to check that passengers have a ticket and instruct any passenger with out one to purchase one before travelling (if ticket facilities are available at the station). We are in no position to sell them or to apply any form of punishment to anyone in violation of the ticketing rules. It's down to the rail operator to undertake any of this and provide any revenue staff to help provide a full ticket service.
Many drivers are quite happy to drop people off anywhere on route.
I don't think it's a good idea to start dropping people off anywhere on the route on rail replacement. A queue soon builds and it's annoying for others on the bus. It's slightly different if the vehicle is near empty and late at night though.
For both companies I work for it's against all rules and regulations to have any driver pick up or drop off any passenger in-between stations. I'm not willing to go into details but I can say for sure that's not allowed in any circumstance.
A few other points made relating to luggage and bikes. I would say that 95% of the vehicles used on rail replacement services in the area I work in are coaches. This, of course, allows luggage and bikes to be carried with some ease. In some areas more use is made of buses and in such cases the amount of space available for luggage and bikes is often non existent. In an emergency situations it can be hard to accommodate people with bikes especially when there is a large amount of luggage to be carried. It just depends on the situation at the time of the emergency.
It must be said that coach drivers have the final say on what goes on their coach. It's up to the driver whether a bike, dog or food and drink can be carried. Some drivers are fine with all, others can be a little more picky.
As for the original question made OLJR,
Do you think that TOCs should guarantee that all 1ST passengers on a replacement bus will have an empty seat next to them and hire as many buses as necessary to provide the required capacity?
The simple answer is no. You would not believe the work the goes into organising rail replacement services. Organising and sourcing the required number of vehicles is a long and complex process which can takes weeks, if not months, to plan and can often be changing right up until a few hours before the replacement service starts.
When a replacement service is put in place all passengers are treated the same regardless of travelling class.
