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

movilogo

I have played Train Simulator, Flight Simulator, Bus simulator etc. on computer.

The train driving is easiest. Just a lever [ie accelerator] to go faster or slower and a brake to apply gradually. There is nothing to steer.

Bus driving - well it is lot more difficult than car driving. Especially reversing is quite difficult. On that note, reversing an articulated lorry even in simulation game, is nightmare.

The flight simulator - well, I still crash often while landing a plane.

Trains are most easy to automate. Example - DLR.

All commercial planes have auto pilot which can take off, fly and land a plane from one air port to another without a pilot ever intervening.

Till date, there is no automated bus [or even car] driver available for real self-drive mode in a busy city.

Now go figure. :rotfl:

The_White_Horse

Revenge_of_the_Red_Devil wrote: »

Those cases are completely different! This job literally involves pulling a few leavers in the same order over and over again. Are you seriously comparing a surgeon's work with that of a train driver's?

I'd be all for robot-controlled trains but according to (let's face it the only person on here who knows what they're talking about ) Zelie most of the strikes involve staff other than drivers so there'd not be much point.

its the lefty way, they get all hysterical.

just say "yes cleaver, a tube driver is just as skilled as a surgeon and/or a pilot"

there is no way that more people in this country could drive a tube than become a surgeon. no way. they are one and the same.

In fact, i am only surprised we have not had more nobel prize winning tube drivers.

boomerangs

Cleaver, you obviously don't live in London. If you did, you wouldn't be so quick to defend the overpaid, qualification-free, workshy, militant chancers that drive the tube trains.

olly300

Tube trains can be automated with more ease overground trains can't.

I had the misfortune in the past to get on trains then be kicked off because the driver didn't know the route. Due to many lines crossing and going off in different directions, and the train going at anything up to 80mph only train drivers who know the route can drive them.

There as on the few occasions (2) bus drivers buses who don't know the route they ask the passengers. However I've still see them stuck when they have tried to take short cuts through specially narrowed to reduce traffic side streets.

BitterAndTwisted

To my mind, the issue isn't that train-drivers are overpaid it's that bus-drivers are woefully underpaid. They've got Thatcher's fetish for privatisation to thank for that. Just ruddy Google Gloag/Suter or Stagecoach to find out what that filthy pair got up to and how they squeezed every last drop out of their employees all those decades ago and now they're on about £275 a week basic in London

prakb

Another tube worker here and must insist that all the driver bashing stops, that is the exclusive right of us signallers! Just kidding, on a serious note over the years I have noticed a lot of contempt for ourselves especially in cyberspace, the worst thing is peop0le demean the skilled and demanding jobs that all of us frontline staff do. Who here would be really be happy working in environments where you constantly get told by people that you will be getting stabbed when they return in a bit? How many people here have had the experience of dealing with a jumper, when you have had to see his body parts scattered on the track then having to comfort him, telling him he was going to be ok when you knew full well he'll be dead in a matter of moments? These are just a couple of incidents that I dealt with in a short time working on stations and I'll tell you this: my faith and asumption in the goodness of people was seriously eroded.

So much for the demands of automation, what about when the 2005 bombs happened? Who were the first people to run into those tunnels without posing any questions as to what happened or without any thought to thier own safety? I spoke to someone that went into a tunnel and he was incredibly modest and even felt embarrased at his award.

One thing I have learnt in my working life prior to joining LUL is people will grumble and moan at poor pay and conditions or even let managers play them against other, at least we stand by each other and it reflects by how we are compensated.

purch

now they're on about £275 a week basic in London

That's already been shown to be woefully incorrect.

If you want to make an empty headed rant, at least get some of the 'facts' correct :eek:

[Deleted User]

Here's a fun game, lets compare A&E nurses salaries vs tube drivers. Both professions face long unsociable hours, violent/angry confrontation with the public, emotional trauma... however one of these requires degree qualification and a lot less money...

Ok tubey drivers, defend that

I shall also post a link to a fun song about the london underground (Not suitable for work, contains explicit lyrics but is rather funny) - http://www.backingblair.co.uk/london_underground/london_underground.swf

(actually i find the train service in london is far worse than the tube, but this is my revenge for the hell hole that is the northern line)

In the age that a 747 can land itself, I think the only thing holding back the automation of the underground is the unions

misskool

Zelie wrote: »

It takes a minimum of six months to train from 'scratch' although when we say scratch we tend to mean after at least six months on stations learning rules and regs etc. So essentially a year before you are OK to drive a train alone (and no, they don't drive themselves!). Even after that you are not really considered to be fully passed out until you've been driving for at least a year or two. We also have annual training and testing on all aspects of driving, defect-handling and emergency procedures such as fire etc. Those who also operate on Network Rail track will have additional training and testing.

No offence but I've spent the last 4 years of my life in training for my job, I too work weekends and I'm expected to do the hours necessary. I do extra teaching and attend things that I'm not paid for and I don't earn what a tube driver earns.

The_White_Horse

there is no justification for tube workers to be on more than 25k. that should be the absolute max.

they should all get 50% pay cuts and we should all get 40% price reductions (the other 10% saving going to improvements). Personally, if they all resign, I would put up with no tube whilst they train new drivers.