Service 29 vandalism and anti-social behaviour affecting Walsall buses

[I love Walsall buses]

1847 has been tampered with youths opening the back of the bus and pressing the emergency stop then one of the youths got inside of the cab itslef and looked to try and drive without the engine running this is getting serious now someone gonna get hurt i have also informed NX and safer transport

[Wumpty]

1847 has been tampered with youths opening the back of the bus and pressing the emergency stop then one of the youths got inside of the cab itslef and looked to try and drive without the engine running this is getting serious now someone gonna get hurt i have also informed NX and safer transport

Where did this happen?

[I love Walsall buses]

Where did this happen?

On the 29 Coalpool Lane

[Westy]

On the 29 Coalpool Lane

I did wonder, based on previous posts, whether it would be that area!

[Wumpty]

I did wonder, based on previous posts, whether it would be that area!

Snap - I didn't want to be presumptuous!

[I love Walsall buses]

1884 been smashed on the 29 1853 has replaced it and are now diverting again

[BK63 YWP]

1884 been smashed on the 29 1853 has replaced it and are now diverting again

Could the 29 potentially get withdrawn on the evenings or permanently rerouted if this senseless vandalism continues?

[Westy]

Just tracked 1853 on BusTimes from Walsall.

Why doesn't it use Broadstone Avenue instead of going up to Leamore lights?

It doesn't stop on diversion, so why?

[I love Walsall buses]

Just tracked 1853 on BusTimes from Walsall.

Why doesn't it use Broadstone Avenue instead of going up to Leamore lights?

It doesn't stop on diversion, so why?

Some drivers do it some dont i mean they get to blakenall and walsall about 3-4 minutes earlier anyway but i do see where you coming from

Could the 29 potentially get withdrawn on the evenings or permanently rerouted if this senseless vandalism continues?

Possibly as a local on the route you did get the odd 1 or 2 incidents in 2 weeks.lately this has picked up significantly a had a relative of mine visit who also lives on the 29 route and has to catch the bus back but has today had to walk back because of it speaking to a couple of people from the area who rely on the bus service they said it would be shame if they did withdraw the section on night just because of the minority who think its ok to do anything and i havent noticed any police or anyone do anything about it plus the fact that its Halloween coming up this weekend i personally wouldnt be surprised that after 6pm they diverted because past couple of years on Halloween the 29 service got vandalised its becoming a regular thing now and something needs to be done about it because surely NX arent gonna.keep paying for new windows on buses and replacing 1 once or twice or maybe 3 times a week but the loads from 22:15 until end of service are quite high especially the 23:15 the last one from walsall which regular sees standing passengers especially on a Friday and Saturday Nights.

I have also heard from a person i know that these youths are trying to attack the drivers when they get out the cab to go to the rear of the bus and try and turn it back on after they press the emergancy stop button

[Westy]

Some drivers do it some dont i mean they get to blakenall and walsall about 3-4 minutes earlier anyway but i do see where you coming from
Possibly as a local on the route you did get the odd 1 or 2 incidents in 2 weeks.lately this has picked up significantly a had a relative of mine visit who also lives on the 29 route and has to catch the bus back but has today had to walk back because of it speaking to a couple of people from the area who rely on the bus service they said it would be shame if they did withdraw the section on night just because of the minority who think its ok to do anything and i havent noticed any police or anyone do anything about it plus the fact that its Halloween coming up this weekend i personally wouldnt be surprised that after 6pm they diverted because past couple of years on Halloween the 29 service got vandalised its becoming a regular thing now and something needs to be done about it because surely NX arent gonna.keep paying for new windows on buses and replacing 1 once or twice or maybe 3 times a week but the loads from 22:15 until end of service are quite high especially the 23:15 the last one from walsall which regular sees standing passengers especially on a Friday and Saturday Nights.

From memory, there's only one pub in the area now, the Kings Head adjacent to the Blakenall terminus, so I suppose the locals migrate to whatever is in the town centre nowadays, which probably accounts for the high loads.

[ellspurs]

Some drivers do it some dont i mean they get to blakenall and walsall about 3-4 minutes earlier anyway but i do see where you coming from
Possibly as a local on the route you did get the odd 1 or 2 incidents in 2 weeks.lately this has picked up significantly a had a relative of mine visit who also lives on the 29 route and has to catch the bus back but has today had to walk back because of it speaking to a couple of people from the area who rely on the bus service they said it would be shame if they did withdraw the section on night just because of the minority who think its ok to do anything and i havent noticed any police or anyone do anything about it plus the fact that its Halloween coming up this weekend i personally wouldnt be surprised that after 6pm they diverted because past couple of years on Halloween the 29 service got vandalised its becoming a regular thing now and something needs to be done about it because surely NX arent gonna.keep paying for new windows on buses and replacing 1 once or twice or maybe 3 times a week but the loads from 22:15 until end of service are quite high especially the 23:15 the last one from walsall which regular sees standing passengers especially on a Friday and Saturday Nights.

I have also heard from a person i know that these youths are trying to attack the drivers when they get out the cab to go to the rear of the bus and try and turn it back on after they press the emergancy stop button

NX are failing in their duty as an employer in keeping their staff safe if they continue to send the buses there, especially if the last part of the above quote is true. Do we need to wait for a driver to be attacked and the bus stolen before anyone will bother to do anything about it? The community are letting it happen by not trying to do anything about it, so NX need to act in their drivers' best interest.

[I love Walsall buses]

NX are failing in their duty as an employer in keeping their staff safe if they continue to send the buses there, especially if the last part of the above quote is true. Do we need to wait for a driver to be attacked and the bus stolen before anyone will bother to do anything about it? The community are letting it happen by not trying to do anything about it, so NX need to act in their drivers' best interest.

They Always attack between 6pm and 9pm and i just found a facebook post about a driver who got attacked and certainly from the comments are not happy and if NX do take action it will be a shame for people who use it and it will stop because the few minority of youths who think its ok to endanger lives something needs to happen before Saturday And Sunday cause i will bet atleast 1 of them days a bus will be smashed and theres few incidents in the past where rocks have actually hit the driver window and luckily not injuring them i can see why drivers dont wanna do the route and who would if you know your in danger everytime you go through that coalpool area where a rock could come out of no where and hit the windshield and like the incident on Monday where a Youth actually got into the cab i mean what wouldve happened if he actually managed to start 1847 then what nkt only endangering myself and other passengers but himself to.

[Wumpty]

The issues on the 29 are much deeper than just mindless vandalism as I've touched on before - here are my thought's on some key areas (apologies for the lengthy post!):

NX will have continuously monitored the situation on a risk to people and property. Their first priority will be people (staff and customers). They are running as normal a service as they can to fulfill the needs of the wider community given the demographic of customers along the route. Where there is an incident or threat to safety, NX are diverting routes as they happen and trying to anticipate where the risks increase.

NX are failing in their duty as an employer in keeping their staff safe if they continue to send the buses there, especially if the last part of the above quote is true. Do we need to wait for a driver to be attacked and the bus stolen before anyone will bother to do anything about it? The community are letting it happen by not trying to do anything about it, so NX need to act in their drivers' best interest.

NX are fulfilling their legal obligations primarily under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 with as safe an environment as is controllable. The vandalism isn't something they can control and they will have spoken to the drivers, unions and Police to monitor and take appropriate action. Drivers have an absolute right to refuse to drive if they believe that they and the public are at risk. Where they invoke a refusal to work, this is then formally reviewed by driver, union and management and assessed accordingly. This sounds very clear cut and almost cold, though that is the reality of it. The last thing NX wants is any harm to driver or public, nor loss to property and/or revenue.

Yes, the community are allowing this to happen, though given the location, they aren't likely to make any headway or change to help the situation - that, unfortunately, falls to the Police.

Diverting the 29 from Proffitt Street, Coalpool Lane and Harden Road solves the problem short term, but alienates and removes a socially necessary service that is used by a high number of elderly and less affluent customers - again, NX will consider safety first, then consider the cost of damage repairs and buses out of service against frequency of attacks and probability of it happening - couple this with the profit on route, then currently, it's cheaper to accept broken windows than it is to leave vulnerable people stranded or forced to get off the 29 and walk long distances through the very area where the vandalism is occurring.

NX are damned if they do and damned if they don't - if they decide to withdraw service on their own then they alone face the wrath of customers, politicians and the press. What I'm not seeing is any intervention from Police and/or Safer Travel Team who will know when the vandalism spikes are and supporting NX with a visible presence. Realistically, would the vandals be *that* bothered? No. But it would demonstrate a united front to the drivers and public and give credence to any decision to withdraw service with some Police involvement.

There is no easy fix to this and this may appear unpopular, though as someone who's lived in the area for most of his life, worked in the area (some of it on the buses) and understand the demographics, I'd like to think I've got a measured overview of the wider situation.

[Westy]

I noticed it wasn't flagged on Twitter last night, & it was before 'closedown ' for the night as well!

Are they behaving themselves on the Wolves 11 at the moment, as I've seen nothing about that for a few weeks?

[I love Walsall buses]

For those who have Facebook here is a post which includes damage to the buses Yesterday it was 2 buses 2122 then 1884 which replaced it then 1853 replaced 1884

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3068399283434932&id=100007946716627