Fast track bus service to Heathrow set to cut out Harefield

Recent proposals show the new express bus service to Heathrow won't stop in Harefield

Residents in the village of Harefield in the London Borough of Hillingdon are up in arms after it was revealed recently that a new fast track bus service to Heathrow won’t be stopping in the village.

Some locals have expressed concerned that they are being “cut out” of the plans and feel as though they’ve been “left out in the cold.” Others have reacted angrily saying, “Do they not think people in Harefield go on holiday and want to get to Heathrow?”

Under the new plans proposed by Hillingdon Council and Transport for London, two express bus routes to Heathrow are being prepared, neither of which will run through Harefield.

The proposal is currently undergoing a consultation period through a local publication, the Hillingdon People Magazine. However at a recent resident’s meeting, many locals complained that they hadn’t received their copy of the magazine.

Although there are a number of bus services running east to west across the village of Harefield, there are scare amount running from north to south.

Local campaigners are urging the residents to join together to fight for improved public transport links through the village. It’s hoped that if these grievances are made known to the council, they can influence Transport for London to make vital changes to the bus travel in the area.

Hillingdon Council are seeking feedback from locals in regard to the proposed bus service. Those who wish to respond need to do so before February 15th either in writing to the council, or through their website.

Coach driver instructor leaves Inverness to take up training post in Zambia for 12 months

Stagecoach send one of their driving instructors to Zambia to help improve coach driving skills

A coach driver instructor from Inverness is taking his expertise over to Zambia where he plans to play a part in helping to raise the safety standards of drivers in the country.

In his regular job, Neil Rettie is a driving instructor with Stagecoach. It’s through the transport provider’s link with the charity Transaid that the opportunity arose for Mr Rettie to take up a 12 month placement in Zambia. Stagecoach is funding the instructor’s year long stay in the country.

However the Scottish driver has already had a taster of life in Zambia after he spent 3 months in the country’s capital, Lusaka, last year working with 60 coach drivers to improve driving standards. Mr Rettie is now in the middle of another 3-month long stint in Zambia as he is working in-conjunction with the Zambian Road Transport and Safety Agency to help develop their guidelines and curriculum.

Road accidents in Zambia cost the country an estimated £167 million a year. It is hoped that by focusing upon re-educating drivers on safe driving practices, this number can be dramatically reduced.

Neil Rettie says he can’t wait to get started on the training scheme. After his first taste of teaching in the Zambia, he described his students as being very keen to learn and he enjoyed having the opportunity to share his skills.

School bus driver given driving ban after crashing whilst 3 times over the limit

The driver of a school bus in Gloucester has lost his licence after pleading guilty to drink drive charge

A court heard this week how a school bus driver from Gloucestershire crashed his vehicle whilst three times over the drink drive limit.

The driver, Anthony Hoskins, had minutes earlier dropped off a group of primary school children, when he then reversed his single-decker bus into a building.

Following the incident, Mr Hoskins was breathalysed at the scene. After discovering that the driver was three times over the limit, he was then taken away by police.

The reason given for the high level of alcohol found in the bus driver’s blood stream, was that he had attended the funeral of a friend the previous day and had been drinking heavily at the wake.

A council spokesperson stressed that the safety of their children was of paramount importance, and that the driver in question had passed a CRB check and other criminal checks. He said the council would now launch a “review into our procedures for dealing with incidents like this.”

Mr Hoskins is also the owner of the Chepstow based coach company, TJ Travel. At a court hearing held this week at Cheltenham Magistrates Court, the coach company boss entered a guilty plea for the charge of driving with excess alcohol.

The defendant was banned from driving for 25 months, and given a 14-week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months. Mr Hoskins will also undertake 200-hours of unpaid work.

Coach depot in Dorset falls victim to diesel thieves for the second time

Thieves stole 600litres of fuel from a coach yard in Dorchester

A coach depot in Dorchester, Dorset, fell victim to a gang of diesel thieves on Sunday night who stole an estimated £900 worth of fuel.

For Watt’s Coaches House Travel it was the second time in four months that they had come under attack from the fuel robbers. It appears the problem wasn’t an isolated incident as a number of other thefts had been reported to police across the West Dorset area.

The thieves are said to have gained entry to the coach yard via the rear of the property. Although the depot does have CCTV cameras in operation, they don’t cover the area where the robbers broke in. The crime is thought to have been committed late last Sunday night. Diesel was siphoned off from 5 coaches and 2 buses as part of the raid.

The owner of Watt’s Coaches House Travel estimated the loss of 600 litres worth of fuel would cost the company approximately £900. Mr Watts described the raid as a “major annoyance” as all the vehicles had been filled up with fuel so they were ready to go straight into service on Monday morning. Instead the drivers had the inconvenience of going to fill up all of the vehicles before they could start out on their routes.

Police are continuing to investigate the case and are appealing to the any witnesses or members of the public with information to come forward.

Brave Scottish coach driver vows to continue with his job despite needle attack

coach driver faces agonizing wait for test results after being attacked by a passenger with a needle

A coach driver from Dumbarton, Scotland, has vowed to continue doing the job he loves, despite having recently come under attack from a passenger with a hypodermic syringe.

The 40-year-old driver, James McGowan, was behind the wheel of a McColl’s Coach when the attack took place on January 11th. The coach was en-route travelling from Glasgow to Balloch when a passenger boarded the vehicle at Redburn, Bonhill. The man demanded to be taken to the Vale, but when the driver informed him that the service didn’t stop there, he stabbed him in the hand with the needle.

Describing the moment when the unprovoked attack happened, the father-of-four said, “I didn’t see the whole thing and I didn’t see if the syringe had anything in it, but it was definitely a needle.”

Despite his order, Mr McGowan didn’t let the incident get him down, and was back in work at McColls Coaches the following morning. However he now faces an agonising 6 month wait to receive the results of his blood test. There is a chance that the needle which was used in the attack, could have been contaminated with HIV or the Hepatitis C virus.

Following the incident, the coach drive was taken to the Alexandria Hospital in Paisley where he was given jabs, and had blood tests taken.

The police are continuing to search for the suspect who attacked the McColls Coaches driver. The man has been described as white, aged between 20-25, 5ft 10inches tall, unshaven with dark/black coloured hair. He was also said to have been wearing a black bomber style jacket.

Brawling brothers on double-decker bus in Exeter up in court

A pair of brothers from Bournemouth were up in Exeter Crown Court this week after their drunken behaviour on a double-decker bus in Exeter, allegedly caused the driver of the vehicle to lose control. The bus was reported to have careered across the road, narrowly avoiding a serious accident. A number of other passengers were also travelling on the bus at the time, including several children.

The incident occurred last April. The double-decker bus was travelling along the A3052 Sidmouth Road on its route to Exeter when the altercation took place.

Together Darren and David Bain stand accused of assaulting the bus driver and interfering with the vehicle. David Bain has admitted assaulting the bus driver, but has pleaded not-guilty to interfering with the bus. Darren Bain has admitted interfering with the bus, but denies assaulting the driver.

However the prosecution has not accepted David Bain’s not-guilty plea for the charge of unlawfully interfering with the vehicle and have announced that he will now stand trial.

The judge informed David Bain that his trial is likely to take place next month, and will take up to a day. Darren Bain is awaiting sentencing for his part in the crime.

School bus drivers in Canada attend workshop on greener driving

Canadian school bus drivers encouraged to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption

 

A number of school bus drivers in London, Canada, have attended a workshop aimed at educating them on greener driving practices. Some 600 drivers have taken part in the pilot scheme which it hopes will encourage bus drivers in the province to lower their fuel consumption and C02 emissions. 

As part of the recommendations made to the drivers during the course of the workshop, those attending were given some commonsense tips such as to avoid heavy braking if possible, and to use cruise control at every available opportunity as they can dramatically lower fuel consumption. 

One of the drivers present at the meeting, Elsie Smith, said that the advice being given wasn’t new, but she described the workshop as being a good “reminder” for them all. However Ms Smith added that a conscientious approach to driving in order to promote greener travel is something that all drivers now have to bear in mind. 

The trainer leading the workshop also warned drivers that children take in more emissions than adults as they breathe faster, therefore it’s even more important that school bus drivers do all they can to reduce their C02 emissions. 

The success of the workshop will be measured by the results delivered over the coming months. Prior to the workshop each bus driver was asked to record their fuel consumption, and they will continue to collect this data over the coming weeks following the workshop to see if there an improvement.

Herefordshire coach driver wrongly claimed benefits

Coach driver claimed benefits he wasn't entitled to

A Herefordshire man wrongly claimed almost £30,000 worth of benefits over a three year period whilst employed a coach driver.

Brian Pizzey had taken up a position as a coach driver with Newbury Coaches but continued to claim two types of benefits including a Pension Credit, and a Carer’s Allowance for looking after his disabled wife.

In his defence, Mr Pizzey’s solicitor argued that initially the 64-year-old had been entitled to the benefits. His error was not notifying the government department when he took up employment as a coach driver.

The coach driver is said to be “embarrassed” by the incident. The issue came to light after Mr Pizzey admitted his wrong-doing to an officer from the Department of Work and Pensions.

Mr Pizzey’s reason for not notifying the authorities of his employment was that he believed he wouldn’t earn enough to need to declare it since he only worked occasionally.

It has been estimated that over the 3 year period between February 2005 and December 2008, Mr Pizzey claimed £9,300 in Carer’s Allowance and £18,300 in Pension Credit.

Mr Pizzey has already begun to pay back some of the money wrongly claimed. He is due to appear at Hereford Magistrates Court in February.

New laws to protect disabled passengers introduced in Northern Ireland

New law launched in Northern Ireland will protect disabled passengers

Northern Ireland will today bring into force a new law which will protect disabled passengers from discrimination. The Disability Transport Regulations will make it illegal for any transport provider, be it a coach, bus, train, car rental, taxi, or breakdown service, to discriminate against a disabled user.

Under the new regulations it will be against the law for a disabled person to be given a lower standard of service, in comparison to an able-bodied person, on any form of transport in Northern Ireland.

The Equality Commission and Northern Ireland’s biggest transport provider, Translink, have both welcome the new regulations. The commission reported that a third of the complaints it took during the course of last year, related to disability discrimination, so it hopes the introduction of the new law will go some may to remedying this.

The chief executive of the Equality Commission, Evelyn Collins, believes the law will have a positive impact upon the lives of many disabled people as it will help them, “realise opportunities for work and leisure” as a result of the improved travel conditions.

A new advertising campaign, masterminded the Equality Commission, will also launch today to coincide with the introduction of the Disability Transport Regulations. The idea is to raise awareness of the new laws and to make people aware of their rights, and allow transport operators the opportunity to get clued up on the regulations to ensure that they are working within the new disability law.

Sheffield bus passengers fight again to save local service

Bus stop could be under threat in South West Sheffield

Bus passengers in South West Sheffield are ready to fight, yet again, to save their local bus service.

Last year the number 86 bus route which runs between the city centre and Fulwood narrowly avoided closure after the council stepped in to prevent bus company First, from closing the service.

However the Sheffield Bus Agreement which safeguarded the route runs out this April, leaving residents afraid that their local service may yet again, be facing the axe. The main reason for closure is due to a decrease in the number of passengers using the number 86, which has resulted in a reduction in the amount of revenue it produces.

Should the number 86 bus service be scrapped, residents in the local area say they would feel “cut off.” The closest bus stop would then be a considerable walk away, some of which is uphill. This would prove a big problem for the elderly resident living locally, and could prevent them from getting out and about.

However bus company First say that the route is proving unprofitable with many of its services “running completely empty.”

First say they are in negotiation with the council and are exploring the possible reasons why the service isn’t used as frequently as it should be. One suggestion they are investigating, is whether an increase in low-floor buses would encourage more passengers to use the service as this makes travel easier for the elderly, disable and those with pushchairs.