Thanking the driver

[acommuter]

How would one go about thanking a driver?

The cab is usually behind the "Passengers must not pass this point" flappy gate thing, and a wave & thumbs up to an OPO camera may go unnoticed (and would look pretty weird to other passengers).

Is there an on-the-spot way of doing so, or is there some sort of email or form I could fill in later, and the thanks would be given on my behalf (and if so, do they actually work or do the emails just sit in an inbox gathering dust)?

 

[bramling]

How would one go about thanking a driver?

The cab is usually behind the "Passengers must not pass this point" flappy gate thing, and a wave & thumbs up to an OPO camera may go unnoticed (and would look pretty weird to other passengers).

Is there an on-the-spot way of doing so, or is there some sort of email or form I could fill in later, and the thanks would be given on my behalf (and if so, do they actually work or do the emails just sit in an inbox gathering dust)?

The best way is to wait til the terminus and catch them whilst changing ends, although on some lines anything more than a couple of words might not be too welcome simply because turnaround times are sometimes very short.

You could contact customer services and quote the train number and time, although whether the thanks actually get back to the driver is a bit of a lottery.

 

[Bucephalus]

The best way is to wait til the terminus and catch them whilst changing ends......
.

Whilst shirtless and say "hey big boy, you sure know how to handle a 72 stock. Wanna come round mine for some erm pre-83 Jubilee celebrations? Nope?"

Sorry, in all seriousness if the isn't an official way of thanking the driver, there should be. I suppose the OP could write to the depot

 

[acommuter]

The best way is to wait til the terminus and catch them whilst changing ends, although on some lines anything more than a couple of words might not be too welcome simply because turnaround times are sometimes very short.

You could contact customer services and quote the train number and time, although whether the thanks actually get back to the driver is a bit of a lottery.

Ah, I see. Thanks!

 

[Bletchleyite]

If you just mean a bus-driver-style thanks, I sometimes wave towards the DOO cameras/mirrors in the hope they might see it. Same on a London bus where you don't pass the driver when getting off.

 

[philthetube]

a wave is appreciated and, especially if a driver has re-opened to allow you to board will certainly be noticed.

 

[Tube driver]

Yeah, I like a wave if I've reopened the doors for someone. Doesn't take much to make a grumpy t/op a little happier in their work.

Sometimes people say thanks when I leave my cab to change ends and it still takes me by surprise a little bit as it doesn't happen that often! It's rare that I can't spend a few seconds to respond to someone even though I may only have 4 minutes and sometimes less to change ends.

 

[700007]

Particularly on the Bakerloo line who seem to have the friendliest drivers, a wave or thumbs up cheers them up. I have had a few toot their whistles for me as a happy response.

If you are a Bakerloo line driver in particular, you guys truly are amazing. Best drivers on the tube.

 

[Bucephalus]

Particularly on the Bakerloo line who seem to have the friendliest drivers, a wave or thumbs up cheers them up. I have had a few toot their whistles for me as a happy response.

If you are a Bakerloo line driver in particular, you guys truly are amazing. Best drivers on the tube.

The bakerloo is turning into a pretty cool line. It's now by far the oldest in terms of rolling stock, I'd be happy if I was one of its drivers. It also shocks me to find a tube line that never gets more frequent than ten minutes but that's another matter

 

[bramling]

The bakerloo is turning into a pretty cool line. It's now by far the oldest in terms of rolling stock, I'd be happy if I was one of its drivers. It also shocks me to find a tube line that never gets more frequent than ten minutes but that's another matter

One thing I’d say about the Bakerloo is their drivers are generally pretty hot on their rolling stock knowledge, which across LU is an area in decline. They kind of have to be with the 72 stock, as whilst their reliability is still fairly good considering the age of the train, they are complicated trains. A lot of equipment has been modified or added over the years as safety systems have been added or modified, often bolted on to existing circuits in crude ways. Greatest respect to these guys for keeping these trains running smoothly on a daily basis.

The 72 stock on the Northern Line always had a reputation for being “interesting” to drive. The general feeling was that the older 59 stock was preferable as whilst things like braking varied massively from one train to another, they were at least consistently good or bad. The
72 stock was infamous for being totally inconsistent and unpredictable from one station to the next. I don’t think they’re as bad on the Bakerloo, the Northern’s were certainly being run down towards the end, however they’re undoubtedly far more interesting to drive than a modern train.

 

[bluegoblin7]

It also shocks me to find a tube line that never gets more frequent than ten minutes but that's another matter

The 'core' Bakerloo headway, QPK-ELE, is ~3 minutes off peak, so I'm not sure what you mean by this. The C&H is less, at 10 minutes (5 minutes combined, admittedly, but still less) throughout. North of Queen's Park it's a ~10 minute headway, supplemented with an Overground every 20.

Amersham and Chesham are every 30 minutes off peak, and Watford is every 15. Even Uxbridge is every ~7.5, and of course all of these combine in the 'core' (Harrow-Baker) to make a directly comparable train every ~3.5 minutes, increasing to every ~2 through the City once combined with the C&H,

The frequency is nothing out of the ordinary on the Bakerloo.

 

[Bucephalus]

The 'core' Bakerloo headway, QPK-ELE, is ~3 minutes off peak, so I'm not sure what you mean by this. The C&H is less, at 10 minutes (5 minutes combined, admittedly, but still less) throughout. North of Queen's Park it's a ~10 minute headway, supplemented with an Overground every 20.

Amersham and Chesham are every 30 minutes off peak, and Watford is every 15. Even Uxbridge is every ~7.5, and of course all of these combine in the 'core' (Harrow-Baker) to make a directly comparable train every ~3.5 minutes, increasing to every ~2 through the City once combined with the C&H,

The frequency is nothing out of the ordinary on the Bakerloo.

Sorry. My bad, I must have clicked on one of the outer north west stations on Google maps and assumed it was the full frequency. It also didn't occur to me to consider non-tube lines as part of the service despite the track and platform sharing!