I love our local bus drivers

[YorksG]

As the title really. We are very fortunate, we have the most considerate and polite bus drivers in the world round here.

The buses are all single decker and the drivers ALWAY pass us slowly and give the horses plenty of room. If at any time they see us having any problem, they stop for us to pass them. They are careful about letting the air brakes off as well. My ex-foster daughter who also lives locally is disabled and they are also careful to ensure that she is safely sitting down before they set off. I have just e-mailed the company this evening to thank them, as we met yet another careful and considerate driver today. Three cheers for First Bus

 

[dwi]

I have to say our local bus drivers are excellent when you meet them out hacking as well. Very patient and understanding such that Daisy no longer has a fear of buses and they can pass us at a reasonable speed. Much better for everyone

 

[YorksG]

It is great that they are so helpful, takes the stress out of hacking when you don't have to worry about the bus timetable

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Half of ours are fab, half are awful. I always try and make sure I see which driver it is that passes us and next time I have them I will either thank them again, or ask them to slow slightly next time (never done that yet though

)

 

[toffeesmarty]

We don't have to worry about buses here. They only run once a week in the country!

 

[YorksG]

Well ours are one an hour (during the day, none at night), but we always seem to meet them

 

[tracyt]

OMG its certainly not an ulsterbus you come across then - i must say ive never met a considerate bus driver ever!!! they are by far the worst here closely followed by lorry drivers!

 

[toffeesmarty]

Sorry!We might not have buses here, but we do have lots of holidaymakers who drive past our yard pulling cavavans or huge motorhomes who go very fast.

 

[YorksG]

I think that is why I am so amazed at the bus drivers, we have all sorts of trouble with boy racers (any age from 17 to 80!) White van drivers with trailers (hate them).The winners in the best drivers awards are the bus drivers and motor bike riders, I think the bike riders round here are so good because locally the boys ride bikes and the girls ride horses, so they learn early from their sisters and girl friends to behave

 

[carys220]

I think I can top your bus drivers! There are some round here who stop and turn off their engines while you walk past and wait until you are a good distance away until they start up again!

 

[YorksG]

Now that is good, ours only do that if the horse (not ours thank goodness!) is jumping about in front of them

 

[carys220]

We also have busways round here......and years and years and years ago (like 20 odd) my mum's horse escaped from it's field next to the busway and went galloping off up it.....two bus drivers came along and parked their buses sideways trapping the horse in the middle!!!

 

[YorksG]

Wow, they really are the best, 25 years ago we had the opposite happen when a bus driver insisted on keeping coming towards our mare, banging the branches of overhanging trees, she broke free of the head clollar and my sister had to stand in front of the bus to stop him while I ran down the road at full pelt to get her back! Thank goodness ours here (about 5 miles away!) are so good.

 

[CorvusCorax]

My experience...

Bus drivers - brill - even the Ulsterbuses, Tracy!
Boy racers - surprisingly brill, even turn off their souped-up engines on occasion...
Farmers in scary tractors - super
Artic drivers - can't complain.

Now if someone could sort out the school-run mums and city rat-runners.....

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

Must tell you this story. One afternoon I took my horse out for a spin from where i used to keep him, just outside Bath at the top of Lansdown. I rode along the road towards the racecourse. It's a horrible busy fast road, but the bus drivers on that route had got used to us riding there and always slowed right down or stopped to let us pass. So inevitably along came a bus, full of passengers, mad neddy started playing up so the nice bus driver stopped the bus and switched off his engine while we cavorted by. Warm sympathetic smiles from most of passengers and a cheery wave from the bus driver in response to my wave of gratitude.

So, off for a lovely canter near the racecourse, bit of a pootle in the woods, and home again the way we came. By the way I don't know if any of you know Lansdown, it's got a reputation for being cold up there all the time, it's a chilly in the summer and absolutely freezing in the winter, and this happened in early November.

I rode back along the busy road and spotted a bus in the distance. Stationary. Surely not the same bus? Indeed it was, conked out in the road, it obviously wouldn't start again after it stopped for me. This time as we pranced and sidled by there were no sympathetic smiles, just the glare of 22 angry passengers all looking blue with cold and half frozen to death. A couple of them even shook their fists at me, and one old lady was shouting something........I don't think it was 'Happy Christmas'........

If you were on a number X33 from Bristol to Bath in November about 7 years ago and ended up with hypothermia I'm very sorry and I hope your better now.....

 

[katia]

pmsl Christmascarol!

and couldn't agree more with hacking-hack! Our bus drivers even put up with me and my two kiddies coated with much and goodness knows what else hitching a lift home from the yard when we were too cold and lazy to walk before I passed my driving test!!lol

Kat.xx

 

[244jimmy]

where i live we have it faily good... bus drivers about 1 a week so they are rare but good ......we get tractors very good as most of the farmers know who i am....and boy racers they slow down....then we get the o.a.p's they are a totally different story overtake me at 60mph and on bridges !!...

 

[showjumpinglover]

what are nice bus drivers? theres no such things in my area.

the buses are normally late so go flying up the main road about 70 mph without much care for other road users

 

[tjmadron]

Bus drivers are excellent on the route i ride too they always stop or slow down same for the lorry drivers and tractor drivers

we get a lot of cyclists in the summer months and these too are good they always make sure they are speaking or whistiling when the approch from behind

its the cars that can be the problem though it seems to be the holiday makers more than the locals

overtaking me on a corner or not giving you alot of room when they overtake usually coming up very close behind ,luckily the horses i ride are very good with traffic

Or walkers that see you coming who then hide in a gateway with reflective or bright coloured jackets ......that makes the hoses jump sometimes !

On the whole most are considerate and i am always polite and remember to thank them

 

[Governor]

Ours are a nightmare. I had my leg crushed into a telephone pylon due to a bus driver who wouldn't give me a hairs width of space despite the other side of the road being clear. He certainly didn't slow down either.

Thank you, on the other hand, to the nice skip-lorry driver on the other side of the road who was totally aware of his rattling chains, stopped, turned his engine off and waited for me to pass.
I find white van men and builders are usually brilliant - not so much when i'm in a car however!

 

[Minnies_Mum]

Our bus drivers are pretty good too. In our village there are quite a few "boy racer" types who like to fly around at breakneck speeds with their loud exhausts, but when they see our horses they always slow right down and give us room. However, one of the most likely people to tear past you and not even touch the brake is one of my old riding instructors! Funny, isn't it, how your percentions are not always right.

 

[Dteccytiv]

The bus drivers in our area are usually considerate,
H.G.V drivers do pass wide and slow or they turn the engine of till we've gone past them.
Little boy racers and motorcyclists always slow down and give us a wide berth.
The ones that annoy me the most are those that past wide and fast and then cut back in really quick in front of you.
But worst of all are some OAP's who try to squish down the side of you and a row of parked cars.

 

[suzyseymour]

I had to put an officeal compaint in about or recyle people, who refused to stop loading the lorry for 1 minute while I rode my horse past, there attitude was awfle. But the bin men are fab, they quite often switch off even if the horses are fine. When I just started hacking out my youngster they let me bring her over and say hello.

Most the bus drivers here are very good, the boy racers and motor bikes are very good was well. One of my worst insidence, was when a car bullied its was through the gap, past a parked car, this belonged to the local horse rescue where I lived at the time!!

 

[echodomino]

[ QUOTE ]
what are nice bus drivers? theres no such things in my area.

the buses are normally late so go flying up the main road about 70 mph without much care for other road users

[/ QUOTE ]

Gee thanks! I'm in Leics, and a bus driver!! Like to think I'm nice

lol. I wont deny that I have been known to put my foot down when running late (no where near 70mph!) but I'm usually careful of other drivers and when out where there are horses I always slow the bus right down, try not to let it hiss and stop it completly if necessary. I know not all the drivers are like that but a lot are. Especially with horses and more so since I started and they know I've got them

ETA: think 70mph is a teeny bit exaggerated - think we might all end up