No Comments about the sriking tube workers?

neverdespairgirl

marklv wrote: »

I worked from home, like any sensible person should.

Bit tricky to, say, nurse from home, though!

Chris2685

olly300 wrote: »

Very few people say they want to be a tube driver though particularly on the Northern and Victorian lines. A tube drivers job is apparently really boring. Plus they drug and alcohol test you regularly.

I'd rather be bored on 40k a year than bored on 20k a year

chewmylegoff

So the RMT have now found out that the LU has not filled 250 "vacancies" for counter staff. "Vacancies" in the sense that there is no work to do. RMT is demanding that the LU immediately ceases its current policy of not filling "vacancies".

So the RMT's case is that LU should recruit people for positions that don't exist. So ultimately commuters should have to pay the wages of these unnecessary staff, and the justification for this is passenger safety?

Interestingly, and entirely ancedotally, the mrs tells me that every time there is a tube strike, the A&E at the hospital she works at fills up with people who have been cycling in london - because the tube strikes result in heavier traffic, and people cycling who aren't used to it, there are a lot more injuries. So, the wonderful RMT's actions in protecting passenger safety appear to, albeit indirectly, actually make it worse.

Strings

drc wrote: »

In my experience, London buses are slow, very dirty (always full of rubbish, especially at the back of the bus, stuff smeared on seats, windows scratched and dirty, smelling of half eaten food etc). I wonder how often buses get cleaned. They are slow (had to wait 25 minutes for a bus today and then two of the same number came together), expensive - for what you get they are extremely expensive. There are so often problems on the tubes. When I used to use the tube to commute to work and back, there would be delays 4/5 times, to the extent that if I claimed via the forms they have at each station, I would get half my monthly travelcard back every month. They were almost always packed so no chance of a seat and the seats are horrendously dirty.

In comparison, try using transport in places like Berlin or Paris. Transport costs are relatively similar but the trams and trains (especially in Berlin) are clean, timely and an experience fit for a Western European country, unlike our (in my opinion) archaic and overrated system. It really takes the biscuit when the best things about London Transport are the iconography - the routemaster buses (defunct) and the London Underground map.

You need to blame the people that use the buses for the mess, not the operator or the driver.
We have a very old roading network which was not designed for buses or heavy traffic so you are bound to get delays.
It is frustrating I know

As for the metro's, our trains are more on time than ever before and they run more frequently. Berlins metro is alot newer and carries far less people than the underground per hour.

I think you need to gain some perspective, the tube could be much better, but you'd need to shut it down for a long period and then you would notice the benefits immediately. At present all the upgrades happen very slowly so you never really see progress.

FTBFun

drc wrote: »

In comparison, try using transport in places like Berlin or Paris. Transport costs are relatively similar but the trams and trains (especially in Berlin) are clean, timely and an experience fit for a Western European country, unlike our (in my opinion) archaic and overrated system. It really takes the biscuit when the best things about London Transport are the iconography - the routemaster buses (defunct) and the London Underground map.

Berlin?

When I was there the main S-Bahn line in Berlin was closed because the drivers refused to work through it because of safety issues (apparently the doors kept opening whilst between stations).

An outlying station north of the centre was in a decrepit state, much worse than the station I use every day. In Peckham.

Berlin is half the size of London too.

chewmylegoff

drc wrote: »

In my experience, London buses are slow, very dirty (always full of rubbish, especially at the back of the bus, stuff smeared on seats, windows scratched and dirty, smelling of half eaten food etc). I wonder how often buses get cleaned. They are slow (had to wait 25 minutes for a bus today and then two of the same number came together), expensive - for what you get they are extremely expensive. There are so often problems on the tubes. When I used to use the tube to commute to work and back, there would be delays 4/5 times, to the extent that if I claimed via the forms they have at each station, I would get half my monthly travelcard back every month. They were almost always packed so no chance of a seat and the seats are horrendously dirty.

In comparison, try using transport in places like Berlin or Paris. Transport costs are relatively similar but the trams and trains (especially in Berlin) are clean, timely and an experience fit for a Western European country, unlike our (in my opinion) archaic and overrated system. It really takes the biscuit when the best things about London Transport are the iconography - the routemaster buses (defunct) and the London Underground map.

I'm not going to argue with you on buses, because i never use them these days if I can avoid - but that's more down to the clientelle than anything else. I have been on the odd one in the past that was strewn with generic fried chicken wrappers.

On the trains and tubes I don't agree at all. I use the trains and tubes every day of the week. My morning train (southwest trains) is always on time. Once in the last 6 months it has been delayed by 10 minutes. Aside from that I think it has turned up 1-2 minutes late a couple of times, but otherwise always leaves on the dot, if not a few seconds early. trains are clean and modern.

Then the jubilee line from waterloo, which is less reliable but after they sorted the power supply issues out in 2007 it has been fine. It doesn't break down weekly, let alone 4-5 times a week. always get a seat on the way back to waterloo, and quite often get one in the morning as well when people get off at london bridge.

My experience is that things are vastly different now to how they were 10 years ago when things truly were diabolical.

also, some lines are a lot worse than others- but you can manage this by choosing where to live.

chewmylegoff

FTBFun wrote: »

Berlin?

When I was there the main S-Bahn line in Berlin was closed because the drivers refused to work through it because of safety issues (apparently the doors kept opening whilst between stations).

An outlying station north of the centre was in a decrepit state, much worse than the station I use every day. In Peckham.

Berlin is half the size of London too.

I was there 2 years ago as well and the rolling stock wasn't exactly what you would call modern.

olly300

Chris2685 wrote: »

I'd rather be bored on 40k a year than bored on 20k a year

Unfortunately there is a waiting list as lots of people agree with you that they are happy be tee-total, not take drugs and work odd hours.

olly300

chewmylegoff wrote: »

I was there 2 years ago as well and the rolling stock wasn't exactly what you would call modern.

To be fair the rolling stock in other European cities was modern when had slam door trains.

Now due to an EU Directive we have done rather well.

misskool

olly300 wrote: »

Unfortunately there is a waiting list as lots of people agree with you that they are happy be tee-total, not take drugs and work odd hours.

It's not really odd hours though is it? They start at about 6am and finish by midnight. 24-hour supermarket workers, nurses, oil rig workers all have worse hours.

You can't be a tube driver unless you're promoted from within TfL I think as the pay is so good.