Why do tube drivers earn twice as much as bus drivers?

ILW

I have often pondered this.
It seems a simpler, less stressful job.
Is it all down to union power or what?

ses6jwg

could get blown up

ILW

ses6jwg wrote: »

could get blown up

Seem to remember the nutters like blowing up buses as well.

RabbitMad

I don't think it is simpler, its more akin to driving a train and quite a bit more skill is required (or so we are lead to believe)

ILW

RabbitMad wrote: »

I don't think it is simpler, its more akin to driving a train and quite a bit more skill is required (or so we are lead to believe)

You have to stop and start in the right places and open the doors on the correct side. What else is involved?

davetrousers

Do they? What is your source of information on this matter?

torontoboy45

ILW wrote: »

You have to stop and start in the right places and open the doors on the correct side. What else is involved?

different skillsets and greater responsibility (according to someone who used to work for LU).

ILW

torontoboy45 wrote: »

different skillsets and greater responsibility (according to someone who used to work for LU).

With respect, that says absolutely nothing.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Tube drivers face the regular risk of having to witness gory suicides. Happens a lot more than people realise.

I do think London bus drivers should earn more than what they do- they have to deal with the great unwashed face to face and have to take all sorts of attitude, especially from feral teens.

ruggedtoast

Operation

The 1992 stock is one of the few stock types on the London underground to feature both ATO (Automatic Train Operation) and ATP (Automatic Train Protection) which effectively allow the trains to drive themselves. The ATO is responsible for operating the train whilst the ATP detects electronic codes in the track and feeds them to the cab displaying speed limits, signal displays etc. This functionality is configured via a master switch in the drivers' cab which can be set to one of three positions: Automatic, Coded Manual & Restricted Manual.


In Automatic Mode the ATO and ATP are both fully operational. The Driver is only required to open and close the doors and press both "Start" buttons when the train is ready to depart.


In Coded Manual Mode, the ATO is disabled and the driver operates the train manually, however the ATP is still detecting the codes in the track and restricting the drivers actions. The speedometer on 1992 stock is the horizontal strip design covering two speeds, the Current Speed in green, indicating the speed the train is travelling at, and the Target Speed indicating the speed the train should be travelling at. Although the target speed is always active whilst running in Automatic or Coded Manual mode, whilst in coded manual, changes in the target speed are indicated with an upwards or downwards tone depending on whether the target speed is increasing or decreasing. Should the driver exceed the target speed, an alarm sounds and the emergency brakes are automatically applied until the train is within the target speed. The alarm is cancelled when the driver presses the "Alarm acknowledge" button in the cab.


In Restricted Manual Mode, the train cannot exceed 18 km/h and the motors automatically cut out at 16 km/h. The ATO and ATP are both disabled and the driver operates the train entirely by sight and according to the signals. This mode is used when there has been an ATP failure or a signal failure or in a depot where ATP is not used i.e. West Ruislip and Hainault depots. On the main line, driving in ATO is the same for a train driver as driving through a section where signals have failed.

So basically they drive themselves.

bigblackdog

they move twice as many passengers at a time , so if there is a percentage of each ticket going towards the drivers wages , that would explain it sureley, after all a plane driver gets more than a train driver , i think , and a cruise liner driver gets more than either simples