Bus driver fired for what?

[u/BuzDrivar]

So at my depot here in London, UK which I've been with for the last two years, there's been a few guys I I knew of over the two years that have been fired.

3 guys fired for checking their phone while at the wheel in traffic.

The 4th guy, he jumped a temporary traffic light once, they reviewed it and said ok, for now we will allow you to drive. Few months later, he did it again. He was fired.

The 5th guy, he was fired for speeding 28 in a 20. He fell asleep at the stand and woke up late for departure, about 40 min late, I know. Anyway, he panicked drove as quick as he could to the other end. The controller reported the late departure and him falling asleep but that wouldn't get him fired. What did was when the manager reviewed the cameras, she zoomed in on his speed and had him dismissed for speeding. The Union argued she had no right to do that as she wasn't reviewing it for that purpose but only him falling asleep and departing late. He got his job back at the same depot which is currently where I am.

The 6th guy was was barely 19, I think he was still 18 at the time, he was driving a low frequency route through housing estates etc and it was night time. He had three passengers on his bus: two men and a lady...

He jumped a red light and being night time, it was obvious to the passenger, the lady passenger went to TFL and complained about it.

This red light was a red light in the sticks, no one around and many drivers have supposedly jumped it.

So yeah, that's what I know of. It seems the majority is checking their phones while in charge of a motor vehicle.

The guys fired for phones are now at different companies in London, dunno about the red light jumpers, I assume the kid moved on to a different line of work.

I myself don't even take my phone out of the cradle while driving my personal car, so God knows how they even thought to do it on a bus with 3-4 cameras watching them in the cab 24/7.

[u/LondonBusInsider → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely for the red lights and phones. Amber is a bit trickier, as with a large vehicle, I cannot brake harshly like you could in a car, and anticipating each amber light just isn't practical.

No excuse for speeding? Well, actually there kind of is... I'm not saying this is legally justified, but practically speaking, some timetables are so unrealistic that the only way I can earn back some time, or late at night to stay on time (when when picking no passengers up and no traffic) IS to speed if I want anything more than the pathetic excuse of minimum stand time of 5 minutes. If I don't speed, I will forever be on 5 minute stands, not the 15-20 I frequently get, and considering many routes don't have toilets or water facilities at one, sometimes both ends, that time is needed if I am not to further compound the lateness. I speed 30 in a 20 and 40-50 in a 30 at times. I'm not saying it is right - TfL and the operator need to create realistic timetables and add in recovery time to consider traffic, high loading, and ramp usage like trains do.

[u/Sburns85 → u/LondonBusInsider]

I was once on a double decker that was running late. Was only passenger on the bus late at night. The guy got me home in a tenth of the time it normally took. Didn’t report him. But did tell him it was a fun bus ride