A big THANK YOU to Bus Drivers

Andrew42

paddyland wrote: »

When someone actually suggests that two hundred buses in Donnybrook Garage all have their engines left running all night, using two hundred tanks of fuel, in order that they might be a degree warmer the next morning (and a degree is all it would be), you do have to wonder if there is an argument for genetic selection! A small number of contributors here really turn up some tulips, on an all too frequent basis. It's a pity, because it really dumbs down what might otherwise be a constructive and educational debate.

I hope you don't think I was suggesting they should be left running all night? I was pointing out some of the arguments against it!:rolleyes:

Cookie_Monster

maybe if Dublin had a proper 24hr bus service some of those buses would be nice and warm in the morning

paddyland

Andrew42 wrote: »

I hope you don't think I was suggesting they should be left running all night? I was pointing out some of the arguments against it!:rolleyes:

Haha, no, don't worry, I think we all know who we are pointing at here...

paddyland

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

maybe if Dublin had a proper 24hr bus service some of those buses would be nice and warm in the morning

Wouldn't make the slightest difference. It would save the driver scraping the ice off the windscreen at 6am, that's all.

Which prompts me of another stupid suggestion posted here earlier, by somebody, that Donnybrook Garage invest in two hundred fan heaters (or four hundred if you want to do upstairs too!), two hundred mains leads, two hundred extension leads up to quarter of a kilometer long each, and two hundred mains sockets, and someone to go along every night, unravel fifty kilometres of cabling, place fan heaters in every bus, plug them in, switch them on, then switch them off and unplug them again, before recoiling fifty kilometres of mains cables and storing it all away.

Er, right, so...

-Chris-

paddyland wrote: »

Haha, no, don't worry, I think we all know who we are pointing at here...

Yes we do, and I'd like people to stop taking tongue-in-cheek swipes at other posters.

Attack the post, not the poster.

Cookie_Monster

paddyland wrote: »

Wouldn't make the slightest difference. It would save the driver scraping the ice off the windscreen at 6am, that's all.

it's ok, was just a bit of humour.i know its frowned upon by many posters in C&T but anyway...

Vic_08

Andrew42 wrote: »

Or even just starting them an hour early in the morning might raise a few issues with local residents? (i'm thinking Clontarf depot, Summerhill etc)
My car burns .7ltr of diesel per hour at idle, what would a bus burn? multiply that by a couple of hundred buses (a thousand buses?) and Dublin Bus' fuel bill would inevitably rise and either fares go up or the state subsidy goes up? Lets not even think about the eco side of it either.

And even with all that there is one other big problem, they do not generate enough heat at idle to warm a small car let alone a double deck bus. Even after sustained high rev running the demister blowers will turn cold after 5 minutes idling as the engine temp drops.

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

maybe if Dublin had a proper 24hr bus service some of those buses would be nice and warm in the morning

The early morning commuters could all huddle in a circle warming their hands on the steam rising from the piles of puke.

paddyland wrote: »

Wouldn't make the slightest difference. It would save the driver scraping the ice off the windscreen at 6am, that's all.

Which prompts me of another stupid suggestion posted here earlier, by somebody, that Donnybrook Garage invest in two hundred fan heaters (or four hundred if you want to do upstairs too!), two hundred mains leads, two hundred extension leads up to quarter of a kilometer long each, and two hundred mains sockets, and someone to go along every night, unravel fifty kilometres of cabling, place fan heaters in every bus, plug them in, switch them on, then switch them off and unplug them again, before recoiling fifty kilometres of mains cables and storing it all away.

Er, right, so...

And depressingly it would struggle to make it into the top 10 stupid suggestions posted here this year.

If anybody seriously thinks they are sitting on a cold bus on a freezing morning because the driver has forgotten to turn on the heater they ought to consider that we are on the bus at least 30 minutes before them and will be on it for hours after they have departed.

There is a relatively simple solution, a pre-heater. some of our coaches have them installed but I have never seen them on city buses. They burn a small amount of diesel to heat and circulate the coolant and would usually be set on a timer. Also has the advantage of warming the engine so it isn't starting cold which reduced wear.

n97 mini

Leaving an engine running long enough to warm up (thermostat opens) increases efficiency.

Driving straight out into cold air may not allow the engine to come up to full heat.

Therefore I would not necessarily think an hour of running to pre-heat the engine is going to result in a loss of overall efficiency. It certainly needs to be investigated.

However if the bus in not comfortable it is squarely the bus company's fault, either though buying buses with inadequate heating, lack of foresight, lack of maintenance, lack of leadership, etc.

It is not unreasonable for the passengers to expect a minimum level of comfort.

-Chris-

Can we please move this thread back to the spirit in which it was intended?

Bus drivers are doing a hard job in hard conditions. If someone wants to praise them, then fine.

Discussions of the technical reasons (or allegations of general negligence) for the warmth of particular cabins in particular buses etc. etc. can be done in a different thread.

Thanks.

meanmachine3

i'd like to say a big thanks to the o.p. for this thread. most people tend to give out and gripe alot about bus drivers and it's extremely rare for a thread like this.
on behalf of bus drivers i'd like to extend my appreciation and thanks to the o.p.

BenShermin

Everyday that I've been in work at 7am during the cold snap I've made it to work on-time. So fair play to DB.

I have to add that I honestly actually love the sound of the windscreen wipers that have been refered to:D.

spareman

meanmachine3 wrote: »

i'd like to say a big thanks to the o.p. for this thread. most people tend to give out and gripe alot about bus drivers and it's extremely rare for a thread like this.
on behalf of bus drivers i'd like to extend my appreciation and thanks to the o.p.

Here here... Kudo's to the op, Nice to feel apreciated once in a while, especially on c+t forum, Not very often it happens here.

I used to spend alot of time here answering questions and generally trying to help/explain certain things from the other side of the security screen but it just got too much for me, The stress of coming home from a tough day in the Cab and coming on here and arguing my point with mostly anti CIE/Union posters with tunnel vision, just wasn't working out for me. Now I mostly just lurk in the shadows and leave it to em.

Corruptedmorals

Fair play to the driver that got stuck and eventually managed to pull away from that horrible stop at the spa hotel, lucan. Took a whileand the bus sounded like it was about to explode but got home in the end:) Some of the stops on hills like that the bus would really be better off stopping in the road until they're cleared.

Gardoggle

Tarabuses wrote: »

Let me also thank the driver of a number 11 bus on Thursday evening who brought a lot of us to Clonskeagh/Goatstown/Kilmacud after the Luas stopped operating. A few times I thought he wouldn't be able to pull away from stops but he persevered each time to applause from the passengers.

jaysus, did he actually get out and physically push the bus? applause?!!

are you one of those people who wave at all the buses, TaraBUSES?!!!

-Chris-

Gardoggle wrote: »

jaysus, did he actually get out and physically push the bus? applause?!!

are you one of those people who wave at all the buses, TaraBUSES?!!!

Post constructively or don't post at all please.

dfx-

*bump*

And again, I set out today into town at 2pm, expecting travel chaos, considering 3 inches of snow lying around. I was surprised to see the buses still running at 5pm tbh.

Got the last 51C home with 7 people on it, expertly driven. No increase in journey time, no traffic, not a soul around, not even snowball throwers...kudos to drivers..

Larianne

My friend is a DB driver and he comes home absolutely wrecked from snow days like these.

Fair play to them all I say!!

Paddy_Smith

All I can say is fair play to them.

Very brave, and especially for staying mentally strong and consistent throughout.

So fair play to them.

ArmaniJeanss

Bypassed a lot of the mad traffic by getting the train from Pearse to Castleknock and was jammy enough then when I got out of Castleknock station at 7.40pm to find a 38 pulling into the stop.

This was effectively a private taxi to Mulhuddart for me as after 1 more stop I was the only person on the bus - talking to the driver it seems everyone had got out and walked as he'd set off from Baggot Street at 4.15, from O'Connell St at 5.00 and was now in Castleknock at 7.40.

If you read this then I hope you enjoyed those snow beers which you said the thought of was the one thing keeping you going.

jenizzle

Also another big thank you to the number 4 drivers! I got one to Blackrock at around 4pm and bailed after he announced that he didn't know how long it would take to get up Temple Hill. He did a sterling job getting us that far - there's nothing worse than being on a bus you can feel sliding along! The rest of the 4/45 drivers have been the same, so fair play to them all... but...

Bit weary of the 4 I got in yesterday morning though - the driver was speeding, skidding everywhere, going through red lights unnecessarily, overtaking and beeping at people driving slowly in his path. That didn't feel safe at all and I was in shock when the person in front of me thanked him on his fantastic driving skills :eek: