Re: Boo Hiss to Hillside

[Vaughan Williams <ender2000@my-deja.com>]

This reply is to a few messages:
1. Suburban buses should all be running at a ten minute frequency
during the peak, so the odd cancelled bus shouldn't matter much if
buses DO need to be pulled off their runs to do train replacement.

2. The bus companies should have a couple of spare buses for in case
one of theirs (for example) breaks down. These buses could be organised
for train replacement if needed. Bus companies, unfortunately, are even
more administratively incompetant than the rail operators hence the
hopeless service they provide.

3. The railways probably should have a bus or two on standby (perhaps
could be shared with the tramways) for any major service disruption. It
might take 20 or 30 minutes to organise it and a little while for it to
get to where its required, but it shouldn't take hours.

4. Contingency planning dictates that it is known to the railways and
tramways that major disruptions occur on a reasonably regular basis
somewhere in the system, whether its a fire on the tracks, an overhead
coming down or whatever. There has to be a plan and procedure for
whenever this happens. This might include organising special extra
trams if the affected stations are on a tram route, getting at least a
couple of buses on standby (rather than doing a ringaround of the bus
companies, the station staff should know exactly where the spare buses
are and who to ring to organise them) and going out of their way to
assist passengers like the person who kicked off this thread - getting
him on the first bus, or if necessary putting him in a cab.

5. The analogy someone drew with Vicroads not helping if theres heavy
traffic is quite different. Vicroads do take prompt action to divert
traffic around an accident, and even severe congestion shouldn't make
you miss a train if you allow plenty of time. The railways are
responsible for getting their passengers from A to B and must take all
the reasonable steps to do so. This includes having a mechanism to
promptly secure at least a couple of buses rather than ad hoc searches
for buses that show up when they show up.

A year or two ago I was held up at Heidelburg because someone jumped in
front of a train at Rosanna. It took almost two hours for the first bus
to arrive, and there was no sign of any more for another half an hour
after that. The disruption may be beyond the railways control but the
poor planning and long delays in obtaining a substitute service is not.


> Beside obtaining replacement buses, what else can railways do when
event like this
> happened, especially during peak hour.  Also if you're a station
staff, what would you
> tell your customer - "Wait outside the station for the bus that will
be here in ... three
> hours"?  Just remember, when obtaining buses during peak hour, it is
vertually impossible
> as majority of them will be making their regular runs.   I don't
think it is fair to drag
> some buses from their regular services (by mean of cancellation), so
train customers can
> travel from A to B.  How would you feel, if your bus is cancelled
because it is doing
> train replacement service and you have to wait another hour or so for
the next one?


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