Safety fears for Manchesters Bee Network

[mayneway]

Bit late with this one but a story broke out last week regarding the safety of buses on the road at two of The Bee Networks biggest operators, with whistle blowers from stagecoach and Go North West claimed buses were out on the road with two many issues, defects were constantly reported with no action taken to resolve.

Whistle blowers claimed at Stagecoach, Stockport depot radios were not working on buses,which meant the emergency alarm was ineffective and that constant vehicle issues had led to a complete drop in morale from drivers.

Meanwhile at Go North west, claims were made that defect reports were ignored and that buses were being rushed through MOT’s to get them back out onto the road. The claim was also made that one one occasion 5 buses were tested in just 40 minutes.

The ‘crisis’ on Greater Manchester’s buses

Whistleblowers have warned that bus drivers or passengers could end up being ‘seriously’ hurt on Bee Network services.

www.notreallyheremedia.com

Things are apparently so bad at Stockport that the local MP has got involved penning an official open letter to Stagecoach Manchesters MD - I’ve attached a copy of the letter below.

 

[Leyland Bus]

Bit late with this one but a story broke out last week regarding the safety of buses on the road at two of The Bee Networks biggest operators, with whistle blowers from stagecoach and Go North West claimed buses were out on the road with two many issues, defects were constantly reported with no action taken to resolve.

Whistle blowers claimed at Stagecoach, Stockport depot radios were not working on buses,which meant the emergency alarm was ineffective and that constant vehicle issues had led to a complete drop in morale from drivers.

Meanwhile at Go North west, claims were made that defect reports were ignored and that buses were being rushed through MOT’s to get them back out onto the road. The claim was also made that one one occasion 5 buses were tested in just 40 minutes.

The ‘crisis’ on Greater Manchester’s buses

Whistleblowers have warned that bus drivers or passengers could end up being ‘seriously’ hurt on Bee Network services.

www.notreallyheremedia.com

Things are apparently so bad at Stockport that the local MP has got involved penning an official open letter to Stagecoach Manchesters MD - I’ve attached a copy of the letter below.

I saw someone post about this but no one repsonded.

One thing I will say, all buses are tested by the DVSA. They have set timings per test, so 5 buses going through in 40mins is utter nonsense. They do go through the same lane first thing in a morning for a "pre check" before being queued up for the official test. I'd also question why a "driver" was stood in the same spot for so long to witness this instead of either working or being at home if not on duty.

 

[mayneway]

I saw someone post about this but no one repsonded.

One thing I will say, all buses are tested by the DVSA. They have set timings per test, so 5 buses going through in 40mins is utter nonsense. They do go through the same lane first thing in a morning for a "pre check" before being queued up for the official test. I'd also question why a "driver" was stood in the same spot for so long to witness this instead of either working or being at home if not on duty.

I’d agree about the MOT tests it’s a strange one but having previously worked for Go North West, there was constant issues with the defect reporting system and defect actually being cleared, within minutes of being reported.

In all honesty working several operators at various depots since the Bee network launched, it does seem TFGM is insistent on every depot working with minimum spare capacity meaning buses off road for repair or MOT have to be rushed as the depot feels the pinch.
As for things like radios and CCTV, this is managed external contractors who let’s just say are not the best.

Another big gripe of the whistle blowers was the lack of air con or cooling systems, but give it a month or so and us drivers will be moaning the buses are too cold.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Go North West, there was constant issues with the defect reporting system and defect actually being cleared, within minutes of being reported.

Same thing at Go North East, which has the same management. Was a huge hoo-ha in the media last year.

Similar at Arriva Yorkshire about ten years ago. Spot the recurring theme…

 

[Mwanesh]

How do you stand at a Testing facility that long. I dont even have time to wait looking in the yard i just want to be out of the depot.

 

[mayneway]

How do you stand at a Testing facility that long. I dont even have time to wait looking in the yard i just want to be out of the depot.

The story stated a whistle blower made the claims so it could have been an engineer or a fitter etc.