Should bus operators being using buses to show support for the NHS?

[RustySpoons]

Mod Note: Posts #1 - #33 originally in this thread.

It seems that last night Transdev sent buses around various hospitals across their network along with someone to film them beeping their horns and flashing their lights as they show respect to the care workers.

Fair enough, show your respects, but the fact they're sending empty buses out just to film themselves doing it and sharing it just seems to be completely unnecessary and pushing the self promotion just a bit too far.

 

[Alexbus12]

Fair enough, show your respects, but the fact they're sending empty buses out just to film themselves doing it and sharing it just seems to be completely unnecessary and pushing the self promotion just a bit too far.

I agree. It was all very dramatic and unnecessary. Why couldn't they have just clapped, at the depot, like most operators.

 

[darloscott]

It seems that last night Transdev sent buses around various hospitals across their network along with someone to film them beeping their horns and flashing their lights as they show respect to the care workers.

Fair enough, show your respects, but the fact they're sending empty buses out just to film themselves doing it and sharing it just seems to be completely unnecessary and pushing the self promotion just a bit too far.

Let's not forget the fact that Arriva, Stagecoach and others have done the same thing week after week and using it as a PR opportunity

 

[RustySpoons]

Let's not forget the fact that Arriva, Stagecoach and others have done the same thing week after week and using it as a PR opportunity

If the bus is in service and showing their respects, fair enough. For any company to send vehicles out for the sole reason of filming so they can try and prove to everyone how much they care isn't the right way to do it.

Regardless of the company it's unnecessary.

 

[Alexbus12]

Let's not forget the fact that Arriva, Stagecoach and others have done the same thing week after week and using it as a PR opportunity

I must have missed the videos of other companies using buses beeping their horns and sounding emergency alarms as they drove past hospitals, could you link me some please? Thanks in advance.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

If the bus is in service and showing their respects, fair enough. For any company to send vehicles out for the sole reason of filming so they can try and prove to everyone how much they care isn't the right way to do it.

Regardless of the company it's unnecessary.

I must have missed the videos of other companies using buses beeping their horns and sounding emergency alarms as they drove past hospitals, could you link me some please? Thanks in advance.

Sadly, the NHS are good but can’t cure the ills of certain folk

Here’s an Arriva one

 

[Stan Drews]

I must have missed the videos of other companies using buses beeping their horns and sounding emergency alarms as they drove past hospitals, could you link me some please? Thanks in advance.

Just have a look on Twitter any Thursday evening. There are lots of videos/pics of operators up and down the country taking part in #clapforcarers type events. Some static, some mobile, some loud, some not. They all seem to try and vary what they do from week to week, and Transdev have certainly been little different from many others.
Here’s a couple of tweets from last night. Just pics, so not sure how noisy they were?

Chris Dodd on Twitter

“Out showing our support for the #NHS with our friends from @StagecoachSouth @FirstPortsmouth + Portsmouth city coaches. @c_ashcroft404 @Tommoore2019 @thorpey2k6 #clapforkeyworkers”

twitter.com

Tom Moore on Twitter

“Part 1/2 So Tonight I was honoured to Help with #ClapForTheNHS We took our Van 994 and Star Bus 67263 to Q.A Hospital to show Our Respect - Key Workers Supporting Key Workers #clapforkeyworkers”

twitter.com

 

[Alexbus12]

Sadly, the NHS are good but can’t cure the ills of certain folk

Here’s an Arriva one

So the first clip shows buses at a depot, which is what I said transdev should have done, the second part shows bus drivers clapping, no horns, no emergency alarms, and the buses are stationary..

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

sending empty buses out just to film themselves doing it and sharing it just seems to be completely unnecessary

It was all very dramatic and unnecessary.

None of it is necessary. It's not necessary for people to stand on their doorsteps hitting a pan with a wooden spoon, stick your child's hand drawn rainbow in your front window, stick supportive stickers on trains or police cars to sound sirens..... or any of the other "Love the NHS"

None of it is necessary but it's a good thing to do and good publicity for a range of businesses to show their support in whichever way which is exactly what a number of bus companies have done.

Just have a look on Twitter any Thursday evening. There are lots of videos/pics of operators up and down the country taking part in #clapforcarers type events. Some static, some mobile, some loud, some not. They all seem to try and vary what they do from week to week, and Transdev have certainly been little different from many others.
Here’s a couple of tweets from last night. Just pics, so not sure how noisy they were?

Chris Dodd on Twitter

“Out showing our support for the #NHS with our friends from @StagecoachSouth @FirstPortsmouth + Portsmouth city coaches. @c_ashcroft404 @Tommoore2019 @thorpey2k6 #clapforkeyworkers”

twitter.com

Tom Moore on Twitter

“Part 1/2 So Tonight I was honoured to Help with #ClapForTheNHS We took our Van 994 and Star Bus 67263 to Q.A Hospital to show Our Respect - Key Workers Supporting Key Workers #clapforkeyworkers”

twitter.com

 

[Alexbus12]

Just have a look on Twitter any Thursday evening. There are lots of videos/pics of operators up and down the country taking part in #clapforcarers type events. Some static, some mobile, some loud, some not. They all seem to try and vary what they do from week to week, and Transdev have certainly been little different from many others.
Here’s a couple of tweets from last night. Just pics, so not sure how noisy they were?

Chris Dodd on Twitter

“Out showing our support for the #NHS with our friends from @StagecoachSouth @FirstPortsmouth + Portsmouth city coaches. @c_ashcroft404 @Tommoore2019 @thorpey2k6 #clapforkeyworkers”

twitter.com

Tom Moore on Twitter

“Part 1/2 So Tonight I was honoured to Help with #ClapForTheNHS We took our Van 994 and Star Bus 67263 to Q.A Hospital to show Our Respect - Key Workers Supporting Key Workers #clapforkeyworkers”

twitter.com

Doesn't look like they were blasting their horns, or putting on the emergency alarm. I have no problem with buses being stationary, but the unnecessary alarms etc are just ridiculous

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

So the first clip shows buses at a depot, which is what I said transdev should have done, the second part shows bus drivers clapping, no horns, no emergency alarms, and the buses are stationary..

Yes, but clearly the opening shot shows them leaving the depot rather against the view of

If the bus is in service and showing their respects, fair enough. For any company to send vehicles out for the sole reason of filming so they can try and prove to everyone how much they care isn't the right way to do it.

There are plenty of examples of police sounding sirens in support, like this 10 seconds in.

 

[darloscott]

Doesn't look like they were blasting their horns, or putting on the emergency alarm. I have no problem with buses being stationary, but the unnecessary alarms etc are just ridiculous

So we’ve moved from leaving the depot entirely to just being against moving and/or horns being sounded now?

Stagecoach South Wales on Twitter

“Here’s our Merthyr Tydfil drivers in procession outside Prince Charles Hospital this evening @CwmTafMorgannwg thanking all of the NHS, carers, key workers, everyone staying at home to protect others & of course a happy 100th birthday to @captaintommoore https://t.co/QA8XJTEiw7”

twitter.com

Video shows Stagecoach South Wales with a moving procession to their local hospital showing their support

 

[Stan Drews]

Doesn't look like they were blasting their horns, or putting on the emergency alarm. I have no problem with buses being stationary, but the unnecessary alarms etc are just ridiculous

Here’s another shower of noisy so and so’s, but thankfully the magic fairies placed them all there, so no unnecessary journeys were required to get to the location!

Hovertravelltd on Twitter

“Tonight, we say thank you to, and clap with @SouthernVectis , @stjohnambulance , @BembridgeRNLI @IslandRoads and @sonuscharity #clapforcarers #criticalcommunityservice #stayhomesavelives https://t.co/EFVynpF9VM”

twitter.com

 

[Stan Drews]

Look away now!

Cool FM on Twitter

“Translink drivers organise a huge convoy of buses outside Daisy Hill Hospital to show their appreciation to all our NHS staff Christopher Woods https://t.co/1VgDp65E3k”

twitter.com

 

[Alexbus12]

So we’ve moved from leaving the depot entirely to just being against moving and/or horns being sounded now?

Stagecoach South Wales on Twitter

“Here’s our Merthyr Tydfil drivers in procession outside Prince Charles Hospital this evening @CwmTafMorgannwg thanking all of the NHS, carers, key workers, everyone staying at home to protect others & of course a happy 100th birthday to @captaintommoore https://t.co/QA8XJTEiw7”

twitter.com

Video shows Stagecoach South Wales with a moving procession to their local hospital showing their support

I couldn't care if an operator sends the full fleet past a hospital, but the horns and emergency alarms are ridiculous.

 

[Alexbus12]

Here’s another shower of noisy so and so’s, but thankfully the magic fairies placed them all there, so no unnecessary journeys were required to get to the location!

Hovertravelltd on Twitter

“Tonight, we say thank you to, and clap with @SouthernVectis , @stjohnambulance , @BembridgeRNLI @IslandRoads and @sonuscharity #clapforcarers #criticalcommunityservice #stayhomesavelives https://t.co/EFVynpF9VM”

twitter.com

Look away now!

Cool FM on Twitter

“Translink drivers organise a huge convoy of buses outside Daisy Hill Hospital to show their appreciation to all our NHS staff Christopher Woods https://t.co/1VgDp65E3k”

twitter.com

Again, what they've done is completely unnecessary and in my opinion, ridiculous. There's no need to be sounding horns.

 

[Stan Drews]

Again, what they've done is completely unnecessary and in my opinion, ridiculous. There's no need to be sounding horns.

I‘m just glad that we were able to find the videos that you’d requested. However, if you use Twitter and/or Facebook, it’s probably best that you stay off it on a Thursday evening to avoid getting yourself upset.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Again, what they've done is completely unnecessary and in my opinion, ridiculous. There's no need to be sounding horns.

You originally said

Why couldn't they have just clapped, at the depot, like most operators.

I must have missed the videos of other companies using buses beeping their horns and sounding emergency alarms as they drove past hospitals, could you link me some please? Thanks in advance.

What you tried to do initially was to suggest that Transdev were doing something out of the ordinary. Clearly, it is something that is actually commonplace, and now you're changing tack.

 

[Alexbus12]

What you tried to do initially was to suggest that Transdev were doing something out of the ordinary. Clearly, it is something that is actually commonplace, and now you're changing tack.

It is out of the ordinary, especially sounding emergency alarms outside hospitals. Thankfully operators around my area have common sense and don't do that, but instead show their appreciation at the depots.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It is out of the ordinary, especially sounding emergency alarms outside hospitals. Thankfully operators around my area have common sense and don't do that, but instead show their appreciation at the depots.

It's not exceptional - you asked for videos of other operators (and gave thanks in advance) and you got them

 

[Alexbus12]

It's not exceptional - you asked for videos of other operators (and gave thanks in advance) and you got them

Well.. I asked for videos of buses sounding their horns outside hospitals, and of all the videos that got sent, only one had buses sounding their horns outside a hospital.. So yeah, it's still pretty out of the ordinary. Enjoy you day

 

[darloscott]

It's not exceptional - you asked for videos of other operators (and gave thanks in advance) and you got them

It's purely an attack at Transdev and little else, Stagecoach round here (Teesside) have been going to a separate supermarket every week to show their appreciation for all key workers, and certainly plenty of horns in use there too.

 

[Alexbus12]

It's purely an attack at Transdev and little else, Stagecoach round here (Teesside) have been going to a separate supermarket every week to show their appreciation for all key workers, and certainly plenty of horns in use there too.

It absolutely was criticism of Transdev, because this is a transdev thread. But I think it is ridiculous for any operator to send buses driving past hospitals sounding horns and letting off the emergency alarms.

 

[RustySpoons]

Perhaps it's just an unfortunate side effect of modern society, where everything needs to be broadcast so people can get validation for how brilliant they are. Then it's a snowball effect as everyone tries to outdo one another. In my local area the Thursday clap has just turned into a game of one-upmanship between streets now. It's gone from clapping for key workers to 'next week we'll make more noise than the next street because I'm going to play an electric guitar on the street and number 15 are going to set up a drum kit'. But that's another topic...

I've nothing against Transdev showing their support, the B7 they've liveried up in Harrogate is a brilliant touch (I believe each depot is going to have similar), the 'Thank you NHS' destinations is a subtle but appreciative gesture and I don't think anyone can deny the way they've kept the wheels turning during the whole lockdown is anything other than fantastic.

As I've said previously, if the bus is in service and they want to pull over at 8pm on a Thursday to clap and beep their horns, fair enough. In fact there was a video floating round from a member of the public featuring a Preston Bus Solo doing just that a week or two ago.

There really isn't any need for them (or any company) to send buses up to hospitals to beep their horns just so they can score a few points on social media.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It absolutely was criticism of Transdev, because this is a transdev thread. But I think it is ridiculous for any operator to send buses driving past hospitals sounding horns and letting off the emergency alarms.

You criticised Transdev on the basis that you hadn't seen anyone else doing it.

I must have missed the videos of other companies using buses beeping their horns and sounding emergency alarms as they drove past hospitals, could you link me some please? Thanks in advance.

Clearly, you were wrong.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

As I've said previously, if the bus is in service and they want to pull over at 8pm on a Thursday to clap and beep their horns, fair enough. In fact there was a video floating round from a member of the public featuring a Preston Bus Solo doing just that a week or two ago.

There really isn't any need for them (or any company) to send buses up to hospitals to beep their horns just so they can score a few points on social media.

I guess the question is why you felt the need to single out one operator?

 

[Alexbus12]

You criticised Transdev on the basis that you hadn't seen anyone else doing it.

Indeed, and that this is the transdev thread... Plus, since then theres been only one other video posted on here of an operator sending buses past a hospital sounding the horn. The rest have been considerate and haven't needed to be loud outside a hospital, or have done it away from hospitals.

 

[RustySpoons]

I guess the question is why you felt the need to single out one operator?

Because they're the only operator in my area.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Because they're the only operator in my area.

...yet ignoring the earlier example of Preston Bus. Interesting

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Indeed, and that this is the transdev thread... Plus, since then theres been only one other video posted on here of an operator sending buses past a hospital sounding the horn. The rest have been considerate and haven't needed to be loud outside a hospital, or have done it away from hospitals.

And when it was highlighted that they were one of many operators, then you changed the nature of your objections.

Transdev have done nothing wrong, nothing different to many other operators and indeed, sounding of sirens by the police is commonplace etc. Best stop there, I think