This does remind me of when I was in college taking the 72 bus. During the afternoon school rush, the buses usually got quite crowded as traffic along Lode Lane and the Wheatsheaf interchange gets rammed, causing them to get spaced out quite badly and heavily off timetable. Pretty much, two buses' worth of people at Solihull had to squeeze onto one bus.
Unfortunately, some quite liked to hang around the very front of the bus rather than taking seats on either deck, causing quite a bit of chaos up front. When we got to JLR, the staff coming off shift would get quite upset seeing a bus go past the stop despite seeing plenty of seats upstairs. As much as there are seats upstairs, it would have been extremely difficult to find your way on and off as the standees on the lower deck made it a maze to get through, no matter how many times the poor drivers told people to move back and sit down.
I think at the end of the day, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure the bus is being operated to a safe capacity. If anything happens due to overcrowding well beyond a safe limit, that will likely fall on their shoulders. A bit of common sense is also required. Like some have mentioned, it's probably not the greatest idea to try and push yourself onto an already rammed bus, as well as not being *that person* who stands at the front of a busy bus despite there being plenty of seats elsewhere. I do understand the newer E400EVs have a smaller capacity and the frequency of some services doesn't help, but there is a trade-off in trying to provide a somewhat profitable service whilst also meeting the environment goals set out by the council/TfWM. I'm sure as the battery technology and placement improves, future electric double decks will be able to have a similar floor space as the current diesel counterparts.
Unfortunately, some quite liked to hang around the very front of the bus rather than taking seats on either deck, causing quite a bit of chaos up front. When we got to JLR, the staff coming off shift would get quite upset seeing a bus go past the stop despite seeing plenty of seats upstairs. As much as there are seats upstairs, it would have been extremely difficult to find your way on and off as the standees on the lower deck made it a maze to get through, no matter how many times the poor drivers told people to move back and sit down.
I think at the end of the day, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure the bus is being operated to a safe capacity. If anything happens due to overcrowding well beyond a safe limit, that will likely fall on their shoulders. A bit of common sense is also required. Like some have mentioned, it's probably not the greatest idea to try and push yourself onto an already rammed bus, as well as not being *that person* who stands at the front of a busy bus despite there being plenty of seats elsewhere. I do understand the newer E400EVs have a smaller capacity and the frequency of some services doesn't help, but there is a trade-off in trying to provide a somewhat profitable service whilst also meeting the environment goals set out by the council/TfWM. I'm sure as the battery technology and placement improves, future electric double decks will be able to have a similar floor space as the current diesel counterparts.
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