Or unless "running quite smoothly" meant "closed"
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 6 February 2014 12:58 (ten years ago) link
Really? Had no trouble getting from Seven Sisters-Euston and back yesterday and this morning.
― the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music (stevie), Thursday, 6 February 2014 12:59 (ten years ago) link
You'd have had a spot of bother getting from Seven Sisters to Walthamstow Central
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 6 February 2014 13:00 (ten years ago) link
Technically, I need the other end of the Victoria to be running Euston to Brixton, so I can get a seat on a 59 from the BM to Streatham Hill. It usually empties out at Waterloo but I can't stand that far right now. :(
― "righteous indignation shit" (Branwell Bell), Thursday, 6 February 2014 13:23 (ten years ago) link
Seeing the transport woes my friends in Cornwall/Devon are going through (floods on the Tamar! England cut off!) it feels a bit churlish complaining about standing for 20 minutes on a bus. I have only twice fallen foul on that route and should know better than to complain.
― "righteous indignation shit" (Branwell Bell), Thursday, 6 February 2014 13:28 (ten years ago) link
ah, apologies CP - fell into that typical "my bit's okay so it must all be okay" trap
― the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music (stevie), Thursday, 6 February 2014 14:10 (ten years ago) link
Oh no worries.
I was on my way back from Kent last night that's why I knew. I actually had an OK journey because I knew the Victoria line wasn't running all the way so I got a bus to Liverpool St and got the train, and it was late enough that the commuting rush hour was over.
Luckily (?) I'm signed off work this week so I've avoided the strike so far, but I'm going back in next week so I'll get the next one. Doctor wanted to give me longer off tbh but not sure I can do that in good conscience.
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 6 February 2014 15:01 (ten years ago) link
oxford st to homerton - 55/38 all the way or somehow get to highbury/islington for the overground?
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 6 February 2014 15:49 (ten years ago) link
Wow. Ok I got into town but I've never been on an afternoon 59 so busy. I'm usually the only person on the top deck. Trying not to panic abot getting home; if the busses are bad I'll go sit somewhere for 2 hours & get the train from St Pancras. I can do this!
― "righteous indignation shit" (Branwell Bell), Thursday, 6 February 2014 15:53 (ten years ago) link
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/1546337_10151975184708940_1204043768_n.jpg
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 15:54 (ten years ago) link
right wing memes.jpg
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 6 February 2014 15:57 (ten years ago) link
I was hoping it was true tbh
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 15:57 (ten years ago) link
There are a bunch of those floating around, all made with a handwriting-style font and all written in fluent Thatcherbaby.
― baked beings on toast (suzy), Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:01 (ten years ago) link
i have a seat on the 55. boarded at oxford st.
back of the net much??
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:08 (ten years ago) link
I am about to brave the buses in the Oxford St area (Marble Arch to be precise) - FACommute?
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:13 (ten years ago) link
First though imma stand by the hot food racks in Sainsbury's a while longer trying to make it seem like I want their chicken wraps and not their thermal currents
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:16 (ten years ago) link
Got a seat, back top of a 436. Gonna follow right thru to Lewisham. I have my headphones and a drink, and shall presently abstract myself into a bliss of temporal remove...
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:37 (ten years ago) link
I support the cause but sure as hell don't support the method, although I haven't felt like I can say that out loud to people I work with or whatever. In several of the big American cities I have lived in and others (NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc.) transport strikes are illegal, with one big reason being there's a feeling that these services need to protect the safety and livelihood of vulnerable citizens.
And after spending the day yesterday in a hospital for an emergency visit (that cost me nearly £75 to get to in car park traffic - I'm fortunate that I could pay that), and then hearing a bunch of ultra-depressing stories about cancer-patient carers unable to get to their charges, and patient-carrying ambulances being stuck in midday gridlock - fuck the TfL strikers. There's got to be a better way to go about this.
It's a funny thing with a strike like this - ideally the thing would be designed to kind of engender support for the beat-down drivers going up against the establishment, but it doesn't feel like that. They're already not a group people feel warm towards, and now they're fucking up a lot for people who really, really count on them.
― Walter Galt, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:39 (ten years ago) link
What do you suggest they do then?
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:41 (ten years ago) link
Strike line by line until their demands are met, starting with the Bakerloo and getting progressively more extreme
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:43 (ten years ago) link
In several of the big American cities I have lived in and others (NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc.) transport strikes are illegal, with one big reason being there's a feeling that these services need to protect the safety and livelihood of vulnerable citizens.
... which is why they need to protect these services, hence the strike
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:43 (ten years ago) link
Start deliberately crashing trains
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:44 (ten years ago) link
Sing incessantly through the train intercom
Still about halfway down Park Lane btw :D
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:45 (ten years ago) link
Stop each train with the rear carriage entirely outside the station, later up this to rear two carriages
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:46 (ten years ago) link
Open the doors on the wrong side
Slam on emergency breaks at high speed to get some mean wheelskid, y'know, proper sparks bro
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:48 (ten years ago) link
Start referring to brakes as 'breaks'
Open driver's window and high-five commuters at exceptionally low speeds along entire length of incoming platform
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:50 (ten years ago) link
Fully support all strikes everywhere without question imo.
― oppet, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:51 (ten years ago) link
Stop the train, walk back along entire train with clipboard asking commuters to fill in a customer survey, walk back, move train 100 yards on, go back and collect surveys
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:52 (ten years ago) link
They're already not a group people feel warm towards
speak for yourself; the staff at Seven Sisters tube often have to deal with shitty commuters and have always done so, as far as I've witnessed, with patience and aplomb, and I don't think they deserve to lose their jobs. And I'm sympathetic to the blow-back from the strikes, but these people are striking not just to save their jobs, but to maintain the safety of the service they provide. They are being massively fucked over. It shouldn't be allowed. And you're right, it's likely that people are going to place their own inconvenience as being more important than the right and wrong in this case, but I don't really see what else they can do.
― the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music (stevie), Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:54 (ten years ago) link
They could just stand aside and let Boris et al run rampant, see how that works out for London's vulnerable citizens
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:55 (ten years ago) link
Open the doors on the wrong side― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 17:46 (7 minutes ago) Permalink
ironically this has once led to a strike
― ^ 諷刺 (ken c), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:10 (ten years ago) link
... now if this had been referring to bus drivers I don't think there would be too many quibbles
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:11 (ten years ago) link
yeah the tube provides an incredible service, wtf
'national' rail otoh
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:13 (ten years ago) link
bus drivers actually had a difficult job though, unlike, a tube driver (aside from obviously having to take time to open the door on the correct side)
― ^ 諷刺 (ken c), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:13 (ten years ago) link
#blameboris all the way. Everyone should support ticket offices remaining open, there's no way their closure can be justified for so many reasons.
tell you what's not needed tho, bus drivers doing their "this bus terminates here" nonsense even more than usual
― lex pretend, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:14 (ten years ago) link
is it the driver who determines 'this bus terminates here'?
― ^ 諷刺 (ken c), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:15 (ten years ago) link
Bus drivers could simplify the difficult aspects of their jobs by not being combative and rude to passengers.
I cannot imagine Holborn station without a working ticket office. It would be chaos, with extra added gormless tourists.
― baked beings on toast (suzy), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:15 (ten years ago) link
I don't beef with bus drivers yeah coz it's pretty astoundingly difficult. The manoeuvres the 380 drivers must perform on the narrow backstreets of Charlton, especially if two meet each other in opposite directions, often have me in awe
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:16 (ten years ago) link
i don't see why whoever decides about early terminations can't make an educated guess based on traffic and err on the side of caution when stating the destination in the first place. it's the surprise factor that's most rage-inducing
― lex pretend, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:17 (ten years ago) link
It's enraging to get on a bus using the last £1.50 on one's Oyster, only to have it terminate two miles before the indicator initially said it would.
― baked beings on toast (suzy), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:19 (ten years ago) link
> is it the driver who determines 'this bus terminates here'?
i think it's a shift thing, when they reach the end of their hours they can't carry passengers (but can drive back to the depot in the bus). i once had one driver who terminated the bus ONE STOP after i got on. why didn't he say anything?
― koogs, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:20 (ten years ago) link
Got to Vauxhall btw. Really shd have just gotten the train from CHX, this was a nice idea but slower than walking pace. If it was summer I would have walked home tbf
If buses terminate early u can request a transferable ticket, u do realise this right
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:20 (ten years ago) link
Also that shift thing is str8 ludicrous. Finish the route you're on and request overtime pay, a child of 6 could work that out
― imago, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:21 (ten years ago) link
this works really well when you have a packed bus asking one driver for transferable tickets, everyone is in a rush and the next bus is packed as well
― lex pretend, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:21 (ten years ago) link
Bus drivers could simplify the difficult aspects of their jobs by not being combative and rude to passengers.― baked beings on toast (suzy), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:15 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
does the rude driver come first or the cunty passengers or both. most drivers whom i encounter are okay.
― ^ 諷刺 (ken c), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:22 (ten years ago) link
so if they know their hours they must surely be able to make an educated guess as to whether they'll be able to complete their route and if not CHANGE THE INDICATOR so as not to mislead people
or what imago says
― lex pretend, Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:22 (ten years ago) link
I usually just walk on the bus and if the driver asks I say I paid on the last bus i'm not paying again, they don't usually say anything anyway
― Eats like Elvis, shits like De Niro (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 February 2014 18:23 (ten years ago) link