Local Bus Services

[Colin]

I see that someone has been refused entry to a local service bus due to lack of space (to many tourists).

As a regular bus user, I have had to stand more than a few times.  OK, this is not really an issue travelling between Lerwick and Scalloway, but it must be a right pain on longer routes.

It's bad enough when there are a couple of young lasses with prams, shopping etc.

Then there are the seat hogs who seem to think that they can rightously occupy two seats just for their shopping, and to hell with everyone else.

Maybe the drivers could be a little more proactive but, I have no idea what the solution is.

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

[aaa22]

for the kids bus during the covid they had 2 busses running with each other. perhaps a similar system could be done, have a small bus on standby. when a bus is full, the driver will let the depo know where he was when he reached the limit of passengers and this smaller bus is deployed out to that stop and onward.
perhaps a bit of tweaking needed but something like that?

[MuckleJoannie]

I thought the same but then I wondered if there would be a spare driver available as most of them will be out on tourist buses.

[BigMouth]

Perhaps the Auto-Pilot in the film Airplane might be an idea that would solve the problem. 

[olga.botezatu]

If overcrowding is a frequent issue, advocating for increased bus frequency during peak times could help alleviate the problem. This would require coordination with the local transportation authority. Promote awareness campaigns to educate passengers about bus etiquette, including giving up seats for those who need them more, not occupying extra seats with belongings, etc. This could be done through posters on buses, announcements, or social media campaigns.

[BigMouth]

The irony is that there is a sign on some of the buses advising passengers to use a their seatbelt, yet you can have passengers standing in the aisle.

I don't think that bus passengers are seen as important.  The lack of an indoor waiting area at the Lerwick bus station being a good example.  It gets bloody cold, and often wet, waiting in the open ended bus shelter in all weathers.  A cafe, or the revenue for leasing it (or sale perhaps), was seen as a greater need than passengers being able to stay warm.  This was to be fair, put out to consultation before the cafe was opened.  Like most consultations the decision appeared to be a foregone conclusion.

There are a couple of benches at the bus station to sit on in more agreeable weather, but they are old and the varnish/paint worn away so that they absorb water when it rains.  They stay wet for a long time afterwards, but no-one seems to be responsible for them and their maintenance.  The trouble is that those who could make a difference, those who make the decisions, don't travel on the buses so they have no idea of the discomforts suffered by the travelling public, and apparenlty little care for the passengers either.