Bristol buses withdrawn over robberies

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Evening bus services in one part of Bristol are being temporarily withdrawn after two robberies in a week.

Police say the same man threatened two drivers and stole money on September 25 and 6 October in the Henbury area of the city.

First Bus has now withdrawn evening services on Crow Lane, where the incidents took place.

A statement from the firm said the decision was "made with the safety of passengers and staff in mind".

Services 1, 75 and 76 will now terminate at Crow Lane "for the foreseeable future".

[JayMac]

Huh?

The incidents took place on Crow Lane, yet First are terminating the buses at Crow Lane?

An area I know well. The 76 only goes beyond Crow Lane in the late evening, so that kinda makes sense but not if the incidents happened on Crow Lane. The 75 doesn't even serve Crow Lane, and whilst the 1 does go through Crow Lane it seems a bit pointless turning it back there if that's where the incidents took place.

And what about the 40/40A? They go through Crow Lane as well on their way to Cribbs.

Confused

[XPT]

Indeed doesn't make sense.   Service 77 was extended to terminate in the evenings at Tormarton Crescent a few years back, due to problems with yobbo's at Crow Lane layby. 

So the services are withdrawn from Crow Lane, yet they will terminate AT Crow Lane for the forseeable future???  Doesn't make sense! 

[thetrout]

Not strictly related, but me and 3 of my friends once took the 23:15 267 Service to Frome from Bath... This had an unhealthy loading of intoxicated morons...! who were rather loud and seemed to take great pleasure in winding up the female driver. They took even less pleasure when the bus came passed Frome College and the driver asked if anyone required Stops along Forest Road, Brunel Way and Rodden Road...! Unfortunately for my friend, they did require a stop on Brunel Way which is very near to their house... The amount of abuse and comments like "FFS^▸ (for goodness' sake (a more polite definition))" & "There's always one" we recieved when the entire bus shouted NO and my friend shouted yes...! I can't see why they would make such a fuss... For the bus to follow normal route at that hour would add an extra 6 minutes at most to the journey... hardly worth getting aggressive over!!

I'm not going to post the dates or day of the week as I like the driver and don't want her to get into trouble for trying to run the bus fast...! Infact I totally understand... The atmosphere on the bus was not of a safe nature

[Chris from Nailsea]

More problems on Bristol buses - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Woman injured in Bristol bus brick attack

A 23-year-old woman is being treated in hospital after being hit in the face by a brick thrown through a bus window in Bristol.

The incident happened early on Saturday morning as the Night Flyer bus was travelling along Fishponds Road.

She was taken to Frenchay Hospital with head and facial injuries which are not thought to be life threatening.

A man in his 20s was arrested in connection after voluntarily attending a police station on Saturday evening.

Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them,

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol buses reinstated after robberies

Evening bus services in Bristol that were withdrawn after drivers were threatened and robbed are to be reinstated.

A man threatened two drivers and stole money on 25 September and 6 October in the Henbury area of the city.

The firm said the security of staff and passengers was paramount but it now believed the threat had been lifted.

Police officers in plain clothes will travel on the buses as part of a security operation in the area.

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Driver is injured in Bristol bus robbery

A Bristol bus driver was treated in hospital for a hand injury after a man threatened him with a knife.

Police said the driver was hurt in the robbery on Whitefield Road in Speedwell on Wednesday at 1730 GMT.

Officers said the incident may be linked to a similar robbery on Tuesday in Westbury-on-Trym and two incidents in Henbury in October.

The attacker is described as 6ft tall, white and either medium or slim build wearing dark clothing.

In October, First Bus suspended evening services in Henbury for more than two months after drivers were threatened and robbed.

Karen Baxter, from First Bus, said: "We are deeply concerned about the nature of these attacks on our drivers and as such we are working closely with the police to catch those responsible.

"Our staff carry very little money on them - and steps are being taken to reduce this further."