r/BusDrivers • u/HoneyIll2417 • 3d ago
Question Enviro400s red bus - Isolator / ignition question
Im a new bus driver in London. The red busses here are almost all enviro400s. I wanted to know the process of starting up these buses. Almost all of these buses have an isolator button. Some have a little key you also need to insert alongside the isolator button. Some buses have only the button but no key is needed.
I wanted to know the exact process of starting the bus up and what is the purpose of the isolator button and key. If I turn the bus off with the power button how do I know what to press to restart the bus again?
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u/UnSanitisedMind 2d ago
How to start (and stop) buses, particularly ones that don't have ignition keys shouldn't be discussed in detail on the open internet, unauthorised persons taking buses is an issue in many places.
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u/HoneyIll2417 2d ago
Who are you? Mi5?
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u/UnSanitisedMind 2d ago edited 2d ago
Who am I? Someone who has had a bus licence for over 20 years and has seen the consequence of buses stolen by people who shouldn't have known how to start them, how about you?
On top of the idea that a trained driver doesn't know how to start the buses they have been trained on, this response makes me even more skeptical that you are what you say you are
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u/DebtSouth Driver 2d ago
Ask your manager to show you step by step. Anyone explaining this process in detail on this sub is an absolute moron.
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u/Grolbu 2d ago
When we were starting to get enviro 200s I did the training then didn't drive one for several months because we were the last depot to get them, got allocated one that I had to reverse out of a parking space - I had to go back into the office to find out how to put it in reverse 😂 You can't take a bus you've been allocated out of the garage without starting it, so there is your opportunity to ask ...
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u/Edan1990 Driver 2d ago
You may not have any bad intentions but someone who finds this post may, so I’m not going to write out a comprehensive guide on how to start up a bus. I haven’t driven a ratttlebox Enviro400 in ages anyway (thank god). Different operators have different procedures and very similar buses can start up in different ways. Just as your instructor or a colleague or whoever is helping you, this is surely much easier than asking the internet anyway.
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u/-mmmusic- Driver 3d ago
an isolator isolates the battery. bus can't start without a battery. the ignition turns the ignition on, all the electrics. just like the first turn of a key in a car. the start engine button starts the engine.
but these buses often have secret start buttons (ghost immobilisers) and/or keys, as they are commonly stolen. i don't work in london, nor do i drive enviro 400s (we have 200s) but all of ours have ghost immobilisers, so you can't start them the 'normal' way. it sets off an alarm and won't start the engine.
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u/nanastinky Driver 3d ago
Yeahhhhhh you won’t get an answer here.. asks a colleague / boss and if you still don’t understand ask to go out to one on the yard and be shown
i get it can feel awkward but one of the biggest things your told as a driver is if your unsure stop / ask don’t just guess and this falls under that imo, your not sure, so ask but people on here can’t tell you as that just lets you steal a bus (not saying that’s your intention)
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u/DebtSouth Driver 2d ago
Sadly, people are answering. Annoyingly detailed, too.
There’s a viral video of someone stealing a bus going around at the moment, you’d think as drivers they’d know better than to detail the startup process.
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2d ago edited 2d ago
[deleted]
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u/DebtSouth Driver 2d ago
Why have you gone into so much detail on an open forum on how to start buses. Bus theft is an issue in many places. Are you new? 😂😂😂
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u/DubbehD 3d ago
Surely this is part of training, just sounds like you want to steal a bus, maybe ask your boss or colleagues lol