Great Western Coffee Shop

On 1 April, Western Greyhound's bus services will cease to serve the transport interchange at St Austell Railway Station.  It is not clear why they have chosen to do this - there is no explanation on their website.  For services 524/525/526/527 (to Fowey, Mevagissey, Gorran Haven, Eden Project) this will not be too inconvenient as the buses will still serve Kings Avenue / Carlyon Road a short walk from the station. However services 520/521/522/529 (to the Clay Villages, Bodmin, Newquay and Truro) will depart from Trinity Street a hefty walk to the other side of town from the station (and a very steep climb uphill when walking towards the station). The only bus services continuing to call at the Transport Interchange will be the First service 27 to Truro and 101 to the Eden Project  With First Group refusing to serve the proposed transport interchange at St Erth (except for its Summer only Open top service) it makes you wonder why we should bother building these facilities.  If you object to this change - which I believe is the first time on these routes that St Austell station has not been served since GWR days - Email info@westerngreyhound.com

I believe it's because there is no banksman provided (someone to supervise buses reversing out of the bays)

Would that really be a reason? Would Western Greyhound forego revenue from St Austell station just because buses need someone to help them reverse? Don't WGs fleet have mirrors?  :o

OK. I'm not familiar with the layout of the transport interchange at St Austell, but was it really designed in such a way that a 'banksman' was required?

I believe it is due to lack of banksman and health and safety, as has been several near misses with people walking behind reversing buses

Health and Safety? Jeez.  :o

<pedant alert> Surely a 'near miss' is a hit?

"Well Officer, I nearly missed him....."

Those will be the people who choose to walk behind a huge road vehicle with its hazard and reversing lights flashing, and with a raucous announcement that "Caution: This Vehicle Is REVERSING" ringing in their ears?

How would the addition of a banksman to that scenario improve 'elfin safety', pray?  ::)

And how many millions have recently been spent (over a looooong period) upgrading the place ???

Some Visitors might find it more convenient to start/end their adventures from Par station - I visit Heligan/Mevagissey/Charlestown/Fowey and quite often end up at Par to get fish 'n chips at Val's Plaice. 
   

If this is the case I wonder if the remaining services will start from near the old Police Station behind the Railway Station as they did when the Bus Station was closed.

They have buses west of the Tamar?! :o ;)

Or sour grapes for Western Greyhound losing a load of routes to First maybe?

How far away from the station is the closest bus stop for the Eden project?

reading the local rag, the banksman issue is the main reason along with the amount WG have to pay First to use the bus station.

For Eden First run the 101 service from the bus station and from 1st April WG service 527 will run from Kings Avenue about 60 yds "up-the-road" from the station...http://www.westerngreyhound.com/route_pdf/527.pdf

Bearing in Mind that at ONE time Buses had a Driver and a Conductor, whenever the Bus had to reverse the conductor would act as the Banksman.

It's still written in the Omnibus rules that for a Bus to Reverse, "a servant of the company will act as Banksman"
Note: PC Plod or other Office of the Law may act in the role as "the servant of the company"

I found this out on a Bus Journey down a Lane in Sunny Cornwall, Granny Smith (made up name) refused to reverse her car saying the Bus can reverse, Bus Driver Just shut down the engine and told Passengers we could be in for a long wait as the Police will have to attend.

Granny Smith then took about 20 minutes to reverse her Car about 60 yards!
Reversing should be part of the Driving test!

It will be a Very Sad day when a First Western National bus meets a Western Greyhound Bus on a Narrow line in Cornwall, as by the letter of the Law it's a Police matter (as a FWN driver can't act as a Banksman for WGH or Vice versa).

Stick to the train it's Safer by Rail!

And to think, many folk have the impression that the rail industry is too fractured and has too much buck passing.

Bus drivers, just use your fupping PSV training and mirrors for cripes sake!

 :o ::) :o ::)

What he said  ;) 

Then again I have  PSV expereince so I can  express my opinion.

As for the poster who mentioned about the bus driver refusing to reverse the bus back good on them how some women drivers pass their test I don't know I have even see a driver get out of his bus to reverse this womans car down in west wales.

I'm starting the Tennis analogies again.


Code violation. Sexism.  :P ;) ;D

It may surprise you to know that bad drivers come in both sexes.

That said, I will just make comment about the female bus driver I saw on Friday, who'd parked up her vehicle near a junction to a visitor attraction, on a narrow B road and not in a lay-by. She was stood having a fag, no hazards flashing on her bus, oblivious to any problems she may have been causing to passing traffic. Including the ambulance on 'blues and twos' that was trying to get through....

But, could equally have been an inconsiderate male bus driver.

.. and knowing how BNM likes a pedant - I thought PSV had been consigned to history and was now PCV.....   ;D

la la la

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/relex109/4015914785/)

(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2653/4015914785_fdb2c218e4.jpg)

Yes, I thought that was one of your best ones, relex109.  ;D

Bit difficult if your going somewhere where there is no railway!

Not convinced about the Banksman reason.  First (who are usually the most obsessed about health and safety) are continuing to use the Interchange at St Austell, and Western Greyhound has a number of routes that regularly require the driver to undertake reversing moves on the public highway without assistance (eg: Gurnard's Head on services 507/508, and all services at Penzance Bus station)  


I'll ignore the gender based comments on drivers beyond pointing out there is no scientific evidence that a person's gender has any impact on their competency as a driver.  

I think it has more to do with the charges that First (or the Council) pass onto Western Greyhound for using the Bus Station. Charging for bus station per departure is nothing new and is common practice throughout the country - which is why in quite a number of cases operators have rerouted their services away from Bus Stations to avoid further costs on what are possibly only marginal routes! Furthermore First have just picked up a number of council contracts previously operated by Western Greyhound so I suspect the view at Greyhound is to reduce operating costs as much as they can in an attempt to prevent further loss of work. Mind you, First apparently bid for these contracts based on a completely different wages and conditions structure as to what the rest of their bus staff in Cornwall are on and word on the street is that the troops are far from happy about it with threats - at least a couple of weeks ago, of industrial action!   

I presume you've noticed that St Ives has had a Banksman for many years.

I know a WG driver very well and will ask him for his opinion when I see him.
 

Did Western Greyhound "pull out" or, were they evicted for not giving Cornwall Council a winning contract price? Most changes of service operator come about as a result of the periodic retendering process required for subsidised bus services. Alternatively did WG operate these services commercially, in which case the term "Pull Out" would be correctly used.

 I see WG are out of Bretonside in Plymouth also.