General Question

[OH25]

I have a friend who worked for a bus company and he was telling me that they used to do really early morning starts on the first few days of the week and then really late finishes a couple days after, which used to happen to him weekly.

Is that allowed to be done?

One example he told me was that on the Friday he started at 4:55am until like 2pm
but on the Saturday he started at 6:35pm until 2:15am

After hearing this ... surely that can't be right especially for his sleeping pattern and concentration for driving the bus?

[Tony]

I have a friend who worked for a bus company and he was telling me that they used to do really early morning starts on the first few days of the week and then really late finishes a couple days after, which used to happen to him weekly.

Is that allowed to be done?

One example he told me was that on the Friday he started at 4:55am until like 2pm
but on the Saturday he started at 6:35pm until 2:15am

After hearing this ... surely that can't be right especially for his sleeping pattern and concentration for driving the bus?

Perfectly legal, but not good

[OH25]

Perfectly legal, but not good

not good for him or for the bus company doing it to him?

[Crosville]

Isn't it minimum 12 hours rest between shifts?

.

[Tony]

Isn't it minimum 12 hours rest between shifts?

.

No, 8.5 on domestic hours. The pattern queried isn't a problem between shifts

[Crosville]

I'm surprised it's that low, as i thought it was 12 hours, including time to sleep.

I'd have thought the biggest problem would be going from finishing the late shift, then doing an early shift next up

[Westy]

Not bus related, but my sister has to do shifts where she works. (Office bound for one of the 3 emergency services!)

How she copes with those, god knows.

From memory, 9 till 5, 10 till 6, 2 till 11 & overnights 10 till 7, obviously with the rest days inbetween.

I've done 6am onwards very occasionally.

Last time was a Saturday morning over Great Bridge.

Very surreal waiting for a 11 at half five in the morning & seeing the likes of Samras in Walsall still busy!

[MW]

I'm surprised it's that low, as i thought it was 12 hours, including time to sleep.

I'd have thought the biggest problem would be going from finishing the late shift, then doing an early shift next up

There's plenty of drivers working what I consider, immoral duties/weeks where they'll have a ridiculously low rest period. If it takes you an hour to commute, that's reducing "rest" to 7.5 hours. You might then eat, relax, unwind and take a shower. Easily 2-3 hours can go by. Leaves you with how much sleep? Work it out. Is it safe to be in charge of a bus for 8-10 hours the following day?

I've refused plenty of duties for various operators. I'm always challenged with "it's not illegal." I reply, "it's not moral." Usually when I get my weeks printout, I would point it out and give them plenty of notice that I won't be working those hours. Once you kick up a fuss, most operators will avoid giving you stupid duties/short rest periods. They'll still get thrown onto those drivers who don't kick up a fuss though.

It's the same story with buses without heating. If you don't kick up a fuss, they'll keep giving you cold buses and the warm ones will go to those drivers who actually speak up about it. Not many drivers actually refuse to drive. I would often call the traffic office before leaving my house just to remind them, I will refuse a bus with no heating. After a while I was never given buses without heating.

Operators priority is do whatever it takes to complete all mileage. It's rare to find operators who actually give a damn about anything outside what is legal and what is not legal, and even then the lines are often blurred...

[mikestone]

Not bus related, but my sister has to do shifts where she works. (Office bound for one of the 3 emergency services!)

How she copes with those, god knows.

From memory, 9 till 5, 10 till 6, 2 till 11 & overnights 10 till 7, obviously with the rest days inbetween.

I've done 6am onwards very occasionally.

Last time was a Saturday morning over Great Bridge.

Very surreal waiting for a 11 at half five in the morning & seeing the likes of Samras in Walsall still busy!

When I worked shifts there'd have been a riot if the roster included a rest day between 06.00 finish and 14.00 start.

[WilliamLeylandNational]

There's plenty of drivers working what I consider, immoral duties/weeks where they'll have a ridiculously low rest period. If it takes you an hour to commute, that's reducing "rest" to 7.5 hours. You might then eat, relax, unwind and take a shower. Easily 2-3 hours can go by. Leaves you with how much sleep? Work it out. Is it safe to be in charge of a bus for 8-10 hours the following day?

I've refused plenty of duties for various operators. I'm always challenged with "it's not illegal." I reply, "it's not moral." Usually when I get my weeks printout, I would point it out and give them plenty of notice that I won't be working those hours. Once you kick up a fuss, most operators will avoid giving you stupid duties/short rest periods. They'll still get thrown onto those drivers who don't kick up a fuss though.

It's the same story with buses without heating. If you don't kick up a fuss, they'll keep giving you cold buses and the warm ones will go to those drivers who actually speak up about it. Not many drivers actually refuse to drive. I would often call the traffic office before leaving my house just to remind them, I will refuse a bus with no heating. After a while I was never given buses without heating.

Operators priority is do whatever it takes to complete all mileage. It's rare to find operators who actually give a damn about anything outside what is legal and what is not legal, and even then the lines are often blurred...

Rare?  What proof do you have of that?

[karl724223]

Our new NX (pensnett) duties now have a 11hr break from finish to start